The visit was short and sweet, but absolutely sufficient from the input and the time in the opera. Absolutely stunning building interior, would recommend to anyone. It could have been communicated more clearly to me that the tour booked via GYG is carried out by the State Opera itself and you can simply take the entrance on the left (the GPS data / address in the e-mail initially caused some confusion for me).

The tour itself was amazing and really worth while, very interesting and found out loads about the opera house itself but also where certain traditions came from etc. However have to drop a star for the organisation at the start - they have up to 30 people in each group of 4 different languages- there was a massive queue and “skip the line” tickets in this case don’t really apply. We got through just after 9am and had seen a group walking off to start their tour so we were then anxious we’d missed the start of the English one. By the time we were collected it was running fairly late which wouldn’t have been an issue apart from we’d timed it to go back and check out of our hotel on time. It felt a bit like they want as many people as possible to make more money - it would be worth reducing the group sizes a little for a slightly calmer and more personal experience. When they say to get there 15 mins before, there’s a reason and I’d advise being there even earlier!

The tour is very interesting! I'm not sure, but I think it happens in Russian, too. 4 options were offered - English, German, Spanish, French. There are a lot of people, but everything is audible, understandable and no one interferes with anyone. Visiting Vienna without an opera is a must! It's nice to sit in the Kaiser box, in the stalls (by the way, the chairs here and there are not so comfortable!). Thanks to the tour guide!