From Salzburg to the sea in a week or through Carinthia by bike in four days: The NOCKBIKE region is the ideal starting point and stopover on a multi-day bike tour that knows no boundaries.
Follow the Drau for kilometres, watch the hustle and bustle around the lakes as you cycle past, stop off at places that would otherwise not be on the route and enjoy good conversation: The Carinthia Lake Loop is THE pleasure tour on two wheels through Carinthia. The 400-kilometre route resembles a figure eight on a map and offers an incomparable variety of scenic treasures. There are 20 lakes along the route that invite you to take a dip in their warm, pure drinking water.
The Carinthia Lake Loop is divided into eight stages, which can be ideally spread over four days. But each additional day is a worthwhile bonus, often of a culinary nature. How about a freshly caught whitefish from Lake Millstätter See or a good glass of wine from TrippelGUT near Lake Maltschacher See?
The Drau is the red ribbon along which the Drau Cycle Path orients itself. Sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left of the river close to its banks, then again hidden behind more or less high hills, the Drau Cycle Path follows the steadily rising river from its source at Toblacher Feld to the Croatian-Slovenian border at Varaždin. There are seven stages in total. Spittal am Millstätter See is the destination of the second stage, which leads through the Upper Drau Valley and, at 76 kilometres in length, is also a real workout. A visit to the Museum of Folk Culture, which is housed in the Renaissance Porcia Castle, is a welcome change. If you stay a little longer, cycle routes around Lake Millstätter See and far into the NOCKBIKE region are tempting.
It is an enjoyable tour along old railway lines through more than 20 tunnels, idyllic mountain valleys and right into the heart of enchanting towns. The Alpe-Adria Cycle Path connects the Mozart city of Salzburg with the Adriatic Sea over 410 kilometres. By the time bikers stop in Spittal am Millstätter See, three of the eight stages and a good portion of the uphill metres are already behind them. Almost half of the route of the crossing of the Alps has been completed. A raft trip across the Drau, Italian cosiness and a view of the sea still lie ahead of them. In the evenings, the multi-day cyclists often chat about their experiences in the town's pubs and get into conversation with like-minded people who started out on the Drau Cycle Path in South Tyrol.
