EuroVelo 7 - Sun Route

From the Czech border at Rading the Sun Route drops out of the Bohemian granite highland through the rolling Mühlviertel. Past the spa-and-border town of Bad Leonfelden, set between the Sternstein and the Bohemian Forest, the path falls steadily toward the Danube. In Linz, the Upper Austrian capital on the river, the Ars Electronica Center, the neo-Gothic Mariendom - Austria's largest church - and the Pöstlingberg with its Grottenbahn cave railway come together. A long, mostly downhill opening stage from forest to river.

Ascent

218 m

Descent

1,074 m

Duration

approx. 4-5 h

Surface

Asphalt

From Linz the route follows the world-famous Danube Cycle Path downstream to the west. Past Wilhering Abbey with its rococo church and the Renaissance market town of Ottensheim, the river coils into an ever-tighter gorge. The highlight is the Schlögen Loop, where the Danube, forced by the granite of the Sauwald, swings through a spectacular near-180-degree double bend - Austria's most-photographed river meander, best seen from the Schlögener Blick viewpoint. Flat and relaxed beside the water.

Ascent

109 m

Descent

35 m

Duration

approx. 3-4 h

Surface

Asphalt

At Engelhartszell the Danube leaves Austria - here stands Engelszell Abbey, the country's only Trappist monastery, famous for its abbey beer. At Passau, the Bavarian city of three rivers, the Danube, Inn and Ilz converge; the Veste Oberhaus fortress crowns the old town, and St Stephen's Cathedral holds the world's largest cathedral organ. From here the Sun Route turns south and follows the Inn upstream back into Austria to baroque Schärding, whose Silberzeile - a row of brightly painted burgher houses - is one of the finest market frontages in the Innviertel.

Ascent

156 m

Descent

139 m

Duration

approx. 3-4 h

Surface

Asphalt & fine gravel

The Inn Cycle Path accompanies the green mountain river through the gentle Innviertel. At Reichersberg the baroque Augustinian priory is worth a stop, and at Obernberg am Inn the market square framed by stucco facades. The stage ends at Braunau am Inn, a well-preserved medieval salt-trading town with one of Austria's tallest church towers (St Stephen's, 87 m) and the bridge across to Bavarian Simbach. Flat and river-hugging.

Ascent

235 m

Descent

173 m

Duration

approx. 3-4 h

Surface

Asphalt & fine gravel

The longest but consistently flat stage follows first the Inn, then the Salzach upstream - both here forming the border with Bavaria. On the far bank at Burghausen the world's longest castle stretches more than a kilometre along the ridge. In Oberndorf the Christmas carol 'Silent Night' was first sung in 1818 in the Silent Night Chapel. The goal is Salzburg: the UNESCO World Heritage old town with the Hohensalzburg fortress, the Getreidegasse, Mozart's birthplace and the trick fountains of Hellbrunn Palace. Long, but without any significant climb.

Ascent

530 m

Descent

395 m

Duration

approx. 5-6 h

Surface

Asphalt & gravel

Now the Tauern Cycle Path begins, and with it the climb into the mountains. The route follows the Salzach south into the Tennengau: in Hallein the Celtic Museum and the Salzwelten salt mine on the Dürrnberg recall the ancient salt wealth that gave town and province their name. At Golling and Werfen the valley narrows to the Pass Lueg; high above the river stands Hohenwerfen Castle, and inside the mountain lies the Eisriesenwelt, the largest ice cave in the world. The stage ends at Bischofshofen, whose ski jump hosts the finale of the Four Hills Tournament. Gentle but steady uphill.

Ascent

342 m

Descent

137 m

Duration

approx. 4-5 h

Surface

Asphalt & fine gravel

The queen stage. Past St. Johann im Pongau the route reaches the Schwarzach-St. Veit rail junction and turns off the Salzach into the southward-climbing Gastein valley. Past Dorfgastein and the thermal spa of Bad Hofgastein the path gains height steadily, until in Bad Gastein the famous Gastein Waterfall plunges right through the belle-époque spa town, framed by the grand hotels of the Habsburg era. Over 1,100 metres of climb in a single stage - the most demanding, but scenically the grandest, of the whole route.

Ascent

1,117 m

Descent

82 m

Duration

approx. 5-6 h

Surface

Asphalt & fine gravel

At Böckstein the road ends: here the Tauernschleuse - the car-shuttle train through the 8.4 km Tauern tunnel - carries cyclists and vehicles beneath the main Alpine crest to Mallnitz in Carinthia in eleven minutes, the only way to cross the Hohe Tauern by bike. At Mallnitz the Hohe Tauern National Park opens up; from here the route rolls steeply downhill on the Möll Valley Cycle Path along the Möll, past Obervellach and Groppenstein Castle, to the river's confluence with the Drau at Möllbrücke. Over 1,200 metres of descent - the great drop to the south.

Ascent

73 m

Descent

1,271 m

Duration

approx. 3-4 h (incl. car-train)

Surface

Asphalt & fine gravel

At Möllbrücke the Sun Route meets the Drau Cycle Path and now follows the Drau upstream to the west. Past Sachsenburg, whose tiny old town is among the smallest in Austria, and the castle-and-stork village of Greifenburg, the well-built valley path runs gently through the upper Drau valley, framed by the Kreuzeck group and the Gailtal Alps. The stage ends at Oberdrauburg at the foot of the Carinthian gateway to East Tyrol. Slightly uphill but relaxed.

Ascent

184 m

Descent

78 m

Duration

approx. 3 h

Surface

Asphalt & fine gravel

The final stage crosses the provincial border into East Tyrol and climbs with the Drau into the Hochpustertal. In Lienz, the 'sun town' at the foot of the Lienz Dolomites, Bruck Castle with its Egger-Lienz gallery and the excavations of the Roman town of Aguntum are worth a stop. Further up-valley past Abfaltersbach and Sillian, the main town of the upper Pustertal, the path gains height steadily to the Italian border at Arnbach - the gateway to the Sexten Dolomites and the Three Peaks, where the Austrian section of EuroVelo 7 ends and the Sun Route continues south toward the Mediterranean.

Ascent

841 m

Descent

25 m

Duration

approx. 4-5 h

Surface

Asphalt