Third Man Tour


Useful Information

Location: Karlsplatz-Girardipark, 1010 Wien.
(48.200877, 16.367617)
Open: MAY to OCT Thu-Sun 10-20.
Tours on the full hour, last tour 19, English Tour 15.
[2023]
Fee: Adults EUR 10, Children (12-18) EUR 5, Students EUR 8.
[2023]
Classification: SubterraneaSewage System
Light: bring electric torch
Dimension:  
Guided tours: MinAge=12, Max=20.
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography: Brigitte Timmermann (2005): The Third Man's Vienna - Celebrating a Film Classic, 310x250mm, Paperback, 420 pages, 620 B/W photographs, ISBN: 3-9502050-1-2, EUR 49,- online
Brigitte Timmermann (2005): Der Dritte Mann - Auf den Spuren eines Filmklassikers, 240x320mm, gebunden, 287 Seiten, über 300 S/W Photos, ISBN: 3-9505050-0-4, EUR 49,- online
Address: Magistrat der Stadt Wien - Wien Kanal, Großmarktstraße 5, 1230 Vienna, Tel: +43-1-4000-3033. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History


Description

The Third Man Tour shows the sewage system and other interesting places of the movie The Third Man. After World War II Vienna was occupied by the allied troops, the city was divided into four sectors, one for each ally. The people were poor and hungry, the war was lost, the black market boomed. The most important goods were food, cigarettes, alcohol, and medical supplies, especially the recently invented penicillin. Anybody who owned something, tried to sell it to survive. Some made a fortune, but the black market was forbidden and dangerous. The sewer was a good place to hide from the police, the entrances are located all around town, hidden in Litfaß colums and buildings.

The movie The Third Man tells a story from this time. Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), an American writer, comes to Vienna to visit his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). He hears that his friend was killed in a car accident, but the circumstances are suspicious. Major Calloway (Trevor Howard), chief of the British Military Police in Vienna, tells him that Harry was mixed up with an illegal penicillin deal. Holly tries to find the third man, the third witness of the accident. He discovers that Harry Lime had faked his death and when he finds him chases him through the sewers of Vienna.

Some parts of the movie were filmed in the sewage system of Vienna. Actually the chase scene through the Vienna sewers is one of the most famous in the history of film. The walk shows many locations from the film and gives a good introduction on how the sewage system of a big city works.

A central part of the sewer is the Wienbach (Vienna Brook), a former river flowing through Vienna. At some point it was covered by roads and buildings, and so it flows completely underground through the city, and is the central tunnel of the sewer. The outflow of the river, the entrance portal Wienflussportal is located at the Stadtpark and the river flows subaerial through a 1.3 km long channel until it meets the Danube. Even if you do not take a tour, you can visit the portal which is located at Baumeisterbrücke 1367, 1010 Wien.

There is another tour of a similar name which does not show the sewage system, only the above ground filming locations. We strongly recommend this tour for this reason. Quite exceptional after Covid-19 is the fact that tickets can only be bought on location at the ticket counter. Nevertheless, it is recommended to make a reservation by phone or online.