Touring - Cycling in Vienna

Hi,
I am currently booking a hotel in Vienna. I will be entering / exiting the city along the Danube River and a lot of the Hotels I am looking for (ie budget) are on the western side of the city so about 5-8km's from the river.

My question is how easy / difficult is it to ride through Vienna? I will arrive on a thursday after lunchtime and depart on a saturday morning.

Any comments will be appreciated.

Thanks
Mat

should be no problem!

well i have never actually cycled in Vienna... but i was there a few days in 2000 on foot... as well as in 1994

if i remember right Vienna is pretty much like most German-region cities... Munich, Zurich, etc.

i don't know specifially about Vienna, but i would expect there are both designated cycle paths/lanes as well as signed bike routes - especially if you are coming from the bike route along the Danube (i've ridden then Danube path through much of Bavaria - Regensburg to Passau). i know the Danube route in Germany has white signs with green lettering that give destination and distance all along the route. Munich also has these throughout the city for major destinations although you often need a map to go along with it as they are usually landmarks like the olympic center or a particular neighborhood, so you have to know which landmakrs are along your desired path.

so anyway, there will be traffic - auto, pedestrian and bike, but should not be a problem. i bike commute in Munich daily and it is a breeze. i'll put it this way: it will be easier and faster to travel the 5-8kms through the city by bike than by car. and car drivers are much more accomodating to cyclists than in the US (you are American, yes?) although it is more common to ride on designated cycle paths in the city - here just watch for pedestrians!

even with heavy auto traffic it should be no problem - only heavy pedestrain traffic could slow you down - just avoid the major pedestrian zones and try and stick to bike routes and/or just follow where the other riders go while still going in your general direction. virtually every road other than the Autobahn is cycle-friendly, meaning either there is a cycle lane, cycle path or wide shoulder --- things like bridges that can only be crossed by cars like is common is the US are pretty much nonexistent in most of Europe

thursday after lunch i would expect moderate traffic and saturday morning will be low auto traffic, BUT central pedestrians shopping zones will be packed as Saturday morning is a big shopping time! just don't try and ride through any of the major markets or squares and should be no problem.

there's probably a better mapping service available (like a great one for Germany: www.stadtplandeinst.de) but you can get directions from www.map24.de --- in "adresse suchen" put in "wein" as Ort and "Österreich" as Land --- or you can put in the actual hotel address and it will map out a DRIVING route - just remember it picks the biggest roads so probably not the best for cycling

oh, i just found another Wien map: http://www.wien.citysam.de/stadtplan-wien.htm

if you book a hotel you might also ask them how to get there by bike from the Danube - i would think more than likely they will tell you that there is a signed route "follow bike route to xx and then to xx"

P.S. let me know if you make it over to Munich. we could meet up for a ride, some siteseeing and i might be able to offer a cellar to lock your bike and a floor to crash on.

but cycling in a big European city (well, German, French, Austrian, Swiss, Danish, Sweedish, Nowegian, Dutch, etc) in nothing to fear like big cities in the US. Italy, Spain, Czech, etc are a little more crazy as driving rules are only "suggestions" and drivers do crazy things like driving across the sidewalk or the wrong way or passing on a blind curve (just got back from a 2 week France/Italy mountain biking trip), but it's still no biggie.

oh sorry, just read that you are Australian... sorry for asuming American... anyway, other than routefinding it should be way easier than say cycling in Sydney.

Hi Nathank,
Thanks for your reply. At this stage my itinerary has me in Salzburg on 17 September. I am not sure if I will be able to get to Munich though it has been on my wish list for some time...it will all depend on the weather and my fitness. (I have had a mild case of pnumonia in early May and still not right...haven't riden at all for almost 7 weeks though almost there)

I would be interested in getting your details incase I do get to Munich. Basically if my fitness is good I will head south of Salzburg through the mountains to Venice. If it is not so good I will follow the bike paths along the rivers to Innsbruck, (via Munich), Merano, Bolzano and around that way. I believe the gradients are more gentle that way.

BTW I am in Perth.

Thanks
Mat

I thought it was easy to bike in Vienna last summer.

Also remember that you're allowed to take your bike in the tube. It's very convenient.

I cycled in Vienna. It is easy. There are bike trails everywehre and there are thousands of other cyclists.

There is even the camping site, right near the Danube Cycle Path. It is called Neue Donau Camping Platz. I stayed there in 2001 and in 2003. It is inside Vienna.