Danube Cycle Route Stage 7 South Bank: Klosterneuburg - Petronell

For a guided tour through the Klosterneuburg Abbey, founded in the 12th century, you should allow some time. At least to take a look into the abbey's treasure chamber or the four-story cellar complex of Austria's oldest winery. The Klosterneuburg Opera is also worth a visit. From the abbey, it is only a stone's throw to Vienna.

If you don't want to bypass the Danube metropolis over the Nordbrücke, you will soon reach the so-called "Danube Canal" on the south bank, which takes you directly into the Old Town. After freshening up at the cyclist hotel of your choice (see also www.wien.info), nothing stands in the way of an extensive city tour.

Attractions include Schönbrunn with its palace, zoo, palace park, and Gloriette, the Vienna Old Town with St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Hofburg (imperial apartments, Sisi Museum, treasure chamber, Spanish Riding School), the Art History Museum, the graphic collection Albertina, and the MuseumsQuartier. Also awaiting you are Belvedere Palace, the Prater with the Giant Ferris Wheel, Art Nouveau, coffee houses, and Heurigen...

If you leave the city on the north bank, you enter the Lobau – a part of the Donau-Auen National Park. This unique habitat for beavers, kingfishers, and even sea eagles is among the largest intact floodplain landscapes in Central Europe. You can learn more at Orth Castle, which you will soon reach after Schönau. This pretty water castle houses the schlossORTH National Park Center (exhibitions, excursions, boat tours, and museumORTH with a noteworthy local history museum). On the castle island, you will find the floodplain experience area including an underwater observation station.

After a ferry crossing over the Danube, you will then arrive at Petronell-Carnuntum. Shortly before reaching the municipality, you pass Austria's largest Roman monument and the region's landmark, the Heidentor, remains of a triumphal monument from the 4th century. Especially worth seeing is the Roman city Carnuntum with an authentically reconstructed Roman district.

Klosterneuburg - Vienna - Schönau - Haslau - Scharndorf - Petronell-Carnuntum

Route description:

You start your route in Klosterneuburg and follow Donaustraße to the Nordbrücke. Here you change the riverbank and enjoy the beautiful Vienna riverside promenade. In between, you stop at one of the cozy Viennese cafés and enjoy a melange with a piece of Sacher Torte. 

At the central tank depot in the Lobau, turn left and ride along Lobgrundstraße through a long right curve. Then it goes straight for a short distance, still along Lobgrundstraße, until you turn left at the second right curve. You leave the nearby Danube bank and travel through the unspoiled Donau-Auen until you see a bridge on your left to cross over.

Shortly before Schönau, the path branches off to the east. After about seven kilometers, you reach a small industrial area. Here, you continue south. Alternatively, you have the option to turn left here to visit the picturesque Orth Castle. The castle is open almost year-round and offers guided hikes through the Donau-Auen. You cross with the ferry, leave the Danube bank, and pass through Haslau. 

After a short time, you reach B9, along whose south side a cycle path runs, which you follow for about four kilometers. This takes you southward to Scharndorf and from there further east. You pass the remains of the Heidentor and finally reach Petronell-Carnuntum. The market town has its secondary name due to a Roman fortress located nearby, whose ruins can be visited in the local Roman district (open-air museum).