amazonia under glass

Schmetterlinghaus / Vienna, Austria
Set in the greenery of the Hofburg Burggarten and encased in an Art Nouveau greenhouse, lies Vienna's Schmetterlinghaus, a tropical wonderland of colorful butterflies in as authentic of a rainforest environment that you'll likely find outside of Amazonia (or at least within Austria). The Schmetterlinghaus covers little more than 3,000 square feet of ground, but you can still find more than 150 different species, with about 400 individual butterflies fluttering around at any given time. The temperature remains at a steady 26 degrees centigrade, and the air humidity around 80 per cent. It was a warm and pleasant escape from the brisk November chill in the air.