With its many embankment walls, the Donaukanal river channel forms a natural canvas for street artists. And no self-respecting urban waterfront would be seen without its fair share of open-air bars, restaurants and similar.
- Northern and central parts best for seeing street art
- Various popular eateries and bars appear in the warmer months
- Unexpected options include beach bars and a floating swimming pool
- Book a themed tour* of Vienna
- See also:
Spray paint and spritzers
While you might walk or cycle along parts of the river bounded by trees filled with the call of songbirds, other areas invite you to grab a cold drink, put your feet up, and admire the fresh handiwork of a spray can-wielding urban artist.
Street art
(The tower in the background is the Ringturm)
Long sections of the Donaukanal serve as open-air exhibition space.
Look, particularly, at the stretch of riverside between Heiligenstadt (marked with a purple palette in the north of the map) and the Franzensbrücke bridge (marked similarly just east of the town centre).
Beyond Franzensbrücke going east, the Donaukanal is largely left to the shrubs, trees, and roads that tend to bound its passage. Note, also, that west of the centre the art tends to appear on the southern bank.
Vienna has a delicate relationship with the wealth of street art that proliferates along the channel. Admiration for the remarkable skills of the artists comes with a lingering question mark over the legality of some of the sprayer’s efforts.
(The building behind is part of a Hunderwasser-designed incinerator facility)
Parts of the Donaukanal are officially-sanctioned areas for street art; others, well, less so. But nobody seems particularly interested in policing the difference, and the result is quite spectacular at times: long passages aflame with colour, often combined with cultural and political commentary.
The images change regularly at the whim of the sprayer community, so current topics find expression on riverside surfaces.
Bars and restaurants
(I’m a regular at the Klyo restaurant and bar in the Urania building)
The restaurant and bar scene comes alive during the summer months in particular: many places directly on the Donaukanal open only seasonally. So check official websites in the colder months to see if they’re still serving.
(Other waterside alternatives in Vienna include, for example, those eateries and cafés around the city’s huge Alte Donau lake.)
Among the many locations along the Donaukanal:
Otto Wagner Schützenhaus
(Architectural and gastronomic history. A previous occupant was the Liebfisch restaurant)
The famous Otto Wagner designed the location with his trademark combination of utility and form.
The building should have helped regulate the channel’s water, but never entered operation. It now houses the Otto Will Meer restaurant with a fish and seafood dominated menu.
Summerstage
This popular annual event continues across the summer around the Roßauer Lände. The heart of Summerstage is the open-air riverside terrace and pavilions featuring a range of culinary choices from around the world: typically Asian, French, Mexican, Italian, and Caribbean, for example.
Motto am Fluss
(Also a starting point for many boat services)
Slick, modern and popular restaurant with a dash of Venetian architectural flair. We actually had a rather lovely brunch inside there one weekend.
The Motto am Fluss is built into the landing stage for the ships that take you out on trips up the Danube. The raised platform means you can, for example, look out across the water from the open-air terrace.
Blumenwiese
A spot that conjured up memories of Mediterranean beachside holidays as we passed. The elegant Blumenwiese has sandy parts for that summer feel.
Neni am Wasser
Close to the Schützenhaus, Neni am Wasser opened in May 2022 and offers a mediterranen & Tel Avivian flavour to channelside life.
Klyo
(The Urania: cinema, education centre, restaurant venue, and more)
The restaurant occupies part of the iconic 1910 Urania building that marks where the Donaukanal meets the River Wien. The Klyo has an open-air terrace that looks out over the Donaukanal with the famous Riesenrad Ferris wheel in the distance.
I meet a friend here regularly after winter evening classes and grab a seat with a view across to the lighted buildings on the far bank. All rather lovely with friendly staff. I’m a fan of the all-day muesli.
The Badeschiff
Built from two converted push barges to create a multi-deck complex with, for example, a bar, food and a floating swimming pool. A visit to the Badeschiff means you can swim in the water while on the water.
(The location makes a brief appearance in the Sachertorte movie.)
Café Friedlich
(Also home to the Kunst Haus Wien / Hundertwasser Museum)
Not a riverside location as such, but worthy of a special shout out because of the unique ambience. Step over the road from the riverside path to find yourself transported into the imagination of artist and architect, Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
Café Friedlich inside the Kunst Haus Wien has what is best described as a unique interior décor, full of curves, colour and greenery. Elegance and chaos combined. And with an imaginative menu.
Strandbar Herrmann
(Quite a sizeable stretch of sand)
As close to a beach bar as you can get in a city hundreds of miles from the coast. Grab a deckchair at Strandbar Herrmann and feel the sand between your toes. Also well known for its big-screen open-air public viewing during major football tournaments.
For more…
Which brings us to an end for this brief journey through some of the art (culinary and street) offered along the Donaukanal. For a visitor guide to all that this arm of the Danube has to offer, check this overview.