Autumn in Austria
A loop from Vienna to the Tyrol and back, timed for late September and October when the larches turn and the alpine passes are still open.
Vienna to the Tyrol in autumn
Autumn is the practical season here. Campsites are half empty, the Danube vineyards are being harvested, and the high roads stay open until the first serious snow, usually in early November.
Two costs to plan for: the Austrian vignette for vehicles under 3.5 t, and the Grossglockner toll, which is charged separately and is higher for motorhomes. The Grossglockner road closes at night and shuts for the winter in early November. Carry snow chains from mid-October, since passes above 2,000 m can get their first fall weeks before the season officially ends.
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Top attractions
See what's worth seeing in the Dolomites
Hallstatt
A village of 750 people wedged between the Hallstatter See and a salt mine worked since the Bronze Age. Coaches arrive from 10:00, so come earlier or stay the night.
Grossglockner High Alpine Road
Forty-eight kilometres and 36 hairpins to the Hochtor tunnel at 2,504 m, with a spur to the Franz-Josefs-Hohe viewpoint above the Pasterze glacier.
Wachau valley
A 36 km stretch of the Danube between Melk and Krems, terraced with Gruner Veltliner and Riesling. Harvest runs through October.
Schonbrunn Palace
The Habsburg summer residence: 1,441 rooms, a Baroque garden and the oldest zoo in the world, opened in 1752.
Route suggestion
Day by day
Vienna
Schonbrunn in the morning, the Ringstrasse and a Heuriger in Grinzing in the evening, then 80 km west along the Danube.
Wachau valley
Melk Abbey, then the south bank road through Spitz and Durnstein. Ferries cross the river at several points if you want both banks.
Salzkammergut and Hallstatt
About 250 km southwest through the lake district: Mondsee, Wolfgangsee, Gosausee. The Gosau lakes give the classic Dachstein reflection.
Grossglockner
Two hundred kilometres to Heiligenblut, then the toll road over the Hochtor. Allow four hours for 48 km, because the viewpoints are the reason you came.
Innsbruck and the run east
Down the Salzach valley and 250 km west to Innsbruck for the Golden Roof and the Nordkette cable car. The 480 km back to Vienna on the A12 and A1 is best split over two days.
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