World Travel Guide

City Guide  - Vienna  - Sport
Sport

Vienna, with its coffee and cakes, does not appear to be a very sporty city, and to a certain extent this is true. Most of the sports in which the residents partake are outside the city. World-class skiing is available in the Alps a couple of hours away. There are fantastic opportunities for hiking and mountain biking in the woods to the west of the city. Cycling can be dangerous on some of the roads though, as they are narrow and twisting in the mountains and the Austrians like to take them at speed. There are also good lakes for sailing and other watersports throughout much of the country.

Within Vienna itself, however, there are ample bathing spots along the Danube and the Old Danube (near the UNO-City), and the car-free Donauinsel (Danube Island) provides one long cycling and roller-blading track. There is a skating rink, the Wiener Eislaufverein, within a 20 minute walk southeast of the cathedral, just outside the Am Stadtpark. The rink hires skates and is open between late October and early March, it gets especially crowded at weekends.

In terms of spectator sports, Vienna has two Max Bundesliga (Premier League) teams: SK Rapid Wien, who have been wearing their green strip for a century, finished second in the league in 1999; whereas FK Austria Memphis (formerly FK Austria Wien) did not have such a good year. The teams play at Gerhard Hanappi Stadion and Franz-Horr-Stadion respectively.

Golf: The nearest 18 hole golf course is the Wien Golf Club, Freudenau 65A, (tel: (0222) 728 9564). A round of golf costs öS800. There are also a number of courses outside the city in all geographical directions.

Leisure centres: While there are a number of spas in the area surrounding Vienna, Thermalbad Oberlaa, Kurbadstrasse 14 (tel: (01) 6800 99600) is located in the tenth district of the city. It offers two indoor and two outdoor swimming pools, sauna, solarium, massage and a light-and-sound relaxation bath. Prices start at öS105 for two hours. To get there, take the U1 to Reumannplatz, then tram 67 to its end terminal. The adjacent Wellness Park Oberlaa offers tennis, squash, badminton and fitness and aerobics facilities.

On the other side of the city, the Sportanlage Marco Polo, Ruthnergasse 170, 21st district (tel: (01) 292 3589), offers everything from a six-hole golf course and putting green to tennis, squash, a fitness centre and a sauna, with most facilities open 0800-2300. A day membership starts at öS90 and access to everything costs öS500. Transport is by bus 32A or 36A, but first-time visitors may find it easier to take a taxi from Florisdorf station on the S-Bahn and U6 U-Bahn lines.

Tennis: Tennisplätze Arsenal offers 57 outdoor courts and eight indoor courts between their three locations. The most convenient is at Arsenalstrasse 3 (tel: (01) 799 0101), in the third district near the Südbahnhof rail station. The cost is öS160 before 1600, öS220 after 1600.



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