The 410-kilometre Alpe Adria Cycle Trail is an unforgettable experience. It starts in Mozart’s home city of Salzburg, and over the course of a week you will travel through the Hohe Tauern National Park in the sunny south, to Carinthia and across the border of Austria to Italy, until you reach the Adriatic Sea.

Alpine landscapes, peaceful villages and a host of sights will accompany you on your journey, while more than 20 tunnels will assist you on your journey, making an Alpine crossing an undertaking that requires a more manageable amount of energy.

Bringing together existing bike paths and creating new sections such as at Werfen in the state of Salzburg or in the Carinthia’s Arnoldstein led to the breakthrough: the Alps, a glorious place people long to visit, can now be discovered by cyclists who do not wish to expend the effort required for steep mountain passes.

In the state of Salzburg, the Alpe Adria Cycle Trail follows existing cycle paths along the River Salzach and the River Gasteiner Ache, while in Carinthia it travels along the River Möll, River Drava and River Gail until it reaches the border with Italy. Well-known lakes such as Millstättersee, Faakersee or Ossiachersee are just a stone’s throw from the cycle path. It is definitely worth stepping off the cycle trail to visit them. On the Italian side, the route from Tarvis leads to the most beautiful cycle route in Europe for cyclists – on the abandoned route of the old Imperial and Royal Railways – and finally via Udine to Grado or Trieste on the Adriatic Sea.

The Ciclovia Alpe-Adria Radweg

Difficulty/terrain. Easy, on the whole the gradients are fairly gentle, but note that, going north to south, there are a couple of short, but relatively steep, climbs between Schwarzach and Bad Gastein in the Austrian section. Going the other way, there’s a fairly tough climb to Mallnitz. You can avoid both by taking the train.

The route is mainly on traffic-free cycleways or quiet roads. However, in the Austrian section, the route between Golling and Werfen is on a main road. Again, this bit can be avoided by taking the train.

The signposting is generally good, but it mainly relies on existing cycle route signs, so it’s a good idea to know the names of the towns along the way as well as the names of the cycle routes along the way.

For the first section of the route, south from Salzburg, the route follows the Tauern Radweg. It also forms part of the eurovelo 7 in Austria.

Options and variations

Most people riding the route head north to south, but there is no reason why you couldn’t go the other way. Bear in mind that there’s a fairly tough climb from Obervellach to Mallnitz.

You don’t need to start at Salzburg. There are several cycleways that meet at the city: you could, for example, follow the Tauernradweg from Braunau am Inn where it connects with the Innradweg.

The Tauernradweg runs from the source of the Salzach at Krimml to Passau on the Donau (Danube). So you could start or finish at Passau (or indeed continue following the Donauradweg.

At Salzburg, the route connects with the Mozart Radweg, a 390-kilometre route in Salzburgerland and Bavaria that you can start and finish in Salzburg. Alternatively, you could use it to continue towards Rosenheim (for example).

The Alpe Adria Cycle Route (Ciclovia Alpe Adria Radweg, hence the acronym CAAR), a cross-border long-distance cycle route linking Salzburg, on the northern side of the Alps, to Grado, a well-known Italian tourist and thermal center, overlooking the Adriatic Sea.

Crossing the Alps by bike is a dream for many cyclists. And thanks to the perfectly prepared Alpe Adria bike path, you don’t even have to be a top athlete to master this tour. In just one week, it takes you from Mozart’s hometown Salzburg in Austria to the Italian Mediterranean Coast. Make your way from the Gastein Valley to Böckstein, where a train takes you to Mallnitz on the other side of the Gamskarlspitze mountain range in just 11 minutes. Out in the open again, the bike path is winding through the Austrian county Carinthia. Once in Italy, you will pass Tarvis, Gemona, Undine and Aquileia on your way to Gardo on the Adriatic shore. Idyllic spots, beautiful tourist sights and impressive landscapes will accompany you on your trip to the South. One thing is for certain: every cyclist deserves a delicious gelato at the end of their trip, as well as a refreshing jump into the Adriatic Sea.

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