Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
01/877-9294,
www.zoovienna.at
). Nearby are two skippable sights: The
palm house
(Pal-
menhaus;
€4, €6 combo-ticket with desert house, €20 combo-ticket also includes zoo, daily
May-Sept 9:30-18:00, Oct-April 9:30-17:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing) and the
DesertExperienceHouse
(Wüstenhaus;
(€4,samecombo-ticketsandhoursaspalmhouse).
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Coach Museum Wagenburg
TheSchönbrunncoachmuseumisa19th-centurytrafficjamof50impressiveroyalcarriages
and sleighs. Highlights include silly sedan chairs, the death-black hearse carriage (used for
Franz Josef in 1916, and most recently for Empress Zita in 1989), and an extravagantly gil-
ded imperial carriage pulled by eight Cinderella horses. This was rarely used other than for
the coronation of Holy Roman Emperors, when it was disassembled and taken to Frankfurt
for the big event. You'll also get a look at one of Sisi's impossibly narrow-waisted gowns,
and (upstairs) Sisi's “Riding Chapel,” with portraits of her 25 favorite horses.
Cost and Hours:
€6, audioguide-€2, daily April-Oct 9:00-18:00, Nov-March
10:00-16:00, 200 yards from palace, walk through right arch as you face palace, tel. 01/
525-24-3470.
▲
Prater Park (Wiener Prater)
Sincethe1780s,whenthereformistEmperorJosefIIgavehishuntinggroundstothepeople
of Vienna as a public park, this place has been Vienna's playground. For the tourist, the
“Prater” is the sugary-smelling, tired, and sprawling amusement park (Wurstelprater). For
locals, the “Prater” is the vast, adjacent green park with its three-mile-long, tree-lined main
boulevard (Hauptallee). The park still tempts visitors with its huge 220-foot-tall, famous,
and lazy Ferris wheel
(Riesenrad),
roller coaster, bumper cars, Lilliputian railroad, and end-
less eateries. Especially if you're traveling with kids, this is a fun, goofy place to share the
evening with thousands of Viennese.
Cost and Hours:
Rides run May-Sept 9:00-24:00—but quiet after 22:00, March-April
and Oct 10:00-22:00, Nov-Dec 10:00-20:00, grounds always open, U-1: Praterstern,
www.prater.at
.Foralocal-stylefamilydinner,eatatSchweizerhaus(goodfood,greatCzech
Budvar—the original “Budweiser”—beer, classic conviviality).
Inthe1970s,aspartofafloodprotectionprogram,thecitydugachannel(theso-calledNeue
Donau—New Danube) parallel to the Danube River. With the dredged-out dirt, the engin-
eers formed 12-mile-long Danube Island. Originally just an industrial site, it's evolved into
a much-loved idyllic escape from the city (easy U-Bahn access on U-1: Donauinsel).
