The name given to this charming bike ride through the Austrian Salzkammergut, the Bavarian Chiemgau and the impressive Tyrolean mountains is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The starting point and destination of this trip was the birthplace of Mozart, the historic city of Salzburg.
Mozart was born on the banks of the Salzach on January 27 in 1756 and quickly became famous even as a child prodigy who played three years of piano and violin at the age of 4. At only 12 years old, he could already remember a musical work that included three operas, six symphonies and many other pieces of music. His childhood consisted of many travels across Europe, where he played his music in concerts. During his rare visits to his homeland, he retired to Chiemgau and Salzkammergut, visited friends and relatives and recovered from the efforts of the journey. On the Mozart Bike Trail You can now follow in his footsteps, from Salzburg via St. Gilgen to Chiemgau and the Tyrolean Inn Valley and along the Salzach back to Salzburg.
Characteristics of the itinerary
length
The length of the Mozart cycle route with the beginning and end of Salzburg is about 450 kilometers. Excursions and variants are not included.
Nature and quality of the way
The Mozart cycle route uses mostly quiet side roads, farm roads and forest roads. Along the rivers and lakes there are cycle paths. There are only short sections that are not paved, like behind Roitham am Chiemsee or Inzell. The road rarely has heavy traffic, sometimes short sections, but never more than a mile or two. On the main road between Kössen and Kirchdorf, traffic may increase during peak periods. The road is partly mountainous, the steepest slopes await you in the Tyrol between Walchsee and Kirchdorf and on the shortcut between Ruhpolding and Reit im Winkel.
Marking
The bike path is marked from Salzburg to Rosenheim and back to Salzburg. The branch road to St. Gilgen is also indicated as the Mozart Bike Trail, as is the path between Laufen, Reit im Winkl and Kössen. The variant through the Saalachtal (Bad Reichenhall-Salzburg) is part of the Tauern cycle and is therefore marked as such, as well as the Irrsee variant (St. Wolfgang-Irrsee-Köstendorf) which is a section of the Salzkammergut cycle path. In the province of Salzburg, the panels are green with white letters, in Tyrol, the panels are yellow-blue, otherwise they are white with a brown inscription. On all the signs, Mozart's head is visible. Sometimes, the signaling may still be insufficient.
Tour planning - information points
The outer ring of the Mozart cycle path from Salzburg Salzburg on the lake, through the Chiemgau and Inn valley in the Tyrol, along the Saalach and through the return to Berchtesgaden Salzburg is about 430 kilometers. There are also two interesting abbreviations however: in Laufen is possible directly to Reit im Winkl and Kössen in Tirol to hit like the Chiemgau and the Inn Valley. This branch in the Kaiserwinkel and the connection to Tyrol are described in the fourth section. It is also a good idea to arrive in Salzburg on the Tauern cycle path in Bad Reichenhall and pass the road through the Berchtesgadener Land. The description of this abbreviation is given in the third section as "Saalachtal variant". In case of lack of time, you can return to Salzburg by a short loop through the Salzburg Lake District of Freilassing. This abbreviation can be found in the fourth section on the map "Excursion Salzburg". For the whole visit, plan about 10-14 days, where you will travel an average of 40 kilometers per day. Between Niederndorf and Salzburg, however, you should plan shorter stages, as there are some uphill sections here. This leaves a lot of time for the many sights along the way. Due to the abovementioned abbreviations or connections, it is possible to shorten the return of the Mozart cycle path.