Alpe-Adria Cycle Path

The Alpe-Adria Cycle Path
Distance
about 410 km (255 miles)
Countries
Austria, Italy
Difficulty
Moderate
Type of trip
Cycling route

The Alpe-Adria cycle path runs about 410 km from Salzburg to Grado on the Adriatic, crossing the main ridge of the Alps on the way. It is usually ridden in eight stages over a week or so. It follows the Salzach south, climbs the Gastein valley, then drops through Carinthia via Spittal an der Drau and Villach and enters Italy at Tarvisio. Nearly all the climbing is in Austria.

You don’t ride over the Tauern. Riders take the train through the railway tunnel from Böckstein to Mallnitz, an 11-minute trip that usually runs every hour. The tunnel will be closed for engineering work from 8 February to 9 July 2027, with a replacement bike shuttle promised, so check with ÖBB before you book. In Italy the path follows a disused railway, tunnels and all, down the Canal Valley beside the Fella, then runs flat across the Friulian plain to the sea.

Highlights along the way

  1. Pass Lueg and Werfen: the route squeezes through the Salzach gorge, with Hohenwerfen Castle above Werfen.
  2. Bad Gastein: a spa town high in the Gastein valley, on the edge of the Hohe Tauern National Park.
  3. Canal Valley: the old railway line from Tarvisio down the Fella, mostly gentle and downhill.
  4. Venzone: a walled town almost destroyed by the 1976 Friuli earthquake and rebuilt stone by stone from its own rubble.
  5. Palmanova and Aquileia: two UNESCO-listed sites on the last stage from Udine to Grado.

Distance

About 410 km (the official site says 415 km), usually in eight stages.

Best time to go

May to September. The bike carriage on the Tauern tunnel train runs from late April to mid-October. Summer is the busiest time, so book beds early.

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