Schmetterlinghaus: The Imperial Butterfly Park

Built around the turn of the last century and part of the Hofburg palace, this "Jugendstil" or Art Nouveau greenhouse is filled with a lush, tropical landscape, trickling waterfalls, and within its humid walls you will be treated to its delicate inhabitants - the butterflies.

Peeking into hollow trees and up among the branches, you can watch the graceful favorites of the bug world flitter and fly, or softly rest and pulse their exotic wings, possibly on your outstretched finger. A closer look could very well uncover cocoons, or you may even catch a hatching. The butterfly house offers two levels from which to seek sights of the colorful flyers.

A short film at the end of your walk though the butterfly habitat will give you some scientific insight on the ethereal creatures you just enjoyed inside the tropical forest in the center of a city.