{"id":62196,"date":"2023-07-31T06:02:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T05:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=62196"},"modified":"2026-01-26T15:10:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T14:10:19","slug":"third-man-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/third-man-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"The Third Man tour"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantoursmall.jpg\" alt=\"Part of a The Third Man tour poster\" class=\"wp-image-62195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantoursmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantoursmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Vienna sewers offer an unexpected chance to relive a piece of cinematic history. The Third Man Tour lets you follow in the actual underground footsteps of Harry Lime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Lovely little tour with anecdotes &amp; humour<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Also learn about modern sewage management<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Run by the municipal sewer authorities<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Very authentic feeling down below<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Season runs from May to October<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a two-hour <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-walking-tours-l205287\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_WalkingTours\" rel=\"sponsored\">walking tour<\/a>* for Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/transport\/tours-overview\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"59926\">Tours in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/third-man-locations\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"31222\">Third Man movie locations<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/third-man-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"60290\">Third Man museum<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/weather\/how-to-keep-cool\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"74122\">How to keep cool<\/a> in Vienna<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chasing Harry Lime<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantour2.jpg\" alt=\"Steps leading down into the sewer\" class=\"wp-image-62193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantour2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantour2-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Guess who ran down these steps?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The movies have given us a fair few iconic sequences. And one of them plays out in the sewers of post-WWII Vienna: Harry Lime&#8217;s desperate attempt to avoid his pursuers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/third-man-locations\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"31222\">near the end of<\/a> <em>The Third Man<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The screen fills with tunnels and tension, distant echoes, dark shadows, and rushing water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amazingly, they produced this extended scene using clever editing and just two rather atmospheric locations down in the local sewer system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over 70 years later, and you can visit both places on the Third Man tour offered by Vienna&#8217;s own Wien Kanal sewer authorities, who manage just under 2,500km of city sewers.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantour1.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the Vienna sewers\" class=\"wp-image-62192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantour1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantour1-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(J\u00fcrgen Czernohorszky, city councillor responsible for climate issues, is taken on the Third Man Tour. The overflow area is instantly recognisable from the movie sequence; press photo \u00a9 PID\/VOTAVA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tour begins at the very same entrance Harry Lime dropped into. At the bottom, the sewer team guide explains some of the work of today&#8217;s sewer management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Very short walks down more steps and along tunnels then take you to the two actual film locations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, the <strong>overflow chamber<\/strong>, where a film projected onto the wall reveals various TV and film productions shot in that very place<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You move around the same walkways the actors used, and the location feels unchanged since Harry Lime teetered along the edges of the overflow. Close your eyes and you can almost hear the calls of the police.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/sachertorteriverwien.jpg\" alt=\"The River Wien\" class=\"wp-image-58235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/sachertorteriverwien.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/sachertorteriverwien-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Where the Wienfluss emerges at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/stadtpark\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3254\">Stadtpark<\/a>; you stand about a kilometer further down the tunnel on the tour)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, the <strong>Wienfluss<\/strong> (River Wien) where it runs underground, home to the wide, open tunnel scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is history made real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Quite apart from the Third Man connection, you find yourself in a giant broad underground channel and cavern with tall ceilings, the river walled over some 1km in each direction. And all built well over 100 years ago. Little thuds and echoes add a certain frisson to the experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tour lasts around 45 minutes and is really quite fun. The sewer team throw out a host of anecdotes laced with plenty of Viennese humour.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantour4.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of the building work to enclose the River Wien around 1900\" class=\"wp-image-62299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantour4.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantour4-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Regulation of the Wienfluss on Karlsplatz around 1900, photographed by Verlag resp. k. u. k. Universit\u00e4tsbuchhandlung R. Lechner (Wilh. M\u00fcller), produced by Verlag d. Vereines v. gold. Kreuze. with Josef L\u00f6wy as reproduction technician and Friedrich Jasper as printer; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 231173; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contrary to expectations, the smell&#8217;s not that bad, either. Not particularly fragrant at times, but the sewers involve plenty of natural water so it&#8217;s little worse than a somewhat stale basement. And the Wienfluss channel, for example, is a waterway, so perfectly clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You don&#8217;t do too much walking: just steps up and down and along short, flat walkway areas and tunnels. These can be a touch damp with one or two darker areas (you wear a hard hat with a lamp, but I didn&#8217;t need the latter).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check the safety precautions and house rules, of course, before taking the tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tickets and tips<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantour3.jpg\" alt=\"Third Man tour sign in German\" class=\"wp-image-62194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantour3.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/thirdmantour3-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The meeting point is clearly marked)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2026, tours take place from May 1st to October 31st, Thursdays to Sundays, with the English-language tour at 3pm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You buy your ticket at the kiosk near the tour entrance (\u20ac18 for a full-price adult at the time of writing and well worth it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, reserve a place in advance: tour slots fill up, and you may well be disappointed if you try to get in on the day. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drittemanntour.at\/\">official website<\/a> has an online tool which gets you a reservation number and email you can show at the kiosk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tour actually makes a splendid option in hot weather, given the cool temperatures below ground. For other tips on avoiding summer heat, check <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/weather\/how-to-keep-cool\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"74122\">this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vienna provided almost all the settings for The Third Man, of course. I have an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/third-man-locations\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"31222\">extensive location guide<\/a> (with photos) should you wish to see more than the sewers. And we have the lovely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/third-man-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"60290\">Third Man museum<\/a>, too, with its myriads of memorabilia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tour also starts close to a couple of other attractions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/secession\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2119\">Secession art gallery<\/a> with its remarkable building and Klimt&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/beethoven-frieze\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4819\">Beethovenfries<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/strauss-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"22944\">Johann Strauss Museum<\/a> with its immersive biographical exhibition<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get there<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The tour start and ticket counter are at the northwest corner of the small Girardi park that adjoins Karlsplatz. Look for the large red &#8220;3. Mann Tour&#8221; lettering opposite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/cafespubsbars\/cafe-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"7679\">Caf\u00e9 Museum<\/a> (one of Vienna&#8217;s traditional coffee houses).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By coincidence, the park is named after an actor: Alexander Girardi (1850-1918) performed both on film and stage. His statue lies close to the tour start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Karlsplatz is easy to reach on the edge of the old town and a quick walk from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/opera\/staatsoper\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1071\">State Opera House<\/a>, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subway: a stop on the U1, U2 and U4 lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tram: the Oper\/Karlsplatz tram stop has the D, 1, 2, 71 and 62 tram lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Girardipark, Karlsplatz, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1NMqkks0X31kXFcGlJhOYbfticeDu8Nk4\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Visit the original locations used for the sewer sequence on an official municipal tour<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-62196","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-songsfilms","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62196"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88244,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62196\/revisions\/88244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}