The heart of Salzburg and the lakes of the Salzkammergut

Level 3/5

Moderate to challenging. Stages range from 20 to 80km, with a few climbs between lakes; most of the route is flat.
The terrain along the lakes and the Salzach is flat. The rest of the route, however, is hillier.
The route mainly follows cycle paths and forest tracks closed to traffic, with a few stretches on minor roads that can be busy in high season. There are also a few short stretches on busier roads.

Luggage transfers are included. You only carry what you need for the day in a small bag or pannier, along with your picnic lunch and snacks for the ride. Your luggage will be waiting for you at the hotel in the evening. We recommend carrying a change of clothes in your panniers, as your luggage may occasionally arrive late due to rare, unforeseen circumstances, such as traffic jams.

Bookings are available for groups of 2 people or more; solo travellers can also book, but this incurs a supplement higher than the single room supplement.

8 days, 7 nights

Available options:

• 7 days, 6 nights
• 9 days, 8 nights

We provide digital travel documents including a list of your accommodation, any vouchers and all the information you need for your stay to run smoothly. Printed travel documents are available for a supplement.
This is a self-guided trip, without a guide, so you travel independently throughout your stay.

Accommodation

In rooms for two, with an en-suite shower and toilet.

• Category A: in 3*+ and 4* hotels
• Category B: in 3* hotels, inns and guesthouses

Hotel classification

Our German and Austrian neighbours generally do not have double beds with a single large mattress, and rooms with 2 twin beds are rare. There is usually a single bed base with two 90 cm mattresses, each with its own duvet. If you would like a twin room, please let us know when booking. We will do our best, subject to availability. Rooms for 3: these usually have an extra bed in the form of a fold-out sofa bed; however, the rooms are generally spacious. More and more hotels are choosing not to have an official rating, including establishments that were still rated a year or two ago. This does not mean their quality has declined—far from it. If we indicate, for example, a comfort level of “3* or equivalent”, this means that the establishment does not necessarily have an official rating, but offers a level of comfort equivalent to that of a 3* hotel.

Meals

Breakfast is included. Lunch and dinner are not included. A half-board option is not available on this tour. Along the way, you will often find small inns. You can also order a packed lunch the evening before for the following day, payable directly to the hotel. In the evening, you will easily find somewhere to eat at your hotel or a nearby Gasthof. Please note: our Austrian neighbours eat early in the evening.

Start

On Day 1 in the afternoon in Salzburg

End

On Day 7, 8 or 9 (depending on the length of your stay) in Salzburg in the morning, after breakfast.

You can add an extra night in Salzburg before or after your cycling holiday.

Depart on any day you choose from April to early October.

Bike hire

These are quality German bikes from KTM or an equivalent manufacturer, which should allow you to enjoy your cycling tour without any mechanical problems. Although this is our preferred option, please let us know when booking if you would like conventional handlebar brakes, without a coaster brake.

Standard bike:

• Unisex bike with 21/24 gears and handlebar brakes (from 148 to 190 cm)

Men’s model: 21 gears, without a coaster brake, from 165 to 205 cm. Please note: advance reservation is required! If you are taller than 1,90m or shorter than 1,60m, please let us know when booking.

Standard bike

Men’s model: 21 gears (without a coaster brake, frame size 64/60/56 cm)

Men’s bike

PLUS bike: With higher-quality components (e.g. hydraulic brakes, Shimano XT/CUES gears), the “plus” is clearly visible, and the PLUS bike offers a sportier riding position. Men’s model, 20 or 27 gears with handlebar brakes, frame sizes from 155 cm to 205 cm.

PLUS bike

Electric bike: unisex bike with 8 gears (frame sizes from 148 to 195 cm), Bosch Active Line Plus motor, removable 550 Wh battery with portable charger, hydraulic brakes, range of up to 120 kilometres

E-bike

Children’s bike (on request): Depending on the child’s height, we offer children’s bikes, Follow-Me attachments, trailers or child seats.

• children’s bike with 20-inch wheels, 12 gears, handlebar brakes (for heights between 115–125 cm)
• bike with 24-inch wheels, 18 gears, handlebar brakes (for heights between 125–140 cm)

Follow-Me (on request) for 20-inch wheels (for heights up to 125 cm)
Trailer (on request) for one or two children weighing up to 29 kg in total
Child seat (on request) for a child weighing up to 22 kg

The bikes come with:

• A waterproof pannier
• A handlebar bag
• A safety kit with tools and a spare inner tube
• A pump
• A bike lock

By plane

Scheduled Air France or Lufthansa flights from Paris and Lyon to Salzburg or Munich.
Salzburg Airport W. A. Mozart www.salzburg-airport.com
You can take a taxi from the airport to Salzburg city centre. You can also take a bus to the railway station (route 2, Hauptbahnhof stop, cost approx. € 3 per person, journey time approx. 25 minutes).
Munich Franz Josef Strauß Airport www.munich-airport.de
Take the train to Salzburg (one change at München Ost). The cost is between 25 and 45 € per person. Visit the German railways website for more information on timetables: https://int.bahn.de/fr

By train

Depart from Paris Gare de l’Est or Gare du Nord, depending on the train, for Salzburg (change at Mannheim and Munich). If necessary, continue to Trumer Seen (approximately 45 minutes).
Visit the Austrian railways website: www.oebb.at
For the part of the journey operated by the French railway company (for example, from Paris to Mannheim), you can visit: https://www.sncf-connect.com/.

Example: Depart Paris Gare de l’Est at 09:05; arrive in Salzburg at 18:42 (connections at Mannheim and Munich).
Example: Depart Paris Gare de l’Est at 09:05; arrive in Salzburg at 17:21 (connections at Mannheim and Munich).

By car

www.viamichelin.fr, www.mappy.fr
From Paris: approximately 10 hours by car
From Lyon: approximately 10 hours by car

Parking

Salzburg: hotel parking costs approximately 15€ per day per day, payable locally; reservations are not possible
Public multi-storey car park, costing between 85 and 155€ per week
Trumer Lakes: free parking is available at our partner hotels. If you are staying in Seekirchen, parking spaces cost approximately 10 € per day. We strongly recommend booking in advance.

Note: The travel information above is provided for guidance only and is subject to change. Please check before departure.

A number of our trips offer opportunities to swim, either during a day’s route or at the end of the day. It would be a shame to miss out! However, please bear in mind that your guides are not lifeguards; you therefore swim under your own responsibility and at your own risk.

Member of Agir pour un Tourisme Responsable (ATR)

Since 2012, Grand Angle has been a member of ATR, the leading association for more responsible tourism. We design our trips – on foot, by bike and on snow – to invite everyone to discover the world differently: with curiosity, respect and kindness.

As members of the board of directors since 2018, we actively help guide the sector towards more meaningful practices. In practical terms, we work to ensure:

• Transparency in our practices and pricing
• Respect for our partners and local communities
• Protection of the environment on every trip we run

We also share the values of the Traveller’s Ethical Charter, which encourages everyone to take simple steps to protect the places they visit and foster meaningful encounters.

Travelife Partner

Since 2025, Grand Angle has been recognised as a Travelife Partner, an international label that certifies our responsible environmental, ethical and sustainable management practices, both within our company and in our work with partners and the organisation of our trips.

This label, the second level of a demanding international certification programme, recognises our practical efforts to support responsible tourism. We are actively working towards the next level, Travelife Certified, in line with our sustainable development policy

For cycling

• Cycling shorts or tights, depending on the season
• Cycling gloves
• A helmet
• Sunglasses (to protect against the sun, wind and midges)
• A windproof jacket
• T-shirts or cycling jerseys
• A handlebar smartphone mount and a power bank
• A handlebar map holder
• A water bottle

Please note: synthetic technical clothing performs very well. New merino wool clothing has also become available; it performs very well, is comfortable to wear and has the advantage of not developing odours from perspiration (brands such as Icebreaker, Ruka, etc.)!
As a general rule, avoid cotton, which makes you cold when wet.

Protection from sun and rain

• Sunscreen and sunglasses
• A hat, cap or bucket hat (helmet)
• A windproof jacket
• A rain poncho or a “Gore-Tex” jacket

After exercise

• A jumper or fleece
• Comfortable trousers for walking
• A pair of shorts
• A tracksuit or a change of clothes
• A lightweight, long-sleeved cotton shirt
• A pair of trainers for the evening
• Spare clothes and underwear
• Toiletry bag
• Swimwear
• A small first-aid kit: personal medication, adhesive strapping tape, paraffin gauze or “2nd skin”, gauze, disinfectant, arnica granules and aspirin for minor aches and injuries …

• If your bike does not have a pannier, bring a comfortable small 40-litre backpack with a waist belt to carry your personal belongings and picnic during the day. If you have a luggage rack, you can secure your bag to it with bungee cords. Rental bikes come with a pannier for your belongings. Bring a small backpack as well; this makes it easy to carry your belongings when you stop to visit somewhere along the way.
• A bag for luggage transfers: a backpack or travel bag in good condition

Country: Austria

Capital: Vienna

The Dachstein / Salzkammergut

The alpine landscape of Hallstatt-Dachstein, which forms part of the Salzkammergut and therefore the Eastern Alps, is characterised by a visually dramatic setting, with gigantic mountains rising steeply from narrow valleys. Since medieval times, its prosperity has relied on salt mining centred on the town of Hallstatt, whose name means “salt settlement”, a reminder of its original purpose.

Systematic salt production began in the region as early as the Middle Bronze Age (the end of the 2nd millennium BC). Natural brine was collected in containers and then evaporated […] Salt mining continued until Roman times and subsequently resumed in the 14th century. The large quantities of timber needed to support the mine tunnels and evaporate the brine were sourced from the extensive forests of the mountain ranges, which had been directly controlled and managed by the Austrian Crown since the 16th century. The town of Hallstatt was rebuilt in the late Baroque style after a fire in 1750 destroyed its wooden buildings.

Nature

The beauty of the Alpine landscape—with its high-altitude pastures used for summer grazing by sheep and cattle since prehistoric times as part of the practice of transhumance, which still gives valley communities the right to access specific high-altitude grazing areas today—was “discovered” in the early 19th century by writers such as the novelist Adalbert Stifter, the poet and playwright Franz Grillparzer, and most of the renowned painters of the Biedermeier school. As tourist numbers grew, hotels and saltwater spas were developed to accommodate visitors.

Authenticity
As a result of its distinctive historical development, this cultural landscape has retained a degree of natural and social authenticity that is exceptional for the Alpine region. It has preserved its spatial and physical structure, the result of the interaction between people and the environment, to an exceptional degree. This quality and context were further enhanced by the many artists who came to stay in the region; their numerous paintings and depictions provide further evidence of its value.

Travel documents

Travellers, including minors, must carry a national identity card or passport (EU nationals).

Health

Bring your European Health Insurance Card, which you should request from your health insurance provider at least 15 days before departure. Health conditions are similar to those in France.

Austrian National Tourist Office. Tel 0153839520 – fax 0145619767
58, rue de Monceau – 75068 PARIS or PO Box 475 – 75366 PARIS Cedex 08
Email: oewparworldnet.fr brjcne@jbeyqarg.se – website: https://b2b.austria.info/fr/

Dialling code from France: 0043 / Dialling code to France: 0033

The euro