Hermesvilla

Lonely Planet review

The Hermesvilla was commissioned by Franz Josef I and presented to his wife in an attempt to repair their failing marriage. Built by Karl von Hasenauer between 1882 and 1886, with Klimt and Makart on board as interior decorators, the villa is suitably plush and has all the hallmarks of a mansion. Empress Elisabeth's bedroom is particularly over the top, with the walls and ceiling covered in motifs of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream .

For all its opulence and comforts, the villa unfortunately did not have the desired effect: Elisabeth never really took to the place and rarely ventured back to Vienna. She did, however, name it after her favourite Greek God. Hermesvilla is a municipal museum.