Vienna's parks are considered to be sights in themselves. If you have a little more time and want to enjoy not only the splendid parks in the center of the city then you really should make a trip to the parks outside the inner city as well. For example, to the idyllic Kurpark Oberlaa, which was built for the Vienna International Garden Show in 1974.

It offers everything you could wish for, from delightful sunbathing meadows with loungers to a petting zoo for children and a skate park for the sportier amongst us. The park's themed gardens are also popular: a flower maze, film location, love garden, and a stepped garden create a unique atmosphere. The Japanese Takasaki Garden brings Far Eastern garden art to Vienna.

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Oasis of sport and quiet

Thousands of roses await you in the Rosarium in Donaupark in the 22nd district, the greenest district in Vienna, with 800,000 m² of green spaces. Today, the park forms a unit with the New Danube recreational area, to which Danube Island also belongs. Here, there is the quaint Donauparkbahn railway, the idyllic Irissee and the Papstwiese at the foot of the Danube Tower, as well as lots of opportunities for sporting activities like free tennis courts, a mini-golf course or chess.

The Korea House of Culture has moved into the long-vacant, yet wonderful lake restaurant by the Iris Lake, which dates to the 1960s when the park was opened. It is open to everyone and additionally has a tea house and library to pass the time in. It also offers courses on calligraphy and many other subjects, and also organizes exhibitions and cookery courses.

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Park enjoyment with panorama

Nature lovers will be delighted by the large leisure world of Türkenschanzpark - where the Turks barricaded themselves against the approaching relief army in 1683 - with its beach volleyball and skating facilities as well as attractive ponds, waterfalls and numerous different kinds of tree.

Here, you can also climb the 89 steps to the 23 meter high Paulinenwarte. The panoramic platform opened by Emperor Franz Joseph I. in 1888 originally also served as a water tower. Today the Paulinenwarte presents a spectacular all-around view. It was named after the Princess Pauline Metternich who donated many exotic plants to the park.

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Modern art in the park

The Schweizergarten is one of the oldest parks in Vienna. After the 1958 World Exposition in Brussels, the Austrian pavilion, a steel construction designed by the architect Karl Schwanzer, was relocated here and opened in 1962 as the Museum of the 20th century. In 2011, the imposing building celebrated its reopening as the Belvedere 21. In the Schweizergarten, a more than 2-meter tall monument has acted since 2010 as a reminder of the Polish composer Frédérik Chopin and his time in Vienna. This diverse park also contains a freely accessible family pool as well as the cozy Viennese cuisine restaurant "Klein Steiermark".