Visit the top photo spots for modern architecture in Vienna

Photographers will find an insane amount of photo spots in Vienna. In this blog post I'll cover some better, some lesser, known modern architecture photo spots. For each photo spot, you'll learn where to find it, how to get there, and I'll share some tips on how to photograph them.

Table of Contents

• DC tower 1 is the highest building in Austria
• Modern architecture at Quarter 2
• Library at the University of Economics
• Headquarters of the ÖAMTC, the Austrian automobile association
• District Court of the Inner City of Vienna
• More photo spots in Vienna

DC tower 1 is the highest building in Austria

The DC tower 1 is a skyscraper near the banks of the Danube in the 22nd district of Vienna and as of 2024, it's the highest building in Austria. What makes the DC tower an interesting photo spot is its glass facade and its reflections during slightly clouded skies.

Without any other surrounding buildings, it's also great for fine-art black and white photos with the tower as the main subject towards a blue sky.

You can easily get to the DC tower 1 by taking the metro line U1 and getting off at the stop Donauinsel (Danube island).

I took the above photo back in 2014 using an iPhone 5s and Pro HDR camera app (which has been discontinued).

Modern architecture at Quarter 2

Quarter 2 (german: Viertel zwei) is a neighborhood in the 2nd district of Vienna containing apartments and office buildings. The entire area contains some modern architecture, like the apartment building you can see below. What makes this an interesting photo spot is the artificial lake in the center of the neighborhood, which is great for taking reflection photos.

To get to Quarter 2, take the metro line U2 and get off at Krieau and head towards the ÖMV building. Behind it, you'll find Quarter 2.

The photo is a snapshot taken in 2016 using an iPhone 6s Plus while I headed to an appointment nearby.

Library at the University of Economics

I call this library the spaceship library because the interior somehow looks like a spaceship to me, and it looks intriguing from the outside, too. Note that this is not a public building, and thus you'll need to obtain a photo permit to take photos inside (like I did).

If you're already at the Quarter 2, it will take you only a 5 to 10-minute walk to get to the library.

I took it in 2015 using an iPhone 6 Plus and turned it into a high-key edit. To learn how to turn a photo into a high-key edit, please refer to my tutorial about how to simulate high-key lighting in Lightroom mobile.

Headquarters of the ÖAMTC, the Austrian automobile association

The headquarters of the ÖAMTC is located in the third district of Vienna. It's a ring-shaped structure with a helicopter landing pad on the roof. Personally, I find this photo spot more appealing during the night than during the day. However, during the day you may have the chance to take a photo when the helicopter takes off or lands.

To get this photo spot, take metro line U3 and get off at Erdberg. From there you should already see the building.

I edited this photo using Lightroom mobile, which is one of my recommended iPhone photo editing apps. If you're curious to ready why I use Lightroom mobile, please head to my Lightroom mobile review.

District Court of the Inner City of Vienna

I'm not sure if architecture experts would categorize this building as modern architecture, so I'll leave this to the reader. The building I'm talking about is the district court of the inner city of Vienna. What I found interesting at this photo spot is the contrast of red lower and the blue upper part of the building.

To get to the district court building, take either metro line U3 or U4 and get off at the Station Wien Mitte.

I took the photo using an iPhone Xs in 2019. Unfortunately, you'll encounter many power lines in front of the building, which I removed using Touch Retouch App. You can learn more about this app in my Touch Retouch review and my tutorial about how to remove power lines from a photo on iPhone.

More photo spots in Vienna

As I've mentioned in the introduction, there many interesting photo spots in Vienna. I've published to other articles which highlight photo spots in Vienna at night, photo spots in Vienna for the daytime and some spots I've photographed during the lockdowns in Vienna.