01 - Overview
The Thayatal Cycle Path links two worlds of northern Lower Austria over some 146 kilometres: from the Cistercian town of Zwettl in the Waldviertel it crosses the hilly granite plateau, picks up the Deutsche Thaya and follows the border river downstream through its finest towns - Waidhofen an der Thaya, the river confluence at Raabs, the almost completely walled Drosendorf and the Thayatal National Park near Hardegg - over to the Weinviertel cellar town of Retz. The overall trend is downhill, yet the Waldviertel rolls constantly up and down. Almost entirely paved, with a roughly three-kilometre unpaved passage in the Thaya valley - a touring destination for a trekking bike, not a continuous road-bike route.
The Thayatal Cycle Path is a journey right across northern Lower Austria, from the headwater country to the borderland on the Thaya. The starting point is Zwettl, the old town on the Kamp; a short detour of about two and a half kilometres away stands Stift Zwettl, a Cistercian abbey founded in 1138 by Hadmar I. von Kuenring, with a Gothic cloister and an 82-metre Baroque tower by Joseph Munggenast - a rewarding prelude before setting off. From Zwettl the route crosses the rolling granite-and-forest highland of the Waldviertel, by way of Schwarzenau with its rail junction on the Franz-Josefs-Bahn, until it meets the Deutsche Thaya at Waidhofen an der Thaya. From here the path follows the river downstream: at Raabs an der Thaya the Deutsche and the Mährische Thaya join to form the Thaya, and high above the confluence stands Burg Raabs, among the oldest stone castles in Austria. Downstream waits Drosendorf, "the town on the river," whose medieval wall encircles the old centre almost without a gap - one of the best-preserved town fortifications in the country. At Hardegg, with around eighty residents the smallest town in Austria, the route skirts the Thayatal National Park: Austria's smallest national park forms, together with the Czech Podyjí National Park, the only cross-border protected area of its kind. The cycle path runs on roads above the valley, close to Hardegg, not through the hiking gorges of the park itself. On the final section the route leaves the Thaya and crosses over into the Weinviertel - the Drosendorf-Retz leg also follows EuroVelo 13 (the Iron Curtain Trail) along the former Iron Curtain. Retz sets the finish: above the vineyards turns the Retzer Windmühle, a tower windmill built in stone in 1853 and one of only two working windmills in Austria, and beneath the sgraffito-decorated main square stretches the Retzer Erlebniskeller, with some twenty kilometres of hand-dug passages the largest historic wine cellar in Austria. On balance the tour rolls downhill, from the roughly 500-metre Waldviertel down into the Retz basin some 250 metres lower, but it does so in waves: the plateau and the meandering Thaya valley keep forcing short counter-climbs, more than 1,600 metres of ascent in total. The route is almost entirely paved - mostly on quiet farm roads and country lanes - but in the upper Thaya valley it includes a roughly three-kilometre unpaved passage; it is therefore a classic trekking and touring destination and not continuously road-bike-suitable. Because of its length and constant undulation it is best ridden split over two to three days.
- Regions
- Lower Austria
- Start
- Zwettl
- Finish
- Retz
- Surface
- Paved
- Network
- Regional
- Best season
- April - October
- Signposting
- fully signposted
- Road-bike friendly
- Partly · Mixed surfacepartly estimated
97 % comfortably ridable, but a 3 km gravel stretch - nicer on a gravel or touring bike.
02 - Stages
5 stages · 146 km
01Zwettl - Waidhofen an der ThayaZwettl · Stift Zwettl (detour) · Schwarzenau · Waidhofen an der Thaya51 km
The long opening stage crosses the rolling granite highland of the Waldviertel. Right at the start, the roughly two-and-a-half-kilometre detour to Stift Zwettl is worthwhile - the Cistercian abbey founded in 1138, set in a bend of the Kamp. The route then rolls across the fields, forests and ponds of the Waldviertel, past the Schwarzenau rail junction on the Franz-Josefs-Bahn, until it reaches the Deutsche Thaya at Waidhofen an der Thaya. A quiet but steadily undulating plateau crossing - by far the longest stage of the tour.
- Ascent
- 374 m
- Descent
- 400 m
- Duration
- approx. 3.25-4.0 h
- Surface
- Paved
Surface (measured): paved
02Waidhofen an der Thaya - Raabs an der ThayaWaidhofen an der Thaya · Dobersberg · Kollmitz ruin · Raabs an der Thaya37 km
From Waidhofen an der Thaya - a district capital with a Baroque parish church and a redesigned main square - the route follows the young Deutsche Thaya downstream. Over the northern loop near Dobersberg the path winds through thinly settled borderland; on a rocky spur above the river greets the mighty Kollmitz ruin. This stage holds the tour's roughly three-kilometre unpaved passage, a water-bound natural track along the upper river. At the stage end, in Raabs an der Thaya, the Deutsche and the Mährische Thaya join to form the Thaya, watched over by Burg Raabs. An undulating profile with many short counter-climbs.
- Ascent
- 578 m
- Descent
- 605 m
- Duration
- approx. 2.5-3.25 h
- Surface
- Paved
Surface (measured): paved 92 % · gravel 8 %
03Raabs an der Thaya - DrosendorfRaabs an der Thaya · Oberndorf · Drosendorf13 km
A short, intimate stage along the now-united Thaya. The river meanders in tight bends through wooded valley slopes before Drosendorf is reached - "the town on the river," whose medieval wall and towers encircle the old centre almost without a gap. One of the best-preserved town fortifications in Austria invites a stroll through the little Renaissance town.
- Ascent
- 183 m
- Descent
- 215 m
- Duration
- approx. 1.0-1.25 h
- Surface
- Paved
Surface (measured): paved
04Drosendorf - HardeggDrosendorf · Niederfladnitz · Thayatal National Park · Hardegg23 km
The most scenic stage runs along the edge of the Thayatal National Park - Austria's smallest national park, which together with the Czech Podyjí National Park forms the only cross-border protected area of its kind. At Hardegg, with around eighty residents the smallest town in Austria, the eye is drawn to Burg Hardegg high above the Thaya gorge. The cycle path stays on roads above the valley, close to Hardegg, not in the gorge itself, which is reserved for walkers.
- Ascent
- 252 m
- Descent
- 335 m
- Duration
- approx. 1.75-2.25 h
- Surface
- Paved
Surface (measured): paved
05Hardegg - RetzHardegg · Merkersdorf · Pleissing · Retz22 km
The final stage leaves the Thaya and crosses from the Waldviertel borderland over into the sunny Weinviertel - a leg that also follows EuroVelo 13 (the Iron Curtain Trail) along the former Iron Curtain. Through vineyards the path reaches Retz: above the vines turns the Retzer Windmühle, one of only two working windmills in Austria, and beneath the sgraffito-decorated main square stretches the Retzer Erlebniskeller, the largest historic wine cellar in the country. A cheerful finale in the cellar town.
- Ascent
- 247 m
- Descent
- 338 m
- Duration
- approx. 1.5-2.0 h
- Surface
- Paved
Surface (measured): paved
03 - Elevation
Elevation across the full distance - move the cursor to read altitude and kilometre.
Elevation profile over 146 km. Ascent 1634 m, descent 1893 m. Lowest point 257 m, highest point 675 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
- Stift Zwettl (Cistercian abbey, founded 1138, 82 m Baroque tower; approx. 2.5 km detour)
- Waidhofen an der Thaya - Baroque parish church & main square
- Kollmitz ruin (mighty castle ruin on a Thaya rock spur)
- Raabs an der Thaya - confluence of the Deutsche & Mährische Thaya, Burg Raabs
- Drosendorf - almost unbroken medieval town wall ("the town on the river")
- Thayatal National Park & Burg Hardegg (Austria's smallest town, NP boundary)
- Retzer Windmühle (one of only two working windmills in Austria)
- Retzer Erlebniskeller (around 20 km, the largest historic wine cellar in Austria)
Services along the route
- Bike serviceBike shops and repair options in the larger towns of Zwettl, Waidhofen an der Thaya and Retz; in the thinly settled Thaya borderland the towns lie far apart, so carry a repair kit and a spare tube. Because of the roughly three-kilometre unpaved passage and the constant undulation, a trekking or touring bike is the right choice.
- E-bikeCharging stations above all in Zwettl, Waidhofen, Raabs and Retz. At around 146 kilometres with more than 1,600 metres of ascent, e-bikers should plan stages with a charging option at the day's destination.
- Drinking waterDrinking fountains and inns in the towns; on the long plateau crossing between Zwettl and Waidhofen, and in the lonely Thaya valley, the gaps grow large - top up in good time.
- Food & drinkInns and wine taverns in Zwettl, Waidhofen, Raabs, Drosendorf and Retz; in Retz the cellar lanes and wineries of the Weinviertel invite a tasting. Along the lonely middle section, places to stop are more sparsely spread.
Service points along the route
- Drinking water13
- Repair station6
- Bike shop3
- Bike rental3
- Charging station41
Service points from OpenStreetMap. Coverage may be incomplete, some fountains are seasonal - verify before you rely on them.
05 - Impressions
Paved cycle path near Raabs an der Thaya - this is how the well-built, tree-lined surface rides through the Waldviertel Thaya valley over much of the tour.Photo: Radweg bei Raabs an der Thaya · Andrea Asinger · CC BY-SA 4.0 View across the Thaya to medieval Hardegg - Austria's smallest town in the deep valley of the Thayatal National Park, which the route skirts from above.Photo: Thayatal bei Hardegg · Alexander Graffi · CC BY-SA 3.0 AT Hardegg, Austria's smallest town, nestled in the forested slopes of the Thaya valley right on the Czech border.Photo: Hardegg im Thayatal · Michal Klajban · CC BY-SA 3.0 Drosendorf's medieval town wall encircles the old centre almost without a gap - one of the best-preserved town fortifications in Austria, which the route passes directly.Photo: Stadtmauer Drosendorf · Karl Gruber · CC BY 3.0 AT The Retz windmill above the Weinviertel vineyards - one of only two working windmills in Austria and the landmark at the eastern destination of the tour.Photo: Windmühle Retz · Isiwal · CC BY-SA 4.0
06 - Public transit
- Rail: Nordwestbahn (Vienna - Retz - Znojmo) at the eastern endRetz lies on the electrified Nordwestbahn, around an hour from Vienna, with bicycle carriage on regional trains - the convenient connection at the tour's destination.
- Rail: Zwettlerbahn from Schwarzenau (Franz-Josefs-Bahn) at the western endZwettl is reached via the Zwettlerbahn, which branches off the Franz-Josefs-Bahn (Vienna - Gmünd) at Schwarzenau. There is no direct train between Zwettl and Retz - the return takes several changes and around three to four hours.
- Heritage rail: Reblaus Express (Retz - Drosendorf)On weekends from May to October the historic Reblaus Express links Retz and Drosendorf with bicycle carriage - handy for shortening a section in the Thaya valley. There has been no scheduled passenger service at Raabs or Drosendorf since the Thayatalbahn ended in 2010.
Retz at the eastern end is on the electrified Nordwestbahn (about 1 h from Vienna), Zwettl at the western end on the Zwettlerbahn from Schwarzenau. There is no direct rail link between the two endpoints; the return takes several changes. In the Thaya valley the Reblaus Express (Retz - Drosendorf) helps on weekends with bicycle carriage.
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 (5)
Route derived from OpenStreetMap geometry - may differ slightly from on-the-ground signage. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) · Elevation © DGM Austria (CC BY 3.0 AT). Redistribute with attribution.