Danube Canal Sightseeing Cruise with 2-Course Lunch Vienna

Schwedenplatz and the Danube Canal

The Danube Canal is a former side arm of the Danube that curves for about 17 kilometres around the north-east edge of Vienna's Old Town. It was regulated in the nineteenth century to protect the city from floods, and today its stone embankments are lined with promenades, cycle paths, summer lounges and some of the most colourful street art in Europe. Schwedenplatz, the starting point of this Danube Canal cruise, sits just a few minutes on foot from St Stephen's Cathedral.

From the water you see Vienna from an angle most visitors never get: elegant apartment blocks from the turn of the twentieth century, bridges of iron and stone, and the green slopes of the Leopoldstadt district on the far bank. People often ask how to get to Schwedenplatz pier: take metro line U1 or U4 to Schwedenplatz and walk down to the riverside at Franz-Josefs-Kai.

Urania observatory and the Ringturm

Where the small Wien river flows into the canal stands the Urania, opened in 1910 as a people's education centre with a public observatory under its copper dome. Its pale Art Nouveau facade and corner tower make it one of the most photographed buildings on the canal, and it still hosts talks, a cinema and stargazing evenings.

A little upstream rises the Ringturm, built in the 1950s as one of the first high-rise buildings of post-war Vienna. On its roof a tall light column changes colour to announce the weather forecast for the next day, a small Viennese tradition your host may point out. Seen together from the boat, the two buildings tell the story of the city's modern growth along the water.

Rossauer barracks and the Art Nouveau Schützenhaus

The Rossauer barracks, built in the 1860s in red brick with towers and battlements, look more like a castle than a military building. They were raised after the revolution of 1848 to guard the city, and today they house Austria's Ministry of Defence. The long facade along the canal is one of the most striking views of this Vienna boat tour.

Further along, the small Schützenhaus, designed in 1906 for the control of a planned lock on the canal, is a jewel of Viennese Art Nouveau, faced with blue and white tiles and granite. The lock was never completed, but the building survives as a reminder of the city's grand plans for its waterways, and it is easiest to admire from the deck of a boat.

The main Danube

On the full 3.5-hour route the boat leaves the canal for the main Danube, the broad river that was straightened in the 1870s to protect Vienna from flooding. Here the city opens up: the long green strip of Danube Island, built as a flood barrier and now a huge recreation area, the glass towers of the Donau City district and the slender Danube Tower rising above the trees of Danube Park.

This part of the cruise is calmer and wider, a good moment to enjoy your main course while the scenery slides past. It is the main reason to choose the longer option rather than the 2-hour Route A, which stays closer to the canal. The best time for this Danube boat trip in Vienna is late spring to early autumn, when the riverbanks are green and busy.

The 2-course lunch on board

Lunch is freshly prepared on board and changes with the seasons. You choose a starter or a dessert plus one of two main courses. On the autumn and winter menu that means pumpkin cream soup or Kaiserschmarrn, the fluffy shredded pancake with plum compote, followed by beef ragout with herb dumplings or cheese spaetzle with fried onions; vegetarian choices are always available.

In the warmer months the menu may offer beef broth with vegetable dumplings or strawberry ice cream with ladyfingers, then grilled chicken fillet or vegetable patties with tzatziki and salad. Drinks are not included and can be ordered on board. Eating with a view of the city is what makes this lunch cruise in Vienna different from a simple sightseeing boat.