The Oldest Amusement Park in the World, Vienna Prater

Having finished all the work, I decided to spoil myself a bit and do a stress relief therapy by visiting Parndorf, the biggest outlet center in Europe. You would not believe the disappointment I went through when I realized that it was Sunday, and that in Vienna everything (and by everything I mean all the shops except the gas stations) is closed!

There was almost a whole day free ahead, and no place to spend it. And then it dawned on me: spending a week in Vienna and not visiting the Prater would be unforgivable. So I grabbed my mobile phone, typed “Prater” and let navigation app guide us to the oldest amusement park in the world.

Prater is open 7 days a week, which means Sundays as well. At the entrance, a pleasant surprise — Prater is the first amusement park I visited where you do not have to pay for the entrance ticket. However, once you are in it, if you want to check out the attractions themselves, you have to pay.

Everything in Prater is wonderful. All colorful, shiny, crowded… Just like all the other amusement parks. But less modern. And that is what makes Prater so special. As you approach it, you cannot miss the Giant Wheel, the most famous attraction and also one of the most common landmarks that you can see on postcards from Vienna. It can be seen from far away and the ride on it is a must-do for everybody visiting Vienna. The ride itself takes a lot of time since it is slow and relaxing, and the view is perfect.

For those looking for something more adventurous there is a Rollercoaster which combines traditional and modern times. But the real adrenalin junkies simply have to try one of the new Viennese landmarks, the Praterturm.

Praterturm, or Prater Tower, is the highest swing carousel in the world. It lifts you all the way up to unbelievable 117m. Just a bit too high for me. So, while the others were flying and screaming and enjoying the spectacular view (so I was told afterwards), I remained seated right under their feet in one of the most popular Viennese traditional restaurants eating famous pork knuckles and drinking beer. By the time the others were all stressed out and safely back on the ground, I was ready to move on.

Since that was the last day of our stay in Vienna, we decided to take one more ride through the center of the city. We waved to the Schonebrun, the Opera House, left Stephansdom behind and went to the hotel.

A city like Vienna, with such vast history and so many things to offer, is a city that you have to visit several times if you wish to see everything it has to offer. Maybe it is not as romantic as Paris, or as picturesque as Prague, but Vienna has that “something” which makes it quite different to any other city I have been in.

Back in the hotel, bags were packed. Engines were getting ready for takeoff. One more journey was over leaving space for other adventures to come.