01 - Overview
The Mozart Cycle Path is a roughly 442 km circular tour around Salzburg - a figure-eight through the lake country of the Salzburg region, Upper Bavaria and the Tyrolean Kaiserwinkl, linking historic “Mozart sites” from the festival city via St. Gilgen on the Wolfgangsee to Wasserburg am Inn.
The Mozart Cycle Path is a cross-border circular tour that loops out from Salzburg through the Salzburg lake district, the Chiemgau and the Tyrolean Kaiserwinkl and back into the city of Mozart. Laid out as a figure-eight, it strings together places tied to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his family - above all St. Gilgen, birthplace of his mother Anna Maria and home of his sister Nannerl. From Salzburg the route first reaches the water at Mondsee and St. Gilgen, then heads north past the Wallersee and Mattsee and across the Salzach into Bavaria, on past the Waginger See and Chiemsee to Wasserburg am Inn, its northernmost point. Via the Inn valley and the Kaiserwinkl (Walchsee, Kössen) it crosses the Chiemgau Alps to Bad Reichenhall and returns through Berchtesgaden to Salzburg. The signed base loop is about 390 km, or roughly 445 km with the St. Gilgen detour; some 90 % runs on cycle paths and quiet back roads, mostly paved. The rolling Alpine foreland means constant ups and downs - more demanding than the big river routes, but scenically varied.
- Regions
- Salzburg · Tyrol
- Start
- Salzburg
- Finish
- Salzburg
- Surface
- Paved · Gravel · Fine gravel · Compacted
- Network
- National
- Best season
- April - October
- Signposting
- fully signposted
- Road-bike friendly
- Partly · Mixed surfacewell documented
93 % comfortably ridable, but a 2.6 km gravel stretch - nicer on a gravel or touring bike.
02 - Stages
9 stages · 442 km
01Salzburg - St. GilgenSalzburg · Eugendorf · Thalgau · Mondsee · St. Gilgen46 km
Setting off from the Mozartplatz into the Salzburg lake district: via Eugendorf and Thalgau to Mondsee with its St. Michael basilica, then on to the Wolfgangsee and St. Gilgen, where Mozart's mother was born.
- Ascent
- 579 m
- Descent
- 355 m
- Duration
- 3-3.5 h
- Surface
- mostly asphalt
Surface (measured): paved
02St. Gilgen - Neumarkt am WallerseeSt. Gilgen · Henndorf am Wallersee · Neumarkt am Wallersee42 km
Back from the Wolfgangsee through the gentle hills of the Salzburg lakeland via Henndorf to the Wallersee at Neumarkt - quiet back roads and lake views.
- Ascent
- 424 m
- Descent
- 384 m
- Duration
- 2.5-3.5 h
- Surface
- mostly asphalt
Surface (measured): paved
03Neumarkt am Wallersee - LaufenNeumarkt · Mattsee · Oberndorf · Laufen46 km
Over the Mattsee and down to the Salzach, then across the bridge into Bavaria: Oberndorf is the birthplace of the carol “Silent Night”, with the Salzach town of Laufen on the opposite bank.
- Ascent
- 292 m
- Descent
- 597 m
- Duration
- 3-3.5 h
- Surface
- mostly asphalt
Surface (measured): paved 80 % · fine gravel 20 %
04Laufen - Seebruck (Chiemsee)Laufen · Waging am See · Seebruck60 km
Through the Bavarian foreland past the Waginger See - Upper Bavaria's warmest lake - to the Chiemsee. At Seebruck the Bedaium Roman museum recalls the ancient fort on the shore.
- Ascent
- 583 m
- Descent
- 368 m
- Duration
- 4-4.5 h
- Surface
- mostly asphalt
Surface (measured): paved 86 % · gravel 14 %
05Seebruck (Chiemsee) - Wasserburg am InnSeebruck · Amerang · Wasserburg am Inn45 km
From the Chiemsee through the hills around Amerang to the Inn at Wasserburg, whose medieval old town sits in a tight loop of the river - the northern turning point of the tour.
- Ascent
- 278 m
- Descent
- 442 m
- Duration
- 3-3.5 h
- Surface
- mostly asphalt
Surface (measured): paved 90 % · fine gravel 10 %
06Wasserburg am Inn - RosenheimWasserburg am Inn · Rosenheim32 km
A flat, fast stretch upstream along the Inn to the town of Rosenheim - a major rail junction and an ideal place to join or leave the route.
- Ascent
- 123 m
- Descent
- 96 m
- Duration
- 2-2.5 h
- Surface
- asphalt and fine gravel
Surface (measured): fine gravel 63 % · paved 37 %
07Rosenheim - KössenRosenheim · Oberaudorf · Niederndorf · Walchsee · Kössen49 km
Up the Inn valley via Oberaudorf into Tyrol and the Kaiserwinkl: past the Walchsee to Kössen, framed by the Zahmer and Wilder Kaiser ranges.
- Ascent
- 496 m
- Descent
- 238 m
- Duration
- 3-4 h
- Surface
- mostly asphalt
Surface (measured): paved 59 % · fine gravel 32 % · gravel 9 %
08Kössen - Bad ReichenhallKössen · Reit im Winkl · Ruhpolding · Inzell · Bad Reichenhall76 km
The longest and hilliest stage, crossing the Chiemgau Alps via Reit im Winkl, Ruhpolding and Inzell to the salt town of Bad Reichenhall - a quiet, mountainous section with few settlements.
- Ascent
- 706 m
- Descent
- 830 m
- Duration
- 5-6 h
- Surface
- asphalt with gravel sections
Surface (measured): paved 74 % · gravel 18 % · fine gravel 8 %
09Bad Reichenhall - SalzburgBad Reichenhall · Großgmain · Berchtesgaden · Anif · Salzburg46 km
Via Großgmain into the Berchtesgaden region and back through the Salzach valley: passing Anif Castle and the Hellbrunn water gardens, the figure-eight closes in Salzburg.
- Ascent
- 451 m
- Descent
- 626 m
- Duration
- 3-3.5 h
- Surface
- mostly asphalt
Surface (measured): paved 86 % · fine gravel 14 %
03 - Elevation
Elevation across the full distance - move the cursor to read altitude and kilometre.
Elevation profile over 442 km. Ascent 3932 m, descent 3936 m. Lowest point 399 m, highest point 776 m.
Elevation from OSM geometry + Digital Terrain Model (DGM) Austria (10 m).
Hover the profile to see the point on the map - and vice versa.
04 - POIs & Services
- Mozart's Birthplace & Residence
- Hohensalzburg Fortress
- Hellbrunn Palace & Trick Fountains
- Mozart House St. Gilgen
- St. Michael's Basilica
- Bedaium Roman Museum
- Medieval Old Town
- Lake Walchsee, Kaiserwinkl
- Old Salt Works (Alte Saline)
- Anif Castle
Services along the route
- Bike & e-bike rentalRental outlets and e-bike charging points in Salzburg, around the Chiemsee and in the larger towns.
- Bike repairBike workshops in Salzburg, Rosenheim, Bad Reichenhall and along the route.
- Bed & BikeCyclist-friendly accommodation across the Salzburg lakeland, Chiemgau and Kaiserwinkl.
- Drinking waterPublic fountains and drinking-water points in the towns and by the lakes.
Service points along the route
- Drinking water163
- Repair station57
- Bike shop74
- Bike rental12
- Charging station229
Service points from OpenStreetMap. Coverage may be incomplete, some fountains are seasonal - verify before you rely on them.
05 - Impressions
The Mozart Cycle Path on the former Ischlerbahn railway trackbed in the Salzburg district of Langwied.Photo: Ischlerbahn trackbed as Mozart-Radweg, Salzburg-Langwied · Eweht · CC BY-SA 4.0 The Europasteg footbridge carries the Mozart Cycle Path over the Salzach from Oberndorf to Laufen, with a view of the collegiate church.Photo: Europasteg over the Salzach between Oberndorf and Laufen · Michael Burgholzer · CC BY-SA 4.0 The Westautobahn viaduct spans the Ischlerbahn trackbed of the Mozart Cycle Path near Hallwang.Photo: Westautobahn viaduct over the Ischlerbahntrasse near Hallwang · Eweht · CC BY-SA 4.0
06 - Public transit
- Salzburg Hauptbahnhof (ÖBB/DB)International hub and start/finish of the loop; long-distance trains from Vienna, Munich, Linz.
- Freilassing (DB)Station on the Munich-Salzburg line, near Laufen/Oberndorf on the Salzach.
- Prien am Chiemsee (DB)Stop on the Munich-Salzburg line; access to the Chiemsee section.
- Rosenheim (DB)Major junction right on the route in the Inn valley - an ideal place to join or leave.
- Bad Reichenhall (DB)Station on the route; connections towards Freilassing/Salzburg.
Bikes can be carried for a ticket on regional trains in the Munich-Rosenheim-Salzburg corridor (DB/Meridian) and on the Salzburg S-Bahn - handy for getting to and from the route or for shortening individual stages.
07 - GPX & TCX download
Download for GPS devices & apps
Clean track with elevation - imports as a single tour, compatible with Komoot, Garmin, Wahoo, Strava, RideWithGPS, OsmAnd.
Download stages individually (9)
- Stage 1Salzburg → St. Gilgen46 km
- Stage 2St. Gilgen → Neumarkt am Wallersee42 km
- Stage 3Neumarkt am Wallersee → Laufen46 km
- Stage 4Laufen → Seebruck (Chiemsee)60 km
- Stage 5Seebruck (Chiemsee) → Wasserburg am Inn45 km
- Stage 6Wasserburg am Inn → Rosenheim32 km
- Stage 7Rosenheim → Kössen49 km
- Stage 8Kössen → Bad Reichenhall76 km
- Stage 9Bad Reichenhall → Salzburg46 km
Exact official operator track. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) · Elevation © DGM Austria (CC BY 3.0 AT). Redistribute with attribution.