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Visiting Vienna

A ride on the Riesenrad

Ferris wheel wagon

A ride on one of the world’s most historic Ferris wheels sounds good. But what’s it actually like up there? And is it worth the ticket?

Big wheel, long views

Distant view of the giant ferris wheel

(Yep, it’s a long way up)

Many bucket lists for Vienna have the Riesenrad on them, thanks to its status as an iconic landmark and movie location.

But is it really worth taking a trip?

I’m going to give it a “yes” for two reasons.

1. What you see

The Praterturm from a distance

(The Prater Turm ride: even higher up!)

Once inside a wagon, you begin a climb that takes you around 61m or 200 feet into the air. With glass windows on all four sides and enough space to move around, you can look across more or less the entirety of Vienna.

This gives you views of such landmarks as Stephansdom cathedral, the national stadium, the Rathaus, the United Nations complex, the Danube Tower, Spittelau, and the mountains to the west.

The views across the Prater entertainment complex that surround the Riesenrad can be quite intriguing, too. Particularly the Prater Turm ride, which spins guests around on the end of chains close to 100m up in the air. (So even higher than the Riesenrad.)

The Turm ride terrified me even at a distance and with a solid floor beneath my feet.

If you’re concerned you might not recognise what you see through the wagon’s windows, then long, labelled photographs of the view offer a helping hand.

And you have time to take it all in: I think we were in the cabin for about 15-20 minutes in total.

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2. What you’re part of

The Riesenrad is by no means unique in offering a scenic vista from up high. Several other locations offer excellent views of Vienna. But few of these provide the same cultural and historical connection you get here.

Stephansdom cathedral may be the most famous landmark in Vienna, but the Riesenrad cannot be far behind (despite being several hundred years younger).

The Ferris wheel seems to offer a reassuring presence for the local population. Almost as if its grizzled determination to keep on turning reflects the grumbling stoicism of the Viennese character.

The location also enjoys a Hollywoodesque appeal through those memorable acting credits.

A ride in the Riesenrad lets you follow in the footsteps of The Third Man’s Harry Lime, one of cinema’s most enigmatic villains. Or James Bond. Or Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in Before Sunrise.

So it does feel like you’re part of some ongoing tradition.

(Spoiler: the outside shots of the Riesenrad were filmed on location for The Third Man. The bits inside the cabin were a reconstruction.)

Close up of a Riesenrad waggon

(The iconic red wagon)

Strangely, floating above Vienna in a 19th-century Ferris wheel also has an ethereal feel to it.

I use the word float deliberately: you have all those steel struts, giant screws and wagons turning endlessly…yet no apparent noise. Not a squeak reached my ears.

My bicycle makes more of a racket, so I can only assume an awful lot of grease oils the joints of this huge construction.

And the bonus…

Your ticket includes more than a ride. You also get to see a little exhibition lobby area, whose walls and cabinets illustrate Austrian history and personalities. Those cabinets are actually former wagons from the wheel itself.

Each wagon in the display contains a model panorama of some event or epoch, such as Roman times, the Turkish siege of 1683, or WWII damage to the Prater area. (All nice, but admittedly not really why you’re here.)

Tickets & visitor tips

The Riesenrad in the snow seen through the trees

(The wheel opens most of the year)

See here for detailed tips on tickets, visiting, getting there and background information on the Riesenrad and its history.

Even on my February visit, the Riesenrad was quite busy. So I’d recommend getting advance tickets or a relevant sightseeing pass so you at least skip the counter queue, especially in peak seasons like summer.

We only waited a few minutes to get on board, mind you, and part of our wait was due to restaurant staff laying the table in one of the special dining cabins (the Riesenrad offers various in-wagon culinary experiences of this nature).

Have to say it all looked rather refined inside that dining wagon and the idea of candlelit meals up above Vienna has a certain appeal (albeit, presumably, along with a certain cost). Which makes it one of my suggestions for a romantic dinner location.

Happily, the Riesenrad tends to stay open until well after dusk, so you can enjoy a twilight or nighttime experience with a normal ticket, too.

The ride duration depends on how many wagons need to stop to load up or release passengers. But, as I said earlier, you should have enough time to enjoy the views adequately.

The Ferris wheel lives a little away from the usual tourist haunts, so you might want to do a bit more in the area while there.

The surrounding Prater has, for example:

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