An excursion we recommend
By Bike Around the Alte Donau
Vienna has two arms of the Danube, an island between them and a funfair at the far end, and all of it hangs on one cycle path. This loop starts at the UNO City, passes the Danube Tower on its way to the Alte Donau, crosses the Donauinsel into the green Prater and comes back through the Wurstelprater. About 25 kilometres, almost entirely flat, with two stops for food and a turn on the Ferris wheel. An active day, but not one that leaves you out of breath.
Bikes
from 0.80 euros per 30 minutes
Distance
about 25 km, flat
Duration
a full day, around 6 hours
The Loop
U1 to Kaisermuehlen VIC
The bike share station is 60 metres from the exit and has 22 docks.
Donaupark and Danube Tower
1.9 km through the park, a good 10 minutes.
approx. 3 km to the Alte Donau
Past the Arbeiterstrandbad to the water, then along the east bank.
Das Bootshaus
First stop, right on the water.
approx. 7 km via Copa Beach and the island
A stretch on the island between the two arms of the river.
Green Prater
Floodplain woods, the Ernst Happel Stadium, Viertel Zwei.
approx. 2 km to the Schweizerhaus
From here it smells of roast pork knuckle.
Wurstelprater and Ferris wheel
From here you push the bike. That is the rule.
approx. 4 km back to the UNO City
Via Praterstern, Lassallestrasse and the Reichsbruecke on a wide cycle path.
Copa Beach
A last look at the water, bikes back to the station.
The Stops
Donaupark and Danube Tower
The start lies between high-rise buildings, but after two hundred metres none of that is visible any more. The Donaupark was laid out on a former landfill for the 1964 garden show and is now meadows, roses and a lake. In the middle stands the Danube Tower, at 252 metres the tallest structure in the country. You do not have to go up; riding past is enough for the photograph.
Start: bike share station Kaisermuehlen-VIC, Platz der Vereinten Nationen
Cycle path all the way; the last few metres to the foot of the tower are a footpath, so push there.
Das Bootshaus on the Alte Donau
The Alte Donau is no longer a river but a still backwater, left behind when the Danube was straightened in the nineteenth century. Boat rentals, bathing houses and allotment gardens line the shore, and this is where Vienna goes swimming. Das Bootshaus sits on the east bank, belongs to the Querfeld family of Cafe Landtmann, and is the quietest stop on the loop: a terrace at the water, light cooking, none of the day-tripper bustle.
An der unteren Alten Donau 61, 1220 Vienna
Mon to Fri from 11.30 am, Sat, Sun and holidays from 9 am, until 11 pm, kitchen until 9.30 pm. Phone +43 1 24 100 811.
On the way, at the water
- ArbeiterInnenstrand, on the Upper Alte Donau. A free bathing spot with a lawn, reed banks and a drinking fountain. Good for a short break or a swim in between.
Donauinsel
The Donauinsel is a flood defence that looks like a leisure park: 21 kilometres long, a few hundred metres wide, lying between the Danube and the New Danube. Heaped up in the seventies, it is now the largest bathtub in Vienna. You ride a stretch downstream, turn around and take the Reichsbruecke towards the Prater.
Access via the Reichsbruecke, U1 Donauinsel
Cycling is allowed, but on fine weekends it is crowded. During the week or in the morning it is far more relaxed.
Schweizerhaus and Wurstelprater
The Wurstelprater is Vienna funfair, and it is not named after sausage: the stock character of old Viennese popular comedy was Hanswurst, Wurstel for short. The grounds have been public since 1766 and free to enter ever since, and the roughly 250 businesses still belong to individual families rather than a corporation. There is no admission; you pay at each ride separately. In front of it stands the Schweizerhaus, in the same family for over a hundred years, famous for its roast pork knuckle and its freshly tapped Budweiser.
Schweizerhaus, Prater 116, 1020 Vienna
15 March to 31 October, daily 11 am to 11 pm, kitchen until 10.15 pm. Phone +43 1 728 01 52 0. Groups should always reserve.
Right next to it
- The Ferris wheel. Built in 1897 by an English firm in eight months, 65 metres high, originally with thirty cabins. One turn takes about twenty minutes, plus the queue.
- Liliputbahn. The narrow-gauge railway has run through the green Prater since 1928, from Praterstern to the stadium. For children this is the real highlight.
- Carousels and rides. From a hundred-year-old merry-go-round to the chain swing. Bring cash; not every stand takes cards.
Good to Know
The bikes. WienMobil Rad is the bike share run by the Vienna transport authority. You hire through the nextbike app: register, scan the QR code on the bike, done. It costs 0.80 euros per half hour, at most 20 euros a day. A credit card is enough; you do not need an Austrian bank account. Two things matter: only four bikes per account at a time, and leaving a bike anywhere other than a station costs a 20 euro fee.
Without the app. The bike rental at Copa Beach hires against an ID document, no registration needed. Comfort bike 35 euros a day, trekking bike 40 euros, helmet 3 euros. Open daily 9 am to 9 pm, and the shop sits exactly at the end of the loop.
No e-bikes. Electric vehicles are expressly forbidden inside the Wurstelprater. And you push there anyway: cycling is not allowed in the funfair, only on the main avenue.
Where to pay attention. The loop runs almost entirely on cycle paths. The one real stretch of city traffic lies between the Reichsbruecke, Mexikoplatz and Engerthstrasse. Ride in small groups there and agree on a meeting point.
A shorter version. With both stops and the Ferris wheel this is a full day. If you only have half of one, skip one stop and ride the loop in about four hours.
Season. The Schweizerhaus opens only from March to October, and so do the rides in the Wurstelprater. In winter the loop still works as a pure bike ride, just without the funfair.
A day that shows you Vienna the other way round: from the water.
