I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like…

Cycling in Salzburg

Cycling is essential in Salzburg. There is no age limit, neither downwards nor upwards: Salzburgers love their bikes and use them every day. During rush hour the cycle paths on both sides of the river Salzach are bustling.  Weekends are reserved for fun, and that's where we're taking you – so, mount your velocipedes and follow us on our favourite routes.

Start at Mozartplatz

The meeting point this time is the Mozartplatz. Our musical genius, after whom this square is named, would certainly have enjoyed such a vehicle. If bicycles had existed back then, perhaps he would have written the Cycling Symphony in D major – who knows?

Set your expectations high, because with this 15-kilometre route we certainly won't disappoint you. Lots of nature, small and large castles, rural landscapes, meadows, fields, forests, domestic and wild animals, streams, fountains and a lake – and all that without, or almost without, car traffic or major inclines. What more could your heart desire?

Off we go to Hellbrunn

First we head south and cycle through the Kaiviertel district past the innovative Unipark into Mühlbacherhofweg. From now on we can let our bikes roll straight ahead. The Freisaalweg leads us across a meadow and past Schloss Freisaal, a charming little castle set on a lake. In the Middle Ages, the castle was owned by the Archbishops of Salzburg and was used purely for their pleasure; after all, the word "frei" [liberal] is derived from "Freude" [joy] and thus denoted a house of pleasure.

We continue across a traffic light into the Hellbrunner Allee. The gravel lane is lined with trees up to 450 years old and leads us to Hellbrunn. To the left and right are meadows and pastures and many a small palace. The most striking is the baroque Frohnburg country palace, today a student dormitory, once a film location in the world-famous film version of the musical The Sound of Music. We can take a short tour in the castle courtyard. The marble dolphin fountain on the facade of the main building gives us a little preview of what awaits us at the pleasure gardens in Hellbrunn.

Emslieb Palace is at the end of Europe's oldest tree-lined avenue. What will catch our eye there is a man in a pink suit looking over the garden wall. The object Pink Men's Suit by Erwin Wurm, like the castle, belongs to internationally renowned gallery owner Thaddäus Ropac.

We quickly nip across the car park and arrive at Hellbrunn. Now we have to make the difficult decision: stay here or move on – because Hellbrunn is a small paradise for young and old alike.

Past animals and the Almkanal

We decide to visit this beauty spot another time and continue along the wall to the Keltenallee. We follow this old country lane to the Grödig adventure farm, where we can pet and feed sheep, goats and miniature pigs.

We cross the Berchtesgadener Strasse and end up on the other side, directly at the Almkanal. The fast-flowing stream was directed into the town in the Middle Ages to supply it with fresh drinking water. Small commercial enterprises such as mills and power stations sprang up along the canal – some of them still exist today.

There are lovingly tended pretty gardens bordering the waterway, which also serves as a bathing place for children and young people in summer. Suddenly, neoprene-clad frogmen and women come towards us on the Alm-wave, showing off their skills on a surfboard.

Via Leopoldskron back to the starting point

The ducks, greylag geese and coots we are about to meet lead a more leisurely existence. So, we arrive at the Leopoldskroner Weiher. We turn left and ride along the shore of the large pond until we see the palace in front of us. The almost fairy-tale-like view of a picture frame stage appears in front of us: the pond with swans meandering around, behind it the white baroque palace framed by the Mönchsberg and the Fortress in the background.

We cycle towards the castle and turn right at the "Lepi", the Leopoldskron outdoor swimming pool, into Schwimmschulstrasse, before the end of which we get to a country lane. Pasture fences on both sides, and behind them living peacefully, ancient breeds of animals threatened with extinction. Then, on the left we are met with an unreal sight: about 25 flamingos in a pond – completely unfazed by anything.

We cross the next road and ride along the Almkanal again. Following the course of the stream, we end up on a large meadow below the Fortress. To our right we see the Krautwächterhaus [cabbage guard's house], popularly also known as Henkerhäuschen [executioner's cottage]. At the foot of the Fortress hill we roll down into the mediaeval district of Nonntal. And now straight ahead and then left – we've been here before – it's the Kajetanerplatz. Now we can find our own way back to our starting point.

We're back in town and our delilghtful country outing concludes under the watchful eye of our talented child prodigy.