Prater & the Ferris Wheel
Not, it’s not a palace or museum, but if you ask my kids, they will tell you that Prater was not just the best part of Vienna, it’s the only destination they want to revisit within the city. Not surprising. It’s was a short walk from the apartment we rented and was nearly empty at around three in the afternoon. If you want a change of pace from restaurants and shopping for furs (off season in July of course), go visit.
Adults and kids
I’m a thrill seeker, I admit it. For those of use who want to hang up side down like a bat going 100 mph for brief spurts, at least one ride offers this experience. I’m sorry to say I’ve forgotten the name of the ride (did I black out?) but you get strapped in while upright, then it rotates you so you are literally parallel with the ground, about three feet up. From head to toe, you are horizontal, and then the fun really begins. My advice is this: build up and save all your fear, tensions, anger or angst and when the ride begins, be like Anna in Frozen and just let it go. Trust me, your screams will blend in with the others.
When you are boiling up from the heat, walk five minutes to the water rides and let your inner child go (e.g. raise your hands). The splash is worth second ride–and with the lack of lines, we just got off, walked around the end and got ride back on the ride.
A note of warning- most of the rides do have an age or height restriction, so check your kids before you pay the money. Yes, lots of rides exist for younger ones, but then you are split with the rides between older and younger children.
Best time to go
We learned after the fact that 3-5 p.m. are the best times to go, and this is what we’d done, but it was unintentional. We looked out our apartment, saw the massive Ferris wheel and said “let’s go!” Of course, it was during a heat wave and we were seriously hot, but the park was empty. Just as we were leaving, about two hours later, a breeze picked up, the sun was going down and the crowds started to clog the lines.
The giant Ferris wheel is 65 meters tall and you should take your camera, because you can take incredible pics of the Danube from the top. A Madame Tussad’s Wax Museum, a trainride and the Planetarium.
We all loved the Vienna planetarium, where we watched an Astro show. Since I didn’t take pictures within the planetarium, read more about it here. All my kids recall were the thousands of stars from the laser lights beaming all around.
Trains and bus lines stop right in front of the park, so transportation is easy. I’ll also point out that the side streets to and from the park are lined with unique restaurants, one with a banyan tree in the center. We happened upon it, had a great meal and now you will hate me because I can’t recall the name! But I will say the owner told me it had been there for 20 years, so I imagine it’s there now.