Salzburg to Vienna

Austria, Germany Bike Tour

From Mozart’s Town to the Historic Capital of the Hapsburg Empire

This tour through scenic Austria combines two of the country's most exciting cities. Starting in Salzburg, where the famous music festival is annually held (late-July to late-August), the bike route follows the Salzach, Inn and Danube Rivers past towering cathedrals to finally finish in the capital city Vienna. Even the briefest of strolls through Salzburg is enough to reveal its prevailing Baroque architecture, of which the Hohensalzburg Fortress is a good example as well as the Residenz and Mirabell Palace. West from Salzburg is the province of Upper Austria, which contains the beautiful lake region of Salzkammergut. This striking landscape of sparkling lakes and romantic mountains is also home to the venerable monasteries of St. Florian and Lambach.

With the famous bend of the Danube at Schlögen, your journey continues to the provincial capital of Linz. Its charming historical center of Renaissance houses also boasts the richly-decorated Baroque Alter Dom (from 1678), which contains immaculately carved choir stalls! From the Land of Lakes, you will next head east to the country's largest wine producing province, Lower Austria. Stretching from Melk to Krems, the Wachau Valley offers an enchanting landscape of apricot orchards and tree-lined avenues that are almost as well known and inviting as the region's fruity wines.

And finally, the last night of the tour will be spent in Vienna, the capital city whose glorious history and old roots as a monarchy reveal themselves around every corner. Some of the city’s greatest highlights include the St. Stephen’s Cathedral (located in the heart of the city), Belvedere Palace (of Baroque style with delightful gardens and magnificent views), Schönbrunn Palace (of Rococo style with great gardens), and the Hofburg Palace (the residence of Hapsburg emperors). And of course one of the best highlights of the city is the delectable Viennese cuisine: from Wiener schnitzel and Tafelspitz served with Gerösteten Kartoffeln, Apfelkren and Schnittlauchsauce to its many great pastries: Apfelstrudel and Palatschinken, you will feast and feast!!!!

Where You’ll Stay

Very nice 3 star to 4 star hotels; rooms have private facilities.

What’s Included

• 8 night hotel accommodations
• Breakfasts
• 21-speed hybrid bicycle
• Luggage transportation
• Route descriptions & maps
• Service hotline

What’s Not Included

• Train transfer Krems-Vienna on Day 8, ± €12

Tour Dates

• Daily from May 1 to October 15, 2012.

Skill Level

Easy self-guided hotel tour with average distances of about 35 miles a day over a level landscape, which generally follows the flow of the Danube River.

Day-To-Day Itinerary

1. Arrival in Salzburg.
2. Salzburg – Burghausen, 34 mi.
3. Burghausen – Schärding, 42 mi.
4. Schärding – Schlögen, 36 mi.
5. Schlögen – Linz, 33 mi.
6. Linz – Grein/Ardagger, 40 mi.
7. Grein/Ardagger – Melk/Emmersdorf, 34 mi.
8. Melk/Emmersdorf – Krems, 25 mi. Train to Vienna.
9. Departure from Vienna.

DAY 1: Arrival in Salzburg
Individual arrival in Salzburg with the rest of the day free to explore this rich city.

DAY 2: Salzburg – Burghausen, 34 miles (55 km)
After adjusting the bicycles to our personal preference, we will leave the Festspiele city of Salzburg and take the path along the bank of the Salzach River to the village of Oberndorf. It was here that the Christmas carol “Silent Night, Holy Night” was written back in 1818, as the little “Silent Night Chapel” will remind us. During the afternoon, we’ll reach our destination for the day: Burghausen. Burghausen is home of the longest castle buildings within Europe. A guided tour will acquaint us with the history and development of the town and castle.

DAY 3: Burghausen – Schärding, 42 miles (68 km)
After a cycling journey through the largest wooded region of the Inn district – Weilhart Forest – we’ll come upon the Inn-Salzach vista, where the Salzach River flows into the Inn. Next, we’ll pass through Braunau to finally reach the town of Obernberg, a thousand-year-old village with an extremely beautiful market square. Not long after that, we will arrive at Reichersberg Abbey, where the Augustine canons have lived for more than 900 years. From Reichersberg, it is only another 17 km or 11 miles to Schärding, where our hotel lies.

DAY 4: Schärding – Schlögen, 36 miles (59 km)
Leisurely, we’ll take our leave of the beautiful baroque town of Schärding with its enchanting ‘Silberzeile’ and ride via Wernstein along the Inn again to the diocesan town of Passau, which once enjoyed great prestige. The guided tour through the cathedral square is crowned by an organ concert played on the largest church organ in the world. The Inn and the Ilz flow into the Danube at Passau, which is why the town is also known as the ‘three rivers town’. Next, we’ll follow the Danube past Engelhartszell to our hotel in the upper Danube valley.

DAY 5: Schlögen – Linz, 33 miles (54 km)
Around the Schlögen-Danube loop, our journey today will take us through some of the most scenic countryside into Aschach and on to the Wilhering Abbey. Once we’ve passed through Ottensheim, we’ll enter into Linz, the capital of Upper Austria.

DAY 6: Linz – Grein/Ardagger, 40 miles (65 km)
Past an industrial area, we’ll leave Linz behind and upon reaching Asten Danube power station, we’ll steer our wheels towards the inner parts of the country as well as Mauthausen, where the Danube will again guide us as far as the next power station in Wallsee. Next is a trek through the fertile Machland region to Grein, where a guided tour will acquaint us with the old bargee town that also is home to the oldest municipal theatre still playing.

DAY 7: Grein/Ardagger – Melk/Emmersdorf, 34 miles (55 km)
At Persenbeug, we will come into the Nibelungengau, a new stretch of the Danube at the end of the Strudengau. Past Marbach, the pilgrimage center of Maria Taferl will greet us from the hills, and after passing the Danube power station, we’ll arrive in Melk, where there is the option of touring the famous monastery.

DAY 8: Melk/Emmersdorf – Krems – Vienna, 25 miles (40 km) by bike, train journey
Today will take us through the beautiful Wachau region, well known for its choice wines. Then, we’ll continue scenically through Spitz and Weißenkirchen. The best known town in the Wachau is Dürnstein, where Richard the Lion Heart was once taken captive. The destination of this cycling trip is Krems, where we shall hand over our bicycles and travel the rest of the way to Vienna by train. (This transfer is not included and costs about $20 p.p.)

DAY 9: Vienna
Departure following breakfast.

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