Private · exterior only
Josefsplatz, Innere Stadt, Vienna
Palais Pallavicini
Shot here: The Third Man (1949)
48.2074° N / 16.3666° E
Filming location · Prater, Vienna
Wiener Riesenrad
The 1897 Ferris wheel where Harry Lime gave the cuckoo-clock speech, and Jesse and Céline shared their first kiss.
Ticket or tour required48.2166° N / 16.3958° E
Coordinates from published sources · on-site check pending
The scene
What happened at Wiener Riesenrad
In The Third Man, Harry Lime meets Holly Martins in a Riesenrad cabin and delivers his famous cuckoo-clock speech, which Orson Welles is said to have written himself.
In Before Sunrise, Jesse and Céline ride the wheel at sunset, and their first kiss happens in one of its red cabins.
The wheel opened in 1897. After a fire in 1945 it was rebuilt with 15 cabins instead of the original 30.
Then & Now
On location today
The wheel still turns slowly over the Prater amusement park, and the red cabins look just like they do on film.
Line up the shot
Stand at the base looking up with a cabin in the upper third of the frame, or shoot out of a cabin window for the Third Man view.
Field notes from this spot
Add a field notePhotoAugust 20, 2026
“Went just before closing and got a cabin to ourselves. The view back over the Prater on the way down matches the film best.”
Nearby scenes
More in the Vienna guide1.5 mi
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Open set hours
4.9 mi
Open set hours