Alpe Adria: Salzburg to Trieste

Day 1: Arrival in Salzburg
You will arrive in Salzburg, the city of Mozart. Baroque monuments line the streets of this stunning old town — sit down in one of the many cafés, taste a classic Mozartkugel, and let the anticipation build for the ride ahead.

Day 2: Salzburg – Bischofshofen/St. Johann (65 km)
With the Hohensalzburg fortress at your back, you will leave the city and head south along the Salzach river. The mountains are already visible in the distance. Along the way you will pass Hellbrunn Palace, where spectacular trick fountains have delighted visitors for over four hundred years, and Hallein, famous for its crooked houses and ancient salt mines. The Golling waterfall, reachable on foot via a short trail, is well worth a stop.

Day 3: Bischofshofen/St. Johann – Bad Gastein (40 km)
You will ride into the quiet Gastein Valley, which until the twentieth century was accessible only by mountain trails and narrow roads. The route follows the Gasteiner Ache river, framed by the peaks of the Hohe Tauern. Passing through Dorfgastein and Bad Hofgastein, you will reach Bad Gastein — the so-called Monte Carlo of the Alps — a thermal spa town famous for its grand Belle Époque hotels. The Gastein waterfall, which has drawn artists and poets for centuries, is the main attraction here.

Day 4: Bad Gastein – Villach (90 km + train; mostly downhill)
You will pedal to Böckstein and board the train through the Tauernschleuse tunnel to Mallnitz. From there, the ride follows the Möll river through the dramatic mountain scenery of the Hohe Tauern National Park along the Glockner cycle path. The route descends gently to Spittal an der Drau, known for its Renaissance castle Porcia, and continues along the Drava cycle path to Villach, Carinthia’s second-largest city.

Day 5: Villach – Venzone/surroundings (95 km, or 55 km with the train — ticket not included)
You will follow the Gail river out of Villach and cross the Italian border within a few kilometres. The Val Canale opens up ahead, with Tarvisio at its heart — a town where Italian, Austrian and Slovenian cultures have always met. The route threads through wide valleys and dense forests beneath the Carnic Alps. You may shorten the stage by train to Tarvisio or Ugovizza (ticket not included).

Day 6: Venzone/surroundings – Udine (55 km)
You will reach Gemona, one of Friuli’s most beautiful historic towns, dominated by the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. Today’s theme is wine: the road is lined with lush vineyards that invite you to stop and taste. The stage ends in Udine, an elegant city shaped by centuries of Venetian influence. Take a coffee in the famous Piazza and stroll through the late-Gothic and Renaissance old town.

Day 7: Udine – Grado (60 km)
Carried by the warm Scirocco breeze, you will ride south across the Friulian plain. Along the way, the star-shaped fortress of Palmanova — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — and the vast Roman ruins of Aquileia await your visit. You will arrive in Grado, the sun island, whose three kilometres of south-facing beach are never in shadow.

Day 8: Grado – Trieste (85 km, or 70 km with the train — ticket not included)
The route leads through the rocky Karst landscape, dotted with underground caverns, before returning to the coast along a stretch of breathtaking shoreline where plateaus plunge into blue water and white cliffs rise against the sky. You will pass seaside resorts like Duino, Sistiana and Barcola, and visit the romantic Miramare Castle perched above the Bay of Grignano. The ride ends in the Gulf of Trieste — a magnificent Habsburg city and a fitting finale to this Alpine-to-Adriatic journey.

Day 9: Departure from Trieste
Individual departure, or extend your stay to explore Trieste further.