Danube Cycle Path

Our popular, easy self-guided Danube Cycle Path our offers you a trip from Scharding to Vienna on the Danube bike path along the rivers, mostly flat or slightly down hill. You’ll bike a total of 350 kilometers from Schärding to Vienna. Highlights include: visits to wonderful Vienna, the “world capital of classical music”, beautiful Baroque Schärding, historic Linz and Passau, the City of Three Rivers; visits to other charming medieval towns, castles and splendid abbeys and the incomparable Benedictine Monastery in Melk; delightful, flat biking mostly on separate bike paths or on small rural roads through the forested Upper Danube Valley and the scenic vineyards of the Wachau Valley; visit to the unusual “Donauschlinge,” a textbook meander in the Danube River.

Green = Open | Yellow = Limited | Red = Full

2023

Prices are per person in US Dollars – inclusive bike rental

This tour can be guided upon request

Choose your own starting date

Terms and Conditions

DAY 1 – Schärding
Arrive on your own at your comfortable hotel in Schärding. This afternoon you will have time to pick up your bikes in our nearby office in Scharding. Located in the region of Oberösterreich (Upper Austria), in the Innviertel area close to the border with Bavaria, the Baroque town of Schärding is a truly extraordinary place. Its architecture is a mix of many styles and periods, the highlight probably being the Baroque “Silberzeile” row of houses, an astonishing ensemble of Baroque buildings. Rich market traders used to live there, lending its name to the place because they had pockets full of silver. The late-medieval colors of the old gates, the narrow and mysterious side streets – all this makes Schärding such a very special place indeed.

DAY 2 – Schärding – Passau – Upper Danube Valley – 19-36 miles (30–58 km)
You’ll pedal along the peaceful River Inn and cross for a short time into Germany to Passau, once a prestigious and wealthy center of Roman Catholicism. The Inn and the Ilz flow into the Danube at Passau, which is why the city is also called the “Three Rivers Town”. On its impressive Market Square you’ll find St. Stephan Cathedral containing the largest church organ in Europe. Here you can attend the noontime organ concert (daily except on Sundays), quite an exciting experience. After lunch bike on to your comfortable hotel in the Upper Danube Valley, located near the famous meander in the Danube River.

DAY 3 – Upper Danube Valley – Linz – 31-40 miles (50-65 km)
Today you continue over an easy path along the river and later on small country roads through lush countryside. You can stop for lunch in picturesque Ottensheim. In the early afternoon you’ll reach Linz, the capital of Upper Austria and Austria’s third largest city. It was here in 1783 that Mozart wrote one of his most beautiful symphonies, the Linz Symphony, which he dedicated to the city. Mozart resided in the house of Count Thun during his Linz engagements and ever since the Thun Mansion has been known as “Mozart Haus”. You can visit it today! Also Anton Bruckner, a great Austrian composer of church music, was closely associated with Linz. For 12 years he was the resident-organist at the magnificent baroque cathedral. Each September Linz holds its most important music festival, the Bruckner Festival dedicated to its namesake. You’ll have time for a delightful stroll in the handsome center of Linz before or after a tasty meal in one of its many fine restaurants. You should remember to try the delicious pastry – the Linzer Torte and check out a lively Austrian Beergarten in the evening!

DAY 4 – Linz – Ardagger/Grein – 31-40 miles (50-65 km)
Today you’ll bike from Linz along the Danube (Donau) to Mauthausen, now a friendly village but once the site of a WWII concentration camp or Enns, the oldest town of Austria. Via Ardagger you’ll cycle on through the fertile Machland region to the old barge town Grein, where you’ll find a wonderful castle from the 15th century and the oldest (1791) theater in Austria, still in use today. You can visit the Grein Castle and the small theatre and marvel that Napoleon sat in one of the same seats long ago!

DAY 5 – Ardagger/Grein – Wachau – 31-42 miles (50-68 km)
Today you’ll take a peaceful, romantic ride through the relaxing countryside along the Donau, passing though tiny Austrian villages. Shortly after Marbach you’ll pass by the Maria Taferl, for centuries a Christian pilgrimage destination, located on a rugged hilltop on the other side of the river. You’ll bike on to Pochlarn where you could stop at a nice café for lunch. Then on to ancient Melk on the Danube River, the beginning of the Wachau Valley. Here you can visit the incredible Benedictine Monastery, the Stift Melk, founded in 1089 high above the river. It was rebuilt between 1702 and 1726 in splendid high baroque style. Melk is the entrance to the most popular part of the Danube Region, the Wachau, well known for its delicious white wines.

DAY 6 – Wachau – Traismauer/Tulln – 33-47 miles (54-76 km)
Today cycle through the impressive Wachau region, a scenic stretch of winding river and vine-covered hillsides in lower Austria. Small winding village streets with flower-covered houses make this a photographer’s delight. The area is well known for its choice wines. The route takes you through Spits and Weissenkirchen and the best known town in the Wachau, Dürnstein. It has a ruined castle where Richard the Lionhearted was imprisoned in the 12th century. After reaching Krems, it’s a pleasure to stroll through the renovated section, now a pedestrian zone, with its 17th century pastel houses. Here you’ll cross the Danube again and ride to Traismauer, a lovely Roman town whose history can be traced back to the 1st century A.D. On the charming market square you’ll find many friendly wine taverns (“Heurigen”) where you can sample a variety of Wachau vintage.

DAY 7 – Traismauer/Tulln – Vienna – 22-40 miles
Today you bike to Vienna. Before reaching Austria’s capital city you’ll encounter numerous gardens and the well-known Augustinian convent, Klosterneuburg. The bike path ends only a few minutes from the Cathedral of St. Stephen, one of the signature landmarks of Vienna. Hopefully you’ll extend your vacation with a few days in Vienna so you have time to explore this elegant city, for a thousand years the capital of the far-flung Holy Roman and Habsburg Empires. The city is still dominated by the palaces, squares and other vestiges of the imperial capital. Vienna is one of Europe’s undisputed centers of art, music, architecture, fashion, theatre and literature as well as a site of political and social significance in the international arena. Its history is reflected in its magnificent buildings and some of the world’s most glorious music was created here. Think of Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler, Bruckner, Schoenberg and the Waltz King, Strauss – no other country has made such enormous musical contributions to the world! Besides fantastic music Vienna offers lush parks, fine shops, elegant restaurants and some of the most beautiful Renaissance, baroque and rococo buildings in all of Europe, as well as many structures that embody the “Jugendstil”, the Austrian version of art-nouveau architecture. Also recommended: the Spanish Riding School to see the world famous Lippizaner horses; Schönbrun Palace, the lavish 1441 room summer palace of the Habsburg family just outside of Vienna, the house of Siegmund Freud. The list is endless.

DAY 8 – Tour Ends
The tour ends in Vienna after breakfast.

The hotels listed below are examples of those usually used on the tour. Depending on availability, you may be booked in a different hotel of equal quality.

Hotel Forstinger
The Hotel Forstinger owes its unique atmosphere to its carefully restored historic structures, which make its long history come alive. The building dates back to 1606, and has been operated as a modern boutique hotel since 1927 by the Forstinger family. From this historic, yet modern facility, you can enjoy numerous activities in Scharding including light hiking, fly fishing, excellent restaurants and pubs, and guided tours of the old town.

Hotel Donauschlinge
The Schlögener river loop is one of the most beautiful natural wonders of Upper Austria. The Danube is the only river in the world that makes a 180 degree turn. The Donauschlinge Hotel is the perfect starting point to experience this wonderful terrain. From the panoramic terrace, you’ll see the hotel lights reflecting in the Danube, and wonderful hiking, biking, and boating routes are only a short walk away.

Hotel Arcotel Nike
The Arcotel Nike is situated on the banks of the Danube in the Donaupark. The hotel property feels like a wide open space, yet it is ideally located in the center of the Upper Austrian capital of Linz. The historic Baroque town center, with many shopping and sightseeing options, is just a 15 minute walk up the Danube. This is where you’ll find Landstrasse, Upper Austria’s biggest shopping street.

Landhaus Stift Ardagger
When you stay at the Landhaus Stift Ardagger, you’ll get to travel through enchanting Mostviertel with its numerous pear and apple trees, and luminous flower meadows. You’ll experience history, too. Donated in 1262 by the canon Heinrich von Petronell, the carefully renovated house underneath the abbey housed three apartments, with direct access to the church. Later the building was rebuilt into a tavern and restaurant, and then into the welcoming hotel that exists today.

Hotel-Restaurant Zum Schwarzen Bären
The Zum Schwarzen Bären has been in operation as a modern hotel since 1908. Today the arched ceilings of the guest rooms are visible reminders of the 17th century, when it was a stable for horses that pulled ships up-river. During your stay, you will enjoy the hospitality of the Pritz family. Their on-site restaurant is well known for its excellent food, featuring down-to-earth regional specialities.

Design Hotel-Restaurant Römerhof
The Römerhof Hotel & Restaurant is just a 15-minute walk from the center of Tulln and the Egon Schiele Museum. Located right on the Danube cycle path, there are plenty of opportunities for walking and biking in the area. After a day full of activity in the idyllic landscape, you are welcome to try Austrian delicacies in the hotel’s restaurant, or relax in the hotel’s sauna.

Hotel Stefanie
The Hotel Stefanie is known to be the oldest hotel in Vienna, dating back to 1600. Here you will enjoy a newly renovated space, filled with the Schick family’s collection of antique furniture and paintings. There are treasures around every corner of this well-maintained space. After exploring the wonders of Vienna, you can return to this beautiful hotel, housing 400 years of tradition.

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