Prater

Vienna's Prater combines two contrasting worlds: the Wurstelprater, a traditional pleasure ground with funfair rides and Würstelstände, and the Grüner Prater, a sprawling riparian forest threaded with long, tree-lined avenues. Emperor Joseph II opened what had been an imperial hunting ground to the public in 1766, an unusually democratic gesture that made the Prater Vienna's first public park. The Riesenrad Ferris wheel, built in 1897 to mark Emperor Franz Joseph's 50th jubilee, was badly damaged in World War II but rebuilt faithfully as a symbol of the city, still rising 64.75 metres above the fairground. The Hauptallee draws cyclists and joggers for kilometres into the forest, where floodplain ecology and hidden riding trails feel worlds away from the neon-lit amusement strip just minutes back.

Public since 1766, with the Ferris wheel, the Kaiserwiese meadow and a 6 km main avenue for walks.