The Third Man Vienna Sewers Tour
It looks like nothing so much as a giant metal maw just waiting to swallow unsuspecting tourists. This is the entrance to the Vienna Sewers.
This is one of those rare instance where I recommend finding a tour. These sewers are closed to the public otherwise, and the one report of a tourist breaking that rule ended with significant injury and near death. Don’t be that guy!
The Vienna Sewers tour is based primarily around the movie ‘The Third Man’, in which Orson Welles runs amuck all through Vienna being chased by police and…. well, I don’t know what else. I’ve never actually seen it. I do know, though, that given the opportunity to tag along on a walk through the Vienna Sewers I was willing to grab at whatever flimsy pretext it was based on for justification!
The area that the tour visits is actually quite a small portion of the 1,500 miles of sewer that stretch underneath the city. Luckily for me, though, that small portion is mostly free of human waste – quite a relief for the sense of smell (and the friends I was meeting up with after, to be sure!).
Over the course of the forty five minute tour, there are several videos projected onto the Sewer Walls. Some detail the modern workings of the sewer system and others show scenes of ‘The Third Man’, and while they weren’t anything terribly memorable they did work to add a bit of context to the experience.
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I visited Vienna on this last trip primarily to work with GetYourGuide as a photographer. Their Third Man Tour hits most of the important locations from the movie, but for the sewers specifically you’ll need to contact the Sewer Authority directly for the Third Man Vienna Sewers tour. Sewer tours run Thursday to Sunday from May through October, at €7 for an adult or €5.5 for Vienna Card holders.
I would recommend the experience to anybody with a keen sense of wanting to explore an offbeat side of the city or big fans of the film.
My question is why would tourist need or want to go there??
To explore, of course!
I was telling Roxanne about this piece & she seemed to know all about it & what a wonderful piece of work it is. Mark Jr. would like to go there. I did not know it was a famous place but I still do not wish to go. It’s too far to walk. (:)
Mary says she saw the glow of feces in one of the pics. lol lol lol
That… is gross. Tell Mark Jr he would enjoy it though!
“This is one of those rare instance where I recommend finding a tour.” -alternatively just flush yourself down the toilet and see the sights for free!
Gross, but clever!