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Leopoldstadt, Vienna — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Leopoldstadt is Vienna's second district, an island between the Donaukanal and the Danube, holding the Prater and the Wiener Riesenrad.
About Leopoldstadt
Where to stay in Leopoldstadt
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
The Prater sets the terms for a stay in the second district. Rooms along the Donaukanal put the middle of Vienna within a walk over the water, while addresses nearer the Wurstelprater trade that for the fairground, the Wiener Riesenrad and open parkland at the door. Families skew that way.
Anyone who wants Madame Tussauds Vienna and the Pratermuseum within a short walk should book on the Prater side, since the canal edge faces the older city instead.
About Leopoldstadt
What are the main landmarks in Leopoldstadt?
The Wiener Riesenrad turns above everything else. Wurstelprater packs the rest of the fairground in around it, Prater Turm, Megablitz, Toboggan, Geisterschloss, Maskerade, Insider and the Ponykarussell all run on the same ground. Madame Tussauds Vienna joins them.
Two small museums, the Pratermuseum and the Circus- und Clownmuseum Wien, hold the fairground's own record, and the Carl Michael Ziehrer monument stands among the trees.
What is the history of Leopoldstadt?
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, gave the district its name. Reclamation in the late 19th century made most of the island, which is why so much of the second district's architecture is younger than the city around it. Mazzesinsel was the other name.
It came from the district's Jewish community before the Holocaust, and that history stood behind the twinning agreed with the New York City borough of Brooklyn in 2007.
Where is Leopoldstadt?
Leopoldstadt shares an island with Brigittenau, ringed by the Donaukanal and, on the north side, the Danube, in the middle of Vienna, Austria.
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More areas in Vienna
Updated September 2026