Dirt Cheap Vienna

Photo: The Ferris wheels

Prater has two parts, a very large park and a year-round fair. While the park is pretty nice, especially along the central alley of chestnut trees, the more exciting part is the fair. It can’t offer the thrills of a giant amusement park by far, but it has a turn of the century feeling and lots of charme. It’s  Vienna’s Coney Island, much revered by the local population. Definitely have an up close look at the ferris wheel. While 8 Euros will set you back quite a bit, a ride offers nice views and is an experience for itself, since the wheel is already quite old.

If you’re more of a thrill seeker, don’t miss out on some of the rides. The mix is great, there are some antique ones like the mirror cabinet and some modern attractions, that certainly will get your adrenaline pumping. Don’t miss out on the haunted houses- they are absolutely comical, but probably not intended that way with their rattling cars, Halloween masks jumping at you, plastic intestines falling out of a mannequin’s abdomen and cheap laser show consisting of a couple of green beams aimed at you. It’s  highly entertaining to ride on one of those.
During the summer months, from March until October, you can also participate in a Prater adventure tour (register with +43 (0)1 893 88 03).

Of course, Prater isn’t all about adrenaline rushes, there are also numerous stands selling cotton candy, some eateries offering typical Austrian food (even though the fair isn’t really the best place to try it), and lots of souvenirs. If you really wanted to learn more about it, there’s also a museum about the park.

In case you’re planning on making the trip to the park later in the evening (the wheel operates until midnight during some summer months), head over to Praterdome, the biggest discotheque in Austria, and prepare to party on 4 different levels (open only on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and the day before a public holiday).

Why you should go
One of the top attractions in Vienna, the fair and ferris wheel are great fun and the wheel offers good views of Vienna. Don’t miss out on the unique atmosphere there.

How to get there
Take  U1 and get off at Praterstern; several buses go there, as well as, and almost all of the regional trains (S-Bahn), since it’s a central station. Just follow the exit signs for Prater from there.

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