If you are a film noir fan, then you will know of Orson Welles’ 1949 classic The Third Man. Honestly, I had not heard of it until I was in Vienna where the film was made. I watched it on You Tube and it really is a fantastic film. Being in Vienna and recognizing many of the sites used in the film of course makes it all the more exciting. Below is a trailer for the film which is still showed daily in one of Vienna’s Theaters.

The film showcases a post WWII B&W Vienna in a beautiful gritty style. Many of the locations used in the film are easily visited including Viennas Prater, the massive 64.7 meter Ferris wheel built in 1897 that has become an iconic part of Vienna’s landscape.

Even if you are not interested in the Third Man, a visit to the Prater is well worth it.The Prater is an amazing structure and it offers some of the best views of Vienna from above. If you are interested in following the Third Man around Vienna, there is an organized Third Man Tour. My friend Dan and I did the underground portion of this tour.

Some of the more suspenseful and exciting parts of the movie take place in the underground or sewers of Vienna. On the tour you get to actually travel into the sewers and see the locations used for filming. The tour begins by descending through the man hole cover actually used in the film.

A tour guide then relates to you facts of the sewer system and trivia from the movie. If I spoke Geerman it would have meant a lot more to me however.

I particularly liked the multi-media aspect of the tour. In some locations, they project the scenes from the movie that were filmed in the location you are standing onto the sewer walls.

While you are down there, donm;t forget to say hello to the resident rat.