A view from the centre
Most Vienna viewpoints are on the edges; this is directly above the museum quarter.
Manfred Werner (Tsui) — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gugerell — CC0 · MuseumsQuartier Wien, Foto: Thomas Meyer Photography — CC BY-SA 4.0 · MuseumsQuartier Wien, Foto: Thomas Meyer Photography — CC BY-SA 4.0
A viewing platform on the roof of the Leopold Museum in Vienna's MuseumsQuartier, opened in 2020, free to enter. The name means dragonfly in German, a reference to the shape of the glass structure added on the roof. The view is unusual because it is from the inside: you are in central Vienna above the museum quarter, looking over the city's roofs, the domes of the natural history and art museums and the Ring's buildings, with the tower of St Stephen's cathedral rising in the distance. Most of Vienna's other viewpoints are on the edges; this one is at the heart. What makes it more distinctive still is that it is entirely free in a city where every view costs, and that it is a public space to sit in rather than merely a photograph balcony. Access is by lift from inside the MuseumsQuartier, and the platform keeps hours and may close in strong wind or bad weather. The MuseumsQuartier itself is among Vienna's important complexes: wide courtyards with coloured benches people sit on for free, museums and cafés, and among the liveliest places in the city in the evening.
Most Vienna viewpoints are on the edges; this is directly above the museum quarter.
The natural history and art museums before you, with St Stephen's tower beyond.
Free public coloured benches — among Vienna's liveliest places in the evening.
On the roof of the Leopold Museum, MuseumsQuartier
This is among the best in the centre. Beyond it are the university library roof and some elevated cafés. Paid options include St Stephen's tower and the Danube Tower, but for a free central view this platform is the choice.
A cultural complex in what were imperial stables, holding the Leopold Museum with the world's largest Egon Schiele collection, the mumok modern art museum, exhibition halls and theatres. The courtyards between them are public and free, and their coloured benches are an emblem of contemporary Vienna.
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