Vienna - the Risenrad and fairground at Praterstern

Along with Berlin and London, Vienna was one of the epicentres of the espionage world. It's proximity to Hungary and the Iron Curtain provided a fertile breeding ground for spies, defectors and black marketeers. This was the atmosphere that Graham Green captured perfectly in his classic book "The Third Man". 

The Viennse tourism industry has embraced the movie (recently voted the best British film of all time)and you can now visit the locations and even visit the stinky sewers of Vienna once a week. But, the most famous of the locations is situated in the Prater Park - the giant Riesenrad/Ferris Wheel - which has become a symbol of Vienna. The Volksprater itself is worth a trip out of central Vienna in itself as it provides a welcome break from all that history and gives you a chance to see the Viennese let their hair down and enjoy themselves.

Spy versus spy has always gone on in Vienna. Franz Josef kept a secret police as well as a vast set of informers. But it was only in the Second World war that it really took off as a spy capital. When the Soviets finally took Vienna in 1945 they occupied the city for five years. Under the terms of the German surrender the city was to be divided between the four occupying powers - French, American, Soviet and British - just like Berlin. T

he Aldstadt was to be patrolled between all four and there was much intrigue and suspicion as each security force watched the other. And provided the perfect setting for Graham Greene to set his novel amongst the shadows and rubble of occupied Vienna. Carol Reed's film (with its memorable zither music)is now just as much part of Vienna as the Hofburg or Lippizzaner horses and you can still see the locations. Orson Welles makes his first entrance as Harry Lime from a doorway in Herrengasse, his fake funeral was shot in the Ziefriedhof cemetery and the famous "cuckoo clock speech" (never has Switzerland been more maligned) took place in a carriage in the Ferris wheel at the Prater Park with Joseph Cotten.

To reach the Prater from central Vienna take a tram or U-bahn to Praterstern. The tram can be caught from Schwedenplatz and the advantage of this is that you can clank through the district of Leopoldstadt on its way. The old jewish district is charming with its apartment blocks and old shops. But the area at Praterstern with its tram terminus and U-bahn station is more human then the Aldstadt. You can see the ebb and flow of human life here and is much more gritty with tabaks, bierkellers and kebab shops.

The Risenrad will be seen looming over the surrounding buildings and is the first attraction you will come to when you enter the Volksprater (amusement park). The wheel itself is colossal (65ft high) and costs 80 Austrian schillings (£4/$6.50). There is always a queue and once you have boarded the carriages it takes twenty minutes to clank it's way around. The carriages themselves are 19th century and give expansive views of Vienna all the way to the Wienerwald. 

From this height you can see that the Prater is on an island between the Donau (Danube) and its canal that touches the Aldstadt. From its maximum height you can see all the way to Schonbrunn and its mustard yellow palace. Most tourists are here to recreate the Carol Reed movie. But I remember the Riesenrad from another movie - the James Bond film "The Living Daylights". Now where is that dinner jacket when I need it...

The Volksprater is at its best at night. There the lights, atmosphere and music come together to make a fun place for the Viennese. During the 19th Century it was very fashionable, the royalty and commoner frequenting its attractions. Now the most impressive thing is its size - it is like a miniature city of amusements with tree lined avenues, water-fountains and uncountable bierkellers. 

Back in its heyday crowds used to throng the place and there was an attraction called Lilliputstadt - an entire village populated by midgets. You can get a taste of this mode of thought by the Lilliputbahn, a miniature steam railway which travels around the park. But the Prater's charm is in its traditional attractions such as wurlitzers, dodgem-cars, helter-skelters, rollercoasters,spinning rides, ghost-trains, shooting galleries and a very sad merry-go-round that uses carriages pulled by real miniature horses.

Time slips away in the Volksprater and you will find yourself sitting in a bierkeller, munching on a bratwurst, clutching a stein of bier and watching the world go by. It is without doubt one of the most fun sights in Vienna