Danube Cycle Path Stage 8 North Bank: Vienna/North Bridge - Hainburg

Vienna has a wealth of sights to offer. And you probably still have many impressions of SchönbrunnPalace and Zoo, Vienna's old town with St. Stephen's Cathedral, Hofburg Palace, Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum, Treasury, Spanish Riding School, KunsthistorischesMuseum and MuseumsQuartier, Belvedere Palace, the Prater with the Giant Ferris Wheel, Art Nouveau, coffee houses and wine taverns.

But now nature awaits you as far as the eye can see. Because before you have even really left the city, you are already in the Danube Floodplain National Park, which stretches like a green ribbon between Vienna and Bratislava. A habitat for over 800 species of higher plants, 30 species of mammals, 100 species of breeding birds and around 60 species of fish.

This can be explained in detail at Orth Castle, just off the cycle path. This four-towered Renaissance moated castle is home to the schlossORTH National Park Center. On the castle island, you will find its own floodplain adventure area including an underwater observation station. The castle also houses the museumORTH with a local history museum that is well worth a visit.

Orth Castle is one of the so-called Marchfeld castles, another of which you will soon get to know - when you leave the Danube cycle path at Eckartsau for a detour to the castle of the same name. This interesting residence of the last Austrian imperial couple Karl and Zita now serves as a backdrop for films, celebrations, weddings and concerts. From April to October, you can explore the castle on guided tours, and the interactive national park exhibition "Wild Wechsel" will whet your appetite for a walk through the Au.

Another detour is recommended at Stopfenreuth - from the floodplain forest to the Danube, where the platform of the "Au-Terrasse" offers views of the river landscape (campsite, wild bathing). From here it is not far to the Danube bridge at Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, which takes you to the south bank and soon to Hainburg.