Vienna is more than its historic streets, food and museums. It’s also time for a bit of fun. The Prater Amusement Park, located close to the center of Vienna, is just a short way from the quiet life of Vienna to the adrenaline rush.
Prater was used as a recreational facility in the 18th century, but later cafes and entertainment areas were built, laying the foundations of this amusement park, which people call Wurstelprater. The Giant Ferris Wheel, which can be seen from many parts of the region, is like a ritual in Vienna. The room where you buy the Ferris wheel ticket and wait for your turn is not an empty room, but a small exhibition area where you can see information about the history of the Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel, which was damaged during World War II, was repaired and put back into public service.
The Ferris wheel (Wienerriesenrad) is 65 meters high. It is ideal for watching Vienna from the top of a hill. You can watch both Vienna and the amusement park and see what is going on around you and what kind of buildings are there. The Ferris wheel spins slowly and you take a few turns. Moreover, this Ferris wheel is one of the oldest Ferris wheels in Europe, with a history of over 100 years. Built in 1897, you can experience a bit of nostalgia in the cabins while riding the Ferris wheel. But the price is expensive, 10€. If you have a Vienna Pass card with you, they give you a 1€ discount. Some of the cabins of the Ferris wheel are reserved for special occasions, and you can use these cabins for eating and drinking by paying a high price. You can notice the tables inside the cabins as you tour.
Among the Praterpark activities, another entertainment point we preferred was the water slides. I am always interested in water slides and in Turkey you cannot use them without entering a big amusement park like Ferris wheels. So we took this opportunity and bought a token for the sake of getting wet.
Entrance to the area where Prater Amusement Park is located is free and it is alive 24/7. However, you need to buy tokens / pay a fee for everything you want to ride such as Ferris wheel, bumper cars, slides, swings, water park slides, roller coaster. These are usually open until 22:00. On some special days they may close earlier or later. This can be expensive if you want to ride them all, but if you ride a few of your favorite rides, you will spend less money. Of course, amusement park rides are all different. Usually the rides cost between 4-10€.
In this park, which is a mixture of an amusement park and an amusement park, there is also the Vienna Madame Tussauds Museum, right next to the square. If you want to visit this museum as well, you can buy a combined ticket that includes the Ferris wheel and museum entrance, making the ticket prices a little more affordable.
Where is Prater Amusement Park and how to get there?
To get to Prater Amusement Park, you need to take the U1 and U2 lines by metro, the S1, S2, S3, S5, S6, S7, S9 or S15 lines by train, the 0 or 5 line by tram, the 80A line by bus and get off at the Praterstern stop. You can then walk a few minutes to the square where the Ferris wheel is located.
