Riesenrad & Prater, Vienna

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The Prater is a scruffy little amusement park on the other side of the Danube from the center. Its most famous attraction is the Riesenrad, a giant ferris wheel and landmark for the city. It was also the setting for the most dramatic scene in one of the best British movies, The Third Man. Here Orson Welles' Harry Lime took Holly Martins for a trip above the rooftops of Vienna, for a not so subtle bit of coercion from the open door of a cabin halted at the apex of its journey.

For fans of the movie, the Riesenrad is a must see. For others, it depends on whether you want to see this historic monument close-up. There's not a lot else to see in the area. The ferris wheel takes you up to almost 200 feet (60m) above the city for some great views, but it is very expensive for what it offers at ?7.50 for a slow moving trip to the top.

Vienna can be enjoyable not only for must see activities places, but for funfairs too. Prater funfair is the part of 19 -20th Viennese history and entertainment. This funfair is probably the oldest in Europe.

The oldest is Giant Ferris Wheel, built in 1897. It can lift you about 60 meters and from the top it could be seen whole Vienna panorama that is even better that from Stefansdom, because takes a wider corner.

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The stables where the horses are housed is across the road from Hofburg. There are tours available, but if you just want to have a quick look, a good time to go is after morning practise at around 12 noon when the horses are brought back to the stables. The stables have in recent times been renovated and refurbished and these boys now live in sumptuous surroundings, which of course they fully deserve. There are about 70 of them in all. It takes several years to train them to a standard where they can take part in a formal performance and if you go to the morning practise, you will see horses in all stages of their training from kindergarten class to the true professionals. All in all, you will probably see about 25 different horses during practise, but only 8 or 10 in a gala performance.

The amusement park which is believed to be the oldest in the world has a season that runs from the 15th March to the 31st October. Outside of these times you can still walk through the park. The normal hours are 1000 hrs to 0100 hrs, but these times can change depending upon the weather. The price of the rides varies depending upon the attraction but there are rides to suit all tastes, including a number of white knuckle rides.

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This is a term used to encompass two distinct areas of the city's parkland - Wurstelprater and the woodland park on it's outskirts. It is home to the Riesenrad, the Planetarium, the Prater Museum, Ernst Happel Stadium, the Lusthaus and the Schweizhaus.

Close to the Giant Ferris Wheel and amusement park is the miniature railway ‘liliputbahn’. There are 2 steam trains and 3 diesel trains that cover the 3 miles of track. The season for the railway being open can vary depending upon the weather, as can the opening hours. The railway, which has recently celebrated its 75the birthday leisurely winds its way through the park’s beautiful woodland.

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I was surprised by the huge size of the Prater at 60 square kilometres. It was originally a royal hunting ground but the public have been allowed access since 1766. It is opened every day of the year and is the place to come to if you like sporting actives. Its great for relaxing walks, hikes, jogging, skating, swimming, cycling, there is a BMX track, horse racing, golf and boating. Other attractions include the Giant Ferris Wheel ‘Riesenrad’, amusement park and miniature railway ‘liliputbahn’.

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Day 4 : Prater

After visiting the Stephansdom and the quarter around it, I decided to take the subway towards the Prater recreation park.

From the subway station it was just a small walk towards the recreation park.

Of course the main attraction in the Prater Park is the Riesenrad (the giant Ferris wheel).

Schweitzerhaus is the nicest place in the Prater park to sit down in the garden and have a specially custom made Budweiser beer! The food there is excellent as well and the place is a good going out point for visiting all areas of Prater. The place also often has different manifestations so do check their website for novelties. The garden officially opened this week (end of March) so go and enjoy (and hope for beautiful weather) :)

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Plenty of things to do in Vienese Prater. From "shoot them up, Joe" to "old school knock 'm with a ball", to high technology bungee seat going up and down, to shooting cans, to punch'em strong guy, to buggy rides, to hand wrestling.. khm maybe I need to say to try and visit this fun park in the warm months because its not really fun to do all this shoot em ups turnem arounds in the rain or snow! In any event, winter time Prater also offers a lot of fun possibilities. Just check it out!