Today we checked out the brand-new Sonnenland nature and adventure park in Vienna’s 11th district! We wanted to see exactly which age groups it’s best for and – more importantly – if it actually lives up to its sunny name, or if you can catch a break in the shade.

Getting There

Let’s start with the biggest “drawback” of this playground: it’s a little out of the way. By public transport, it’s best reached via one of the following stops:

• Bus line 15A (stop “Am Kanal”), from where you’ll need to walk uphill for a short distance, or
• Geiselbergstraße station (S-Bahn, line 11 or 69A), followed by a short walk.

Cyclists often use Werkstättenweg as a connection between the 11th and 10th districts. While the playground itself offers many accessible play features, Werkstättenweg unfortunately cannot really be described as barrier-free:

The footpath is not suitable for wide strollers. If you choose to walk along the road instead, you’ll need to pay close attention to traffic. The best option is to arrive via Geiselbergstraße, as you’ll be able to see approaching cars thanks to the one-way street.

Fortunately, there are plenty of bicycle parking spaces available on site:

A true highlight in terms of inclusion: an accessible communication board with easy-to-understand symbols allows children to communicate without using spoken language. They can simply point to the appropriate symbol – ideal for children who cannot yet speak, have difficulty communicating verbally, speak little German, or are on the non-verbal autism spectrum.

The Different Areas

Here’s an overview of all the areas within the park:

Little Explorers

This area is suitable for children of all ages and also features excellent wheelchair-accessible play equipment:

Musical Instruments

The musical instruments are one of the park’s absolute highlights:

Play and Picnic Lawn

At the rear of the park, a large grassy area invites visitors to relax. Playing football is technically prohibited here… but I assume it’s only a matter of time before the space gets used for it anyway 🙂

Accessible Natural Area

For a sensory experience, there’s also this beautifully designed barefoot trail:

Community Garden

As expected, this area isn’t intended for everyone to enter, but it’s lovely to look at:

Activity Park

The activity park features a huge climbing spider and an excellent motor skills course that provides a fantastic challenge, especially for older children:

A modern calisthenics area for bodyweight training is separated from the motor skills park by fences:

Conclusion: Is There Any Shade in Sonnenland?

Unfortunately, not much around midday. Both the activity park and the toddler area are exposed to direct sunlight. However, there are several huge, mature trees throughout the park that provide wonderful shady spots where you can cool off and relax:

Even so, during the height of summer we recommend visiting in the cooler morning or evening hours—not least because the water play area is rather simple and doesn’t offer much opportunity to cool down.

What the playground does offer is an enormous amount of space and a wide variety of modern play equipment. The absence of traditional swings or slides is probably a deliberate consequence of its strong focus on accessibility. That’s easy to overlook, though, because the incredible variety of innovative climbing structures provides excellent opportunities for children to develop their motor skills, coordination, and physical abilities.

The only minor drawback is that getting here isn’t particularly convenient. Arriving by bicycle is definitely the best option. If you’re coming on foot or by public transport, be prepared for a short—but unfortunately somewhat unpleasant—walk alongside the road.

What do you think about this modern playground? Have you already visited it, or has it just earned a place on your family outing list? Let us know in the comments!