Donauturm

Vienna's Donauturm climbs 252 metres out of the Donaupark, one of the city's largest parks. That height makes it the tallest free-standing structure in Austria. Hannes Lintl and Robert Krapfenbauer designed it as an attraction for the 1964 Vienna International Garden Show. It opened in April of that year, financed chiefly by the Zentralsparkasse with backing from the Schwechat brewery.

Two high-speed lifts carry up to fourteen passengers to the viewing platform at 150 metres in about thirty-five seconds. When the wind picks up, they slow down for safety. A second platform sits five metres higher, and both give a 360-degree panorama across the city and the Danube. If the weather turns, a glazed indoor terrace keeps the elements at bay. Higher still, two restaurants rotate full circle. The Turm-Restaurant, at about 169 metres, leans towards upscale dining, while the Turm-Café at 161 sticks to coffee, pastries and warm dishes. A complete turn lasts between 26 and 52 minutes, so a leisurely meal sees the whole city. The kitchens cook seasonally, reinterpreting Danube-region classics with local products. For a faster way down, the highest slide in Europe takes you from 165 metres to the viewing level. Back at ground level, the Donaubräu pours a beer brewed specially for the tower.

The tower borrows design features from the Stuttgart Fernsehturm, although television was never among its duties. Instead, the spire carries antennas for mobile networks and private radio stations. Vienna's main television transmitter stands on the Kahlenberg hill. Apart from emergencies and special events such as the annual Donauturm run, the several hundred steps stay shut. And whatever you get up to in Vienna, the tower stays visible from far away, ready to tell you where you are.