Donaustadt (22nd district)

The 22nd district (Donaustadt) is Vienna's largest district by area and the one changing fastest. Around Donau City stands what Vienna has in the way of high-rises.

At 250 meters, the DC Tower is the tallest building in Austria; the Danube Tower next to it is even taller at 252 meters, but much older – built in 1964 for the Vienna International Garden Show, with an observation deck and a revolving restaurant. In clear weather, the view reaches all the way to the Schneeberg.

The UNO-City (Vienna International Centre) is one of the four headquarters of the United Nations and can be visited on a guided tour; don't forget your ID.

The district shows Vienna in transition like no other: Seestadt Aspern in the northeast is one of the largest urban development projects in Europe, built on a former airfield, and is planned to provide homes for 25,000 people. A few kilometers away lies the Lobau, a floodplain forest that is part of the Donau-Auen National Park and home to beavers and white-tailed eagles. In between, the district remains surprisingly rural: the new developments give way to fields, allotment gardens and the Alte Donau (Old Danube), where people swim and sail in summer. All of it can be reached on the U1 or U2.

Getting there: U1 (Kaisermühlen-VIC, Donauinsel, Kagran), U2 (Donaustadtbrücke, Seestadt).