AUSTRIA and south eastern Bavaria tour.

Headed out from Salzburg, tracking the Danube River to Vienna then on to the Alpine Regions including Graz, the Ziller Valley and Innsbuck

Photo shows: INNSBRUCK - Ambras Palace

HOW TO GET THERE

This is a circular tour, and you could start it from any point. We did it in a car with a towed caravan, entering via Salzburg and exiting back into Germany from Innsbruck. If you’re following the whole circle route you will return from Innsbruck to Salzburg. There are suggestions at the end on campsites to visit the various points on the circle, but you may want to plan alternative accommodation venues and types. If you’re travelling from Northern Europe by land there are suggestions for routes across Germany into Austria in the separate posts on this blog on Croatia/Slovenia or Germany’s Romantic Road.

ROUTE:

SALZBURG/S.E. Germany(Bavaria)

Take Salzburg as your starting point and you will not only get to sample the delights of this classic Austrian city, but you will also be within close range of the beautiful area in the southeastern corner of Bavaria, just over the German border. We chose to stay in Bad Reichenhall, near to Berchtesgaden, and commuted into Salzburg from there before continuing on the circle tour of Austria.

Berchtesgaden is an attractive town, and close by is the scenic lake at Konigsee, which is nice to look at from the shore or even better on a boat ride round the lake. This is also very near to the infamous historic site of the Eagles Nest, which was Hitler’s Bavarian hide away and southern command centre during the second world war. This is a very scenic spot, but also houses the very sobering documentation centre that tells the story of the Nazi regime. There are regular trains from Berchtesgaden or Bad Reichenhall to Salzburg, a half hour’s journey.

BERCHTESGADEN - Lake Konigsee & St Bartholoma church

In Salzburg you will enjoy wandering the streets of the old town with its landmark sights, plazas, churches and other fine buildings, all overlooked by the hill-top Festung Hohensalzburg fortress. Mostly pedestrianised, the main part of the old town nestles on the bank of the Salzach river. The pretty Schloss Mirabeau has beautiful rose gardens where you can enjoy a relaxing stroll or quiet moment. A lot of the sights will be familiar to you if you’ve seen the film ‘The Sound of Music’. Mozart is the city’s most famous son and you will see lots of associations with the great composer.

SALZBURG - view from Hohensalzburg fortress

Whilst in the area you can take the tour of the salt mine at Salzbergwerk, which includes a mine train ride.

MELK

Melk is just over 130 miles from Salzburg, a car journey of a couple of hours. Melk is in a beautiful setting on the River Danube, with the magnificent Melk abbey - Stift Melk- towering over the river. This is a major attraction, with its classic baroque exterior, and its grandiose theatrical interior containing gilded stucco decoration and Italianate paintings. The library has a fantastic painted ceiling. Add to all this the vistas of the river and town from the abbey’s terrace and you will see this is a not to be missed location.

MELK - The Old Town with Abbey above

The old town, below the monastery, has some interesting old houses with lovely courtyards, and other sights including the 16th century town hall, ancient murals, an old bread store with tiny towers, a baroque post office and the market fountain.

There are some lovely stretches of the Danube river around this area with neat villages and beautiful churches.

VIENNA

By car the 55 mile trip from Melk to Vienna will take around 1.5 hours or about an hour by train. If you don’t want to stay in the centre there are good accommodation options including a campsite at Klosterneuburg which is 9 miles outside the city with good public transport links (see below for details of the abbey in the town).

Vienna has much to offer the visitor. Art Nouveau architecture is on display throughout the city, with highlights including the Secession building, the Wagner designed Karlsplatz station and Linke Wienzeile apartment buildings(picture below).

The Belvedere Palace houses the worlds largest collection of paintings by Gustav Klimt, along with notable works by Art Nouveau and other genre artists. This is a splendid baroque residence with beautiful gardens, worth seeing in its own right as well as for it priceless art collections. Even more magnificent is the Schonbrunn Palace, the residence of Austria’s imperial families, with beautiful gardens overlooking the city.

VIENNA - view from the Schonbrunn Palace gardens

Visiting the nearby town of Klosterneuburg from Vienna, the main attraction is the old abbey, where you will find beautiful interiors, and the treasury is stacked with gorgeous religious ornaments and garments.

KLOSTERNEUBURG - Art Nouveau design Priest's robe in the treasury

GRAZ

It’s a journey of 125 miles from Vienna to Graz, which will take about 2.5 hours by car or train. Graz has a picturesque location nestled in the foothills of the Alps, with the River Mur cutting through its centre. This is Austria’s second largest city after Vienna with a population of a third of a million people. The architecture, both ancient and modern is distinctive and attractive. It is all laid out for you in the panoramic views you get from taking the funicular up to the Schlossberg Castle.

GRAZ - view from Schlossberg Castle

The old town is one of the best preserved city centres in Europe and holds UNESCO world heritage site status. The futuristic architecture of the Graz art museum is located next to the river, resembling an armadillo, and its shape is partly reflected in the ‘Island in the Mur(river)’ amphitheatre - these buildings can be seen in the mid left and foreground of the photo above.

A day out in the nearby area will take you to the unique setting of Riegersburg Castle, perched on top of an extinct volcano which can be approached from a glass inclined lift. The castle is owned by the royal family of Liechtenstein, and has a museum explaining the thousand year history of the castle and a large section on local witches and sorcerers. There are vineyards on the slopes below the castle.

RIEGERSBURG CASTLE

VILLACH

A couple of hour’s drive will take you to Villach. This is in beautiful Alpine country. The town is a pleasant but not remarkable place in its own right, but the main attraction is its proximity to the Ossiacher See, a large lake with lots of facilities for visitors and a lovely setting. The 2.5 hour boat trip round the lake is recommended to fully appreciate the surroundings, and there are plenty of opportunities for short walks near the lake.

OSSIACH & OSSIACHSEE

You are near to the border with Slovenia here, and you may be tempted to nip over to see the beautiful Lake Bled on a day excursion(see separate post on Croatia/Slovenia for details).

ZELL AM ZILLER

Headed away from Villach and travelling on to Zell am Ziller, you’re into the Alps mountain range. The journey of 210 miles will take the best part of 5 hours, and you will enjoy the stunning scenery.

The big attraction in the Ziller valley is the surrounding mountains, which can be easily accessed by cable car at 10 different points. These are mainly in place to facilitate downhill winter skiing, but they also provide summer-time access to a number of high level round walks with fairly level hiking and fantastic views. The alpine scenery is enhanced by prolific wild flower coverage on the lower mountain slopes.

ZILLER VALLEY - high level walking

Zell am Ziller is a Tirolean market town, and the main centre for tourist facilities in the Ziller valley. There is a narrow gauge railway running through it that follows the valley up to Mayrhofen and down to Jenbach.

A 40 minute drive will take you on a scenic journey up to the Krimml waterfalls, a breathtaking sight.

KRIMML WATERFALLS

INNSBRUCK

Innsbruck is just short of an hour’s car drive away from Zell am Ziller, and you’re still very much in the midst of the Alps mountains.

This is a Winter Olympics venue and the city is overlooked by the spectacular Bergisel Ski Jump. As in the Ziller valley there are plenty of cable car ascents in the area that enable high-level ridge and meadow walking, with the added bonus of refreshment venues at the top of the cable car stations.

The town has a delightful mix of ancient and modern architecture and all the facilities the traveller would expect. The imperial past is much in evidence with top sights including the emperor’s palace and ‘Golden Roof’ balcony, the Hofsburg palace, and just outside the town the magnificent Ambras Castle.

INNSBRUCK - Imperial Palace with Golden Roof balcony and the Cathedral

It’s a 20 minute drive outside Innsbruck to get to Wattens, where you will find the Swarovski Crystal World. This is an experience attraction displaying the beauty of this glass jewellery and fancy goods manufacturer. The exhibitions include pieces by world famous artists/sculptors and some dazzling theme rooms.

From here you’re either headed back round to Salzburg or headed back home travelling north via Germany.

Have a safe trip home!

SUGGESTIONS FOR CAMPSITES FOR VISITS TO POINTS ON THE CIRCLE. Click on the highlighted campsite links to get to their websites

1.Salzburg- campsite at Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria:

2. Melk - campsite at Marbach

3. Vienna- campsite at Klosterneuburg

4. Graz- campsite at Bad Waltersdorf

5. Villach - campsite on Ossiacher See lake

6. Zell am Ziller -campsite

7. Innsbruck -campsite at Natterer See lake

If you're able to travel off season (Spring or Autumn) with your motorhome or caravan then the ACSI Camping Europe card offers substantial discounts at more than 2,800 sites across the Continent.

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