Published on: 9 January 2018 | Last updated: 16 January 2020
Using this guide
This page is the introduction to a series of articles, it is intended to provide an overview of the route, together with information on how to get to and from the start and finishing points. The downloads section at the bottom of the page includes downloads of GPS files as well as maps in PDF format.
The route is described in more detail in the articles in the series. You can navigate between them using the Next/Previous arrows at the end of the main article, or the list of links at the bottom of the page (and in the sidebar if your screen is wide enough).
At a glance
Distance
564 to 590 kilometres, depending on which combination of variants your choose
Difficulty/terrain
Relatively easy - the only significant climb on the route is from Innsbruck to Brenner. However, note that if you are heading in the other direction, there is a tough climb from Wiesing to the Achensee.
Traffic
Mainly on traffic-free cycleways or restricted roads, or on quiet roads. The climb to Brenner involves 8 kilometres or so on the main B182 road; this was not especially busy, but you can catch the train if you’d rather avoid it. More recently the closure of a section of the cycleway near Castelavazzo in the Veneto means that cyclists have to take to a busy road for 1.6 kilometres. Again, there’s the option of taking the train. There’s also a stressful stretch near Conegliano in the Veneto — but there is a variant that lets you avoid most of this bit.
Surfaces
Mixed surfaces. In Austria and Germany, a significant proportion is on aggregate-surfaced bike paths - although these are generally in good condition. In Italy, a greater proportion of the route is on tarmac, but there are still some stretches on compacted-aggregate cycleways. The longest aggregate-surfaced sections are between Toblach and Cortina d’Ampezzo, and the final stretch from Treviso along the Sile river.
Signposting
The route is well signposted. The München-Venezia signage mainly relies on stickers or waymarkers added to existing cycle route signs — so it’s worth knowing the names of the cycle routes it uses, and the names of places along the way.
Weather and when to go
May to September is probably the best time to go. You could go in April or May, but expect the sections in the mountains to be cold — with average temperatures in the single figures. Bear in mind that in the mountains the June, July and August are the rainiest months, both in terms of the overall amount, and the number of days on which it rains. However, this often takes the form of a thunderstorm in the late afternoon or early evening.
Overview
The München-Venezia cycle route follows traffic-free cycleways and quiet roads through Bavaria in southern Germany, the Austrian Tyrol, and the Italian Dolomites. It is possibly the easiest and most scenic route across the Alps.
Through southern Germany there are two variants, which meet up at the Austrian border: one follows the Isar river via the spa town of Bad Tölz (this is the variant described here), while the other goes via the Tegernsee.
The two variants come together again just over the Austrian border. The route then continues to the Achensee. From Maurach on the Achensee, it descends fairly steeply down into the valley of the river Inn before continuing following the Inn Radweg, possibly Austria’s premier cycleway. The Inntal is a broad river valley cutting its way west to east through the Alps, with villages high on the valley sides. As well as the dramatic scenery, this is an area with a rich history.
The route climbs from the Inn valley through the Wipptal to the pass at Brenner (1370m). There are a couple of options, but whichever one you take you are looking at a climb with a total altitude gain of over 1000 metres.
With the climb over, there’s a long descent towards Fortezza Franzensfeste where the main route turns east into the PusterTal (Puster Valley). The views of the Dolomites get ever more impressive as you head towards Toblach. At Toblach, you connect with the cycleway that follows the old railway line that once ran through the heart of the Dolomites. A short climb (a little over 300 metres altitude gain) takes you to the Passo Cimabanche and the border with the Veneto, and another long, and very scenic, descent down through Cortina d’Ampezzo and then on from there into the valley of the Piave river, following the historic Via Alemagna.
The final sections skirt the foothills of the Alps before turning south towards Treviso. From Treviso, the route follows the river Sile as it meanders towards the Laguna di Venezia (Venetian lagoon).
Highlights
- the altstadt (old towns) in Bad Tölz, Schwaz, Hall in Tirol and Innsbruck
- the Achensee
- the Hungerburgbahn funicular in Innsbruck
- the Inn valley and Wipptal
- the historic centres of Sterzing (Vipiteno), Brixen (Bressanone), Bruneck (Brunico), and Treviso
A convenient route north over the Alps?
If you’re looking for a route over the Alps through Austria and into southern Germany, then you may be looking at this route and the Via Claudia Augusta. Both take you through some beautiful countryside and atmospheric alpine villages, but they both also have their problematic points: on the Via Claudia it is the crossing over the Fern Pass, and on the München-Venezia it’s the climb from Wiesing to Maurach. If you’re travelling heavily-loaded and looking for a convenient link to get you to the airport at München, I wouldn’t really recommend either.
It may be that the best option is to go round the mountains by following the Inn Radweg north either to Rosenheim where you can pick up the Mangfall Radweg to München, or continue to Passau where the Inn joins the Donau (Danube). I say may as I haven’t yet had the chance to test it out. For a guide to the Mangfall Radweg (in German) see: radtourenchef.de: Mangfall Radweg.
Options
There are four places where you have a choice of variants
- between München and Achenkirch you have the option of following the Isar river via the pretty spa town of Bad Tölz or going via the Tegernsee (which I assume is also pretty)
- on the outskirts of Innsbruck you have the option of continuing into the city’s aldstadt (historic centre) and on from there to the Brenner pass, or taking a slightly longer, but a little less steep, route towards the pass
- north of Brixen (Bressanone) you can opt to make a shortish detour to see the town (definitely don’t miss it)
- in the final stretch as you approach Venezia you have the option of heading for Jesolo and the Venezia Lido on the islands on the eastern edge of the Venetian lagoon. This is worth considering if you plan to consider south towards Chioggia and Ravenna or if you are looking for more economical accommodation
In addition to these options, I would also highly recommend a side trip to the Pragser Wildsee (Lago di Braies) which is quite possibly the most beautiful lake in the Dolomites. (But note that the climb get to it is pretty steep).
Overview map showing the options
Map: MV-Overview-FT-map-show map in overlay | MV-Overview-FT-map-show map in new window
Connections
This route connects with several national and international cycle routes, so there are lots of possibilities for customising your itinerary. Here are a few.
The route connects with the the Inn Radweg, one of Austria’s premier cycleways, near Jenbach. The Inn is a tributary of the Donau (Danube) which it joins at Passau, so you could follow the Inn Radweg from Passau (or Rosenheim). The Innradweg continues from Innsbruck to Imst where it connects with the Via Claudia, and from there you can continue on to Italy and the Reschen Pass.
In Italy you could continue south from Brixen towards Bozen (Bolzano) and from there follow the Adige (Etsch river) as it heads south towards the sea. You could follow it, along one of Europe’s best traffic-free cycleways, to Verona, or turn of to the Lago di Garda.
Again in Italy, you could continue from Toblach (Dobbiaco) to Innichen (San Candido) and from there follow the Drau (Drava) as it heads from its source near Toblach to the Donau.
Map and altitude profile
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München-Venezia cycle route distances | |
---|---|
München to Bad Tölz | 58 kms |
Bad Tölz to Achenkirch | 48 kms | Achenkirch to Hall in Tirol | 51 kms |
Hall in Tirol to Brenner via Ampass | 49 kms |
Hall in Tirol to Brenner via Innsbruck | 50 kms |
Brenner to Sterzing (Vipiteno) | 22 kms |
Sterzing to Bruneck (Brunico) | 57 kms |
Bruneck to Toblach | 29 kms |
Toblach to Cortina d’Ampezzo | 29 kms |
Cortina d’Ampezzo to Vittorio Veneto | 105 kms |
Vittorio Veneto to Treviso | 67 kms |
Treviso to Mestre | 45 kms |
Mestre to Venezia | 10 kms |
Getting there
Planes
The Flughafen München (Munich airport) is to the north-east of the city. You can catch the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof in the centre of town (the journey takes about 40 minutes). Note that there are restrictions on when you can travel with a bike: according to mvv-muenchen.de, you may not take your bike on trains during the rush hour (i.e. Mondays to Fridays between 6:00 and 9:00 and, between 16:00 and 18:00 during school term times). Bike tickets cost 3€. Check the page for the detail on tandems, folders and bikes with small wheels (not to mention ‘fairy cycles’, whatever they are).
Alternatively, the Isar river and Isarradweg pass close to the airport so that you could follow the cycleway through München. You have the option of riding either bank, but you’ll need to cross the river if you want to follow the main cycleway which is on the right bank (looking in the direction the river is flowing). According to the Open Street Map, there’s a cycleway that takes you from the Besucherpark along the Nordallee. It then follows the B301 south to the Grünecker Straße where you turn right and cross over the river.
Trains
As you’d expect, there are frequent train services to München Hauptbahnhof from a wide range of European cities.
München has a well-established network of cycleways, so it’s relatively easy to pick up the route direct from the station — although you may find that you need to get off and push your bike through the pedestrian zone if you want to take the direct route through the Altstadt.
… and getting back
Planes
Venezia’s Marco Polo airport is relatively close to the centre of Mestre, and you can reach while avoiding the main road, by going from Mestre to Favaro Veneto, and then heading for Tessera.
Treviso airport is also a short train ride away.
Trains and coaches
The most convenient option for returning from Venezia to München is the DB-ÖBB Eurocity service via Innsbruck. There are places for 16 bikes on each train This is the most direct train with the shortest journey time, however, there are only two departures a day, arriving in München in the evening. There are earlier departures from Verona, and you can take a regional train from Venezia to Verona.
Another option would be to take an ÖBB Railjet or Intercitybus via Udine to Villach, and change trains there - journey times are a little longer but not by very much, so they are worth considering.
There are at least two companies offering coach transfers back from Venezia. The ones I know about are: Zion Reisen (zionreisen.eu) and Schmid Reisen (bikeshuttle.at).
More information
Places to stay
Transport and services
Resources
Tour operators
Downloads
Maps to print out or view offline
GPS files
Articles in this series
- München-Venezia Overview
- München-Venezia: 1: München to Achenkirch
- München-Venezia: 2: Achenkirch to Hall-in-Tirol
- München-Venezia: 3: Hall-in-Tirol to Brenner
- München-Venezia: 4: Brenner to Fortezza Franzensfeste
- München-Venezia: 5: the PusterTal (Fortezza Franzensfeste to Toblach)
- München-Venezia: 6: the Ciclabile delle Dolomiti
- München-Venezia: 7: the Via Alemagna (Sotto Castello di Cadore to the Lago di Santa Croce)
- München-Venezia: 8: the Lago di Santa Croce to Treviso
- München-Venezia: 9: Treviso to Venezia

München-Venezia cycle route: the Ciclabile delle Dolomiti between Cortina d’Ampezzo and Calalzo di Cadore
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