Way later in our adventure exploring Vienna during the cold December of 2023, we ended up in a less friendly area of the city, on our way to meet the famous Donauturm which we have read about that is one of the landmarks of the city.
This one is known as the tallest structure in Austria measuring a bit over 250 meters in height, but also the 68th tallest tower in the whole world. I know there are skyscrapers which are well-known for heady heights, but there is a big difference between the structure of these and that used for the towers which more or less end up looking quite similar, no matter the region or country they belong to.
However, the Donauturm, also known under the name of The Danube Tower, stands for the city and the Danube River crossing by, and it was built in 1962 with the main purpose of being ready by the time the Viennese International Horticultural Show was taking place but these days it serves more for a lookout point or a place where to hang out, have a drink and/on eat, with a lovely view in front of you.
Sadly, being so popular among tourists made the owners take advantage of this aspect and added a fee of around 20 Euros per person so you can actually get up there and enjoy the view.
Plus, it is quite recommended to reserve a table in the restaurant so you won't face the situation of not "having" enough space to enjoy the view you've paid for.
While this could sound like a pretty good excuse a while ago especially for those who are seeking views with the world on their feet, keep in mind that architectural designs evolved a lot and there are plenty of valleys, hills, parks or buildings where you don't even need to pay to take one of those famous pictures.
Hence why, we refused to pay the expensive ticket for owning one of those pictures that we already had stocked on our phones from some of the previous destinations we had while in Vienna. However, we still wanted to get as close as possible to the tower and see what's everything about.
But here comes the interesting part and why I ended up saying that The Donauturm belongs to one of these less friendly areas where a tourist can end up to. First, we took the metro as it seemed the fastest, most affordable and easiest way to get from A to B, which did a great job leaving us pretty close to the tower.
The surprise instead, came when we went out of the subway and ran into some kind of institution which was surrounded by armored ladies being ready to shoot while having both of their hands on the guns. Right in front of them was some sort of large tree where each branch had one or more pictures hanging of different people that I'm assuming had to do with either people missing or immigrants. However, it was a weird view we tried to get rid of as soon as possible, so we made all the way back to the underground and followed a different exit.
Now I know there wasn't a proper action happening to us, but trust me it's been quite traumatizing not properly understanding what happened. And that contributed a lot to our overall mood which was changed in a blink. Though, we continued our walk until spotting the tower.
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Being already away from urban life and in an open space also made the wind blow a lot more powerful which I know seems just perfect now based on the temperatures Europe is facing lately, but back then it almost paralyzed our already numb bodies.
With that thought, we decided not to approach anymore as we had no intentions to enter the tower anyway and it would be a lot easier to observe from the distance. But from my point of view, and I hope I am not misunderstood, I don't feel like the tower is worth the visit with the purpose of getting a picture with the view only. There is no doubt the tower was a revolving construction in 1960, but for 2024 it doesn't feel enough to pay 20 EUR to get a view over the city.
Obviously, I have no doubt the food and drinks taste differently up there and it's fully worth it, but as a tourist who only seeks lovely views and things to explore, this didn't feel like what I was after, especially since I could enjoy pretty much the same thing at no cost.
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On a side note, all these lovely buildings were just before spotting the tower which I bet you can enter and take an elevator ride for free, but leaving that thought away, now I am wondering if they won't bother the view from the tower as well?
I know the tower is pretty far but since it was raised more than 60 years ago (when obviously large buildings were not a thing), I believe they can bother the view as well. I will leave down below a picture for you to understand better what I am saying.
Source: Wikipedia
The Donauturm is located in Donaustadt, which is the 22nd district of Vienna, located on the Eastern side of the city. In order to reach it you can opt in for the U1 Metro Line that will take you to Alte Donau which is quite close to the tower, and then walk around 20 more minutes until reaching your destination. Taking U6 to the Neue Donau station or going by bus (20A) or a taxi are also a good option in this case.
Other places I've seen during my stay in Vienna:
- The Austrian Parliament Building
- Capuchin Church (Katholische Kapuzinerkirche "Hl. Maria von den Engeln")
- The tour of the Christmas Markets from Vienna, Austria
- Stadtpark
- Shop Windows of Vienna, Austria
- Hundertwasser House (Hundertwasserhaus)
- The Imperial Crypt
- Column of Pest (The Plague Column, Vienna, Austria)
- St. Charles's Church (Karlskirche)
- Schonbrunn Palace
- The Donauturm (Danube Tower)
more coming soon...
Gabriela Travels is the FOUNDER of "Festival Mania" who started this community from the passion of attending various festivals and with the purpose of encouraging more people to explore festivals all around the world and share their experiences. At the same time, Gabriela is an independent Graphic Design Freelancer since 2019 completing over 600+ orders in this time and collaborating with various businesses and people from all over the globe. Additionally, Gabriela has her own corner on the internet since 2017 where she writes various articles for her blog, the most popular being the travel ones (300+ articles written on this field), but also abording other topics as well, like game reviews, movie and series reviews, photography posts, cooking recipes and more, boosting the total number of articles written to 700+ blog posts. Gabriela is also a gamer since she was 11 years old and gaming remains one of her biggest passions along with traveling, editing, cooking, and doing various sports activities.
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