The Prater in Vienna: Austria’s Playground for Everyone

In May of 2018, we were extremely lucky to spend two weeks exploring a few cities in Europe. One of the cities we visited was Vienna in Austria.  We really enjoyed checking out the Wien Rathaus and the Danube. While there were made a point of checking out Prater Amusement Park. It is an incredible park and home of the iconic Giant Ferris Wheel. It is almost 65 meters tall and offers a breathtaking view of the city on the Danube. Sadly, we didn’t get to take the ride, more on that later, but it was fun watching it in motion and imagining the wonderful views.

I have to admit, that was what got me wanting to go check out the park.  It was great that we were there in May since the park is only open from March to October. However, we did find out that the Giant Ferris Wheel and a few other attractions are open all year round. One amazing thing we found out about the Prater, is that is free for the public to come and enjoy since April 7, 1766.  Thus you only have to pay for the attractions and food you want to partake in while visiting the park.

Besides the Giant Ferris Wheel, Prater contains 250 attractions ranging from auto-drome rinks to ball toss and shooting booths, exciting roller coasters, and ghost trains to flight simulators. There is also a merry-go-round for the little kids. There is something for everyone in the family to do at Prater, even the adrenaline junkies, lol.

If you or a member of your group isn’t into rides, there are over five dozen restaurants located in Prater.  They range from little self-serve stands, hot dog stands, and ice cream stands,  all the way up to sit-down restaurants.  There is definitely not a shortage of indoor and outdoor food options.

We didn’t actually eat anything while there, but did get a bottle of water and walked around taking pictures. That was until it started raining. It looked like a nice day and then all of a sudden, it got cloudy, and started coming down. This seemed to be a pattern the whole time we were in Europe. It would start out beautiful, then slowly get worse and worse as the day progressed.  Sadly it did end our hopes of taking a ride on the Giant Ferris Wheel. Hopefully next time we will be able to take a ride.

Even with the rain, we had a nice talking walking around and taking some pictures before it was too bad. One thing that caught my attention was the huge Prater Earth Globe. It stands approximately 10ft tall and has a small spiral staircase that lets you climb to the top of the earth. Using your hands, you can start the globe rotating around its axis. So cool to see and watch it rotating.

Right next to the Prater Earth Globe is the Zeiss Planetarium Der Stadt Wien. Not sure what they were playing but it may have been nice to catch a show, especially with the rain. We didn’t, but maybe we will next time.

One more thing to share that is on the Prater grounds is a memorial, I guess that is what I would call it, to the late composer Robert Stolz.  I couldn’t understand what was written on it, but I figure someone might. Thus I am sharing it here. Please let me know if you know what it says. Danke, lol.

Other than the rain, we had a nice time walking around and people watching. There were a lot of families and the kids seemed to be having a great time regardless of the rain too. Hope to visit again one day in the future. He is a link to their website with more information, hours, etc. Happy travels.

Prater Visitor Information

Address:

1020 Vienna

Phone:

+43 1 729 20 00

Hours: – Weather Permitting

March 15 to October 31  Main season
Daily 12:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Price:

Free to get it. Prices depend on the attractions and restaurants you visit while at the Prater.

Directions:

Driving:

You can reach the Vienna Prater via the surrounding motorways as follows:

• Via the A23 (Südosttangente)
  Keep right at the Prater junction and take the Ost-Autobahn (A4, E58). Continue on the B227 and turn on Franzenbrückstraße onto Expositionstraße.
• Via the A22 (Donauufer Autobahn)
  On the A22, take the Reichsbrücke exit in the direction of Zentrum and drive via Wagramer Straße to the Praterstern. Turn onto Exhibition Street.

Public Transportation:

You can also easily reach the Vienna Prater by public transport. The next stop to the Vienna Prater for all public transport is the “Praterstern”. Then it’s only a 3-minute walk to the Vienna Prater. Just follow the signs.

•  Underground: U1 and U2
• Schnellbahn: S1, S2, S3, S5, S6, S7, or S15
• Tram: lines 0 and 5
• Bus: 80a

Accessibility:

Car parks Main entrance
Parking spaces for people with disabilities
at Riesenrad (Giant Ferris Wheel) and Schweizerhaus (Waldsteingartenstraße)
Further information
Wheelchair accessible restroom available.