Up to 30 public toilets are being given a high-tech makeover in the next few years. The new generation WC’s will cost 50 cents but will provide users with images of peaceful forests and the sound of birds singing. There will be no need to touch soap dispensers, taps or the flush as they will all be automatic. The toilets will be suitable for disabled people and secure from vandals.

One such facility already exists on the popular Yppenplatz market in the Ottakring district.

Overall the number of public loos in the city will be reduced – from 270 to 150, even though the population of the city is expanding. However, officials say that all loos will be renovated to a high standard, to the tune of €8 million.

Each state-of-the-art toilet will cost between €150,000 and €200,000 and many of them will be cleaned several times a day. Some of them, such as those at the ArbeiterInnenstrand swimming area on the Alte Donau, will be self-cleaning.

“What’s important is that we offer the best experience we can. If I have to choose between a few good toilets or a lot of bad ones, I would opt for the good ones. But the fact remains that we have the most toilet facilities of any megacity in Europe,” Josef Thon, head of the MA48 told the ORF programme Wien heute.

Maybe Paris could learn a thing or two from Vienna – toilets in the French capital are notorious for being below par.