Heart of Europe Bicycle Tours

Tours

Romantic Danube

Photos

Bike a short stretch and hike to the castle ruins of Aggstein high above the Valley with a view that stretches all the way to the Alps. Bike to Melk (on the opposite side of yesterday's bike ride) where we board a steamer and leisurely float downstream to Krems. From here we take the bus into Vienna, settle into our beautiful hotel right in the heart of the city and get ready for an evening stroll through "The City of Music". Option to bike from Krems to Vienna via Tullin.

This morning we start our biking on the outskirts of Vienna. The journey takes us on tree-lined paths through the forests of the Danube Valley, past castles and through fertile farmlands to Petronell and Carnuntum, the Roman city which preceded even the Roman fort at Vienna. We stop to survey the Roman excavations and then continue on to the medieval town of Hainburg for lunch. From here we will have a relaxing drive into Hungary arriving at our hotel in Budapest later in the afternoon. Tonight we visit the castle hill for a first impression of the "Paris of the East".

This morning we leave for Szentendre, a romantic and idyllic fishing village on the Danube River just outside of Budapest. After we check out the shops we bike along the Big Bend of the Danube to Visegrad and Esztergom. We arrive in time to see the huge cathedral overlooking the city which is the birthplace of King Stephen I, the founder of the Hungarian state about l,000 years ago.

Upon our return to Austria, we will be biking on the east side of Lake Neusiedl, Europe's largest steppe lake and National Park, home to many near-extinct bird species and other unusual flora and fauna. We bike around the lake and on to Eisenstadt, capital city of the Burgenland and longtime home of composer Franz Joseph Haydn. Tonight you may attend a concert at the renowned Eszterhazy Palace.

This morning's bike ride brings us across the fertile plains south of Vienna to the base of the Austrian Alps. From Puchberg we take the old cog railway to the top of Schneeberg (Snow Mountain) with a fabulous view of Alpine peaks and valleys. After a lovely hike down amidst flower adorned meadows, we may either bike or take our bus to our hotel in Bade, a thermal spa on the outskirts of Vienna.

For our last day of biking in Austria, we will bike through Hell's Canyon, romantic small towns and pine forests and always with a view of Alpine peaks and clear flowing streams. We arrive back at our hotel in Baden for the disassembly of our bicycles and get ready for a farewell dinner at a typical Viennese Heuriger in a vineyard setting, complete with strolling violins and folk singers.

First half of trip

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