Drau-Cycle Path shortened, Lienz – Villach

Arrival in Lienz in Eastern Tyrol located at the confluence of the rivers Isel and Drau. With a total of two thousand sunshine hours annually it is Austria’s sunniest holiday region. The breathtaking panorama onto the Alps and the Lienz-Dolomites will excite you.

Hotel (example): Schlossberghof

A train ride takes you comfortably from Lienz to San Candido. The river Drau is still a young river in this section, babbling and breaking her way through the narrow valley. Defiant fortresses, castels and palaces rise majestically above the valley and herald desires of the once rich and powerful. Modest Romanesque chapels, Gothic and Baroque churches, crucifixes and piety columns invite for a short break. Over a long distance the rugged, bizzare rockfaces of the Lienz-Dolomites tower over the landscape and hence turn today’s stage into an unforgettable experience.

Hotel (example): Schlossberghof

From Lienz, the confluence of the rivers Isel and Drau, you again follow the river Drau now appearing in a shade of gray, by the locals called ”glacier milk”, which is due to very fine rock particles coming from the gigantic rocks. Along ancient Roman trade routes – past ruins, castles, little churches and wayside crosses – you cycle through the picturesque Oberdrautal-valley. En route you pass pretty villages such as Pirkach, Oberdrauburg and the first market town on Carinthian soil, Dellach.

Hotel (example): Ferienhotel Sunshine

Today you cycle mostly along the river Drau through the marvellous Carinthian farmland featuring forests, fields, old farm houses and little hamlets. Cosy wine taverns, called ‚Buschenschenken‘ await with proper farm food and invite you to take a break. Past time-honoured farmhouses decorated with flowers the well-developed Drau cycle path takes you to Spittal an der Drau. The centre of Spittal features a main square, which you might call ‚cute‘ and a particularly beautiful palace, which is considered one of the most impressive Renaissance building with the clearest style in all of Central Europe and is called ‚Porcia‘ named after the previous owners.

Hotel (example): Hotel Ertl

Today you cycle through the ”Cultural Promenade of Upper Carinthia”. You leave the area of Spital along the river Drau and immerse yourself into an ancient cultural scenery, meadows and forests and idyllic wetland- areas. Past Kellerberg palace always along the river Drau you reach Villach. The heart of Villach features the pretty old part of town with its Italian flair and the cosy pubs and restaurants. The Drau-metropolis presents itself to visitors adequately as vivacious and oozing southern flair. Part of the character of the town is definitely the river Drau, meandering through Villach just like a blue ribbon.

Hotel (example): Palais26