Vienna Before Sunrise Audio Walking Tour
An unofficial Before Sunrise walk from the steps of Maria am Gestade past the poet's canal, Spittelberg and Café Sperl to the Albertina terrace.
- 8 stops and 19 minutes of stories, told as you reach each place
- The intro and stop 1 are free in the app: try before you buy
- Download before you go; the audio plays without signal (the street map needs a connection)
- Walking with friends? Pick 1 to 10 seats; everyone hears each stop on their own phone, at the same moment
30 seconds of the real narration
Plays in the free Walk With Me app on iPhone and Android.
Where the story happens
Each stop, the moment of the story it belongs to, and what is there today.
| Stop | In the story | Today |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Maria am Gestade | Evening: Jesse and Céline climb the steps; the church interior was shot in another church. | The Marienstiege and Maria am Gestade, Gothic from the 1300s and 1400s; the steps also appear in The Third Man. |
| 2. Danube Canal (the poet) | A street poet writes them a poem from the word milkshake. | Otto Wagner's Schützenhaus, a restaurant since 2011; the steps now have a railing. |
| 3. Mölker Steig | No big scene: a night stroll through the old streets after the pinball bar. | A stepped lane down from the Mölkerbastei, with the Third Man doorway at the bottom. |
| 4. Maria-Theresien-Platz | Flashback to the afternoon: a stroll between the museums, past a fountain. | Zumbusch's Maria Theresa monument, unveiled in 1888, between the two museums. |
| 5. Spittelberg | Late at night: a belly dancer outside number 18, then a long talk in a small alley. | Lived-in lanes with bars on the ground floors; keep voices low after dark. |
| 6. Teuchtler record shop | Flashback: a listening booth and one song, in a shop the film calls Alt und Neu. | Teuchtler still sells records; the booth is gone and film posters hang where it stood. |
| 7. Café Sperl | Each pretends to phone a friend and talks about the other one, sitting right there. | A classic coffee house, closed on Sundays in July and August. |
| 8. Albertina terrace | Late night at the balustrade, then the last minutes near dawn below the Albrecht statue. | The Albrechtsrampe, with Zumbusch's Archduke Albrecht (1899) and the Danubius fountain (1869). |
About this tour
Before Sunrise is a film about walking, and you only get it on foot. The stops matter less than the stretches between them: the time on the steps, along the canal, through the lanes, where Jesse and Céline do all their real talking. Walking it shows you how small the distances are when you're busy talking. Take someone you'd like to know better. If you're walking it alone, open the Walk With Me live map and see who else is out walking the city tonight.
The route
6 km in walking order from Maria am Gestade to Albertina terrace. Stop 1 is free in the app.
- 1Maria am GestadeA steep stair up to a Gothic church with a filigree stone crown, where the evening begins and the inside shots hide a secret.Free in the app
- 2Danube Canal (the poet)Otto Wagner's little weir house on the canal bank, where a street poet takes one unlikely word, and a common mix-up about the river.
- 3Mölker SteigA stepped lane off the old bastion where nothing much happens on screen, and the real night in Philadelphia that started it all.
- 4Maria-Theresien-PlatzThe garden square between two great museums, a flashback to the afternoon, and a fountain the guides cannot agree on.
- 5SpittelbergNarrow Biedermeier lanes of bars and old houses, a belly dancer's doorway, and a tiny passage that returns when the film reaches dawn.
- 6Teuchtler record shopA family record shop trading since 1948, renamed on screen, and what became of the listening booth where two strangers shared one song.
- 7Café SperlA coffee house founded in 1880, where the pair play their cleverest game, one you are invited to try yourselves.
- 8Albertina terraceThe raised terrace before the Albertina, looking toward the Opera, where the night runs out and a quieter real story closes the walk.
Before you go
- The walking adds up to about 85 minutes, but give it two and a half hours, because the point is to dawdle.
- Start in the late afternoon and the second half falls after dark, as it does in the film.
- Schwedenplatz, on the U1 and U4, is a short walk from the first stop, and Karlsplatz and Oper, on the U1, U2 and U4, are right beside the last.
- There are steps: the steep flight up to the church, the stepped lane of Mölker Steig, the steps by the canal, and the terrace at the end.
- The record shop is closed on Sundays and its listed weekday hours vary from source to source, so check before you go if you want to step inside.
Questions
How long does it really take?
1 h 25 of walking plus 19 minutes of stories, so plan for about 1 h 44 with stops.
Are the Prater wheel and the station on the route?
No. The Westbahnhof, the Zollamtssteg footbridge, the Riesenrad, the Cemetery of the Nameless, Kleines Café and the Arena bar are all away from this line. You hear their scenes as you walk, and they make good detours for another day.
Can I go into the record shop?
Yes, when it is open: Teuchtler still trades, though the listening booth from the film is gone. It is closed on Sundays, and its weekday hours differ from source to source, so check first.
Is this an official film tour?
No. It is an unofficial walk, not made with or endorsed by the filmmakers or the studio.
Cheaper in a bundle
Toilets and water
10 toilets near the route, 5 free30 drinking fountains
Photos: Ksardari / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 at.