Vienna Panorama

Enjoy The View Before It’s Gone

Guest Blog by Geoff Moore, The Travel Trunk

Vienna Panorama. There are many classic views around Vienna: that of St Stephen’s Cathedral from the junction of Graben and Kärntner Strasse; the view of the Hofburg Palace from the far end of Graben; the view of the city itself from the top of the Riesenrad at Prater; and from the hill of Kahlenberg that represents in fact the end of the Alps, or the beginning, depending on your point of view.

These viewpoints have been there for decades, hundreds or even millions of years but there is one temporary viewpoint in the city that I do recommend you visit before it is gone for good.

Bahnorama: Europe’s Highest Accessible Wooden Tower

The intriguingly named Bahnorama, a play on words for the German name for railway station, allows a Vienna panorama during the building of a huge new railway station, business and residential community. This is one of the largest building projects in Europe. It will put Vienna in a key position as its new station Hauptbahnhof Wien will provide wonderful railway connections across all of the new and expanded Europe. (Read more on trains to Vienna.)

This temporary 60-metre-high viewing platform and information building does allow for some great views over the city from a place that will never be repeated after the construction of Vienna’s newest community is completed in 2015.

What Will You See?

Costing just EUR 2.50 a trip in the semi-circular glass lift to the top gives perfect views of the new station coming on plus the offices, shops and residential buildings that will surround this major European transport link. But even more you can see a Vienna panorama of the principal buildings around the city from a place unimaginable before construction started a few years ago.

The idea of this tower is, I think, very clever: Often you can see construction of major buildings through glazed panels in screening fences but only on the ground. However, here you get a bird’s eye view down on the work and even an eye-to-eye view with some of the tower crane operators.

As well as the open viewing deck the complex operates a café, an information desk with one floor dedicated to provide a whole range of facts about the project, with films and many interactive displays, plus you can even buy t-shirts and souvenirs of the Bahnorama itself. I suppose these will become collectors items in years to come, when you can say, yes I went up the viewing tower back in 2014 or 2015!

Is The Bahnorama Panorama Worth It?

The EUR 2.50 is worth it for a chance to view this amazing city from a really unusual viewpoint.

There are time restrictions on the platform and at busy times a short wait for the ride to the top may occur. Even so, do take the chance to get a new view on such a lovely old – and around the Bahnorama very new – city…when it’s gone it’s gone!

by Geoff Moore, The Travel Trunk