A nine-day self-drive loop from Salzburg that takes in the fairy-tale lakeside village of Hallstatt, the switchbacks of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, and Innsbruck's cable cars rising straight from the medieval Altstadt.
Austria compresses some of Europe's finest mountain driving into a compact and logical loop. This nine-day Austrian Alpine road trip itinerary from Salzburg takes in a UNESCO-listed salt-mine village, a toll road that climbs 1,500 metres in 48 kilometres, the sun-baked capital of East Tyrol, and a medieval city where cable cars rise directly from cobblestones. No public transport covers this combination efficiently; a rental car is both the most practical and the most rewarding way to do it.
The loop runs clockwise from Salzburg: south through the Salzkammergut lake district to Hallstatt, deeper south to the Zell am See resort area and the Hohe Tauern mountains, east through East Tyrol to Lienz, west to Innsbruck, then back along the Inn Valley to Salzburg. Total driving is around 700 km, with no single leg exceeding two and a half hours. Every base has at least one full day free from the road.
Stops: Salzburg (2 nights) → Hallstatt (1 night) → Zell am See (2 nights) → Lienz (1 night) → Innsbruck (2 nights) → return to Salzburg
Salzburg is compact enough to walk almost entirely, but dense enough to fill two days without effort. The Altstadt earned its UNESCO listing in 1996 for one of the most complete baroque city centres in Europe. Start at Hohensalzburg Fortress, the 900-year-old castle above the city, and aim to arrive by 9am before coach groups.
Mirabell Palace gardens are free and open. Mozart's Birthplace on Getreidegasse is compact but concentrated. For an afternoon excursion, Hellbrunn Palace sits 5 km south: a 17th-century summer residence with elaborate water-powered trick fountains that still work exactly as they were designed three centuries ago. The Untersberg cable car (15 minutes from the centre) reaches 1,776 metres above the plain, with views across Bavaria.
Practical: The Salzburg Card (24, 48 or 72 hours) covers museums, cable cars and all public transport. Buy it at the airport or tourist office on arrival.
Hallstatt is not the kind of place you visit for a photograph and leave. The village has around 750 permanent residents and a salt mine in continuous use for 7,000 years. One overnight allows you to arrive mid-afternoon, avoid the day-tripper peak, and have the village to yourself in the early morning.
Nine days, two coasts and three national landscapes: this is England's definitive west-to-east drive, from Liverpool's Irish Sea waterfront through the Lake District, North Pennines and cathedral Durham to Whitby's clifftop abbey.
The Salzwelten salt mine tour (via funicular from the village) takes around 90 minutes underground. It is genuinely interesting even without a prior enthusiasm for industrial history: wooden mining tools, brine injection tunnels, and a slide 64 metres down into the mountain. The Hallstatt Skywalk (45-minute uphill walk or funicular from the market square) gives the aerial view over the lake that appears on every poster. Hiring a traditional wooden boat on the lake rounds out the afternoon.
After 4pm, the coaches stop arriving and the village becomes itself again. Dinner at a table over Hallstättersee as the light drops off the mountains is one of this route's quiet highlights.
Getting here from Salzburg: approximately 75 km, 1.5 hours via Bad Ischl on the B158.
Zell am See is the mountain resort that looks as mountain resorts should: a compact lakeside town ringed by peaks, with a cable car visible from the main square. Two nights here allows one day for town and lake, and one day for the Grossglockner.
The Schmittenhöhe cable car (departing from the town itself) climbs to 1,965 metres with a 360-degree panorama that includes the Grossglockner massif on a clear day. Down at lake level, the Zeller See is clean enough to swim in summer and calm enough to paddleboat across. Kaprun village, 8 km south, is worth a half-day for the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above it, accessible by cable car for summer hiking or year-round skiing.
The Grossglockner High Alpine Road is the centrepiece drive of this trip. The 48-kilometre toll road (approximately €46.50 per car in 2026) departs from Fusch an der Glocknerstraße, 20 km south of Zell am See. The road climbs through 36 hairpin bends to a maximum altitude of 2,504 metres, with a spur road to Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe (2,369 m) looking directly at Austria's highest mountain (3,798 m) and the Pasterze Glacier. Allow at least three hours for the drive with stops at Edelweissspitze and Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe. Leave Zell by 8am to reach the high points before afternoon cloud settles.
Wildlife sightings are common in summer: marmots are visible near most viewpoints, and ibex occasionally appear on the upper slopes.
Lienz sits where the south side of the Grossglockner meets East Tyrol: the quieter, more Italian-influenced corner of Austria that most visitors skip. Arriving via Heiligenblut continues the Grossglockner traverse southward, with the Isel valley road leading down into a landscape noticeably more Mediterranean in feel than anywhere to the north.
The town is small and satisfying: a colonnaded Hauptplatz, Liebburg Palace (the 16th-century building that now serves as the town hall), and Bruck Castle on a rise above the Isel River with a regional museum and an unexpected Egon Schiele collection. The Lienz Dolomites rise directly from the town's outskirts, with easy hiking trails accessible on foot. One night here is the right amount: enough to see the town and do a short walk, and a natural break before the push west.
Alternative route: If road conditions were poor on the Grossglockner day, the Felbertauern Tunnel (€13, 5 km long, south of Mittersill) gives a reliable all-weather route into Lienz.
Innsbruck is the most urban stop on this route, and the most surprising. The mountains remain the dominant visual feature even from the city centre: the Nordkette range rises directly behind the old town, and the Nordkettenbahn cable car (its lower station designed by Zaha Hadid) reaches 2,256 metres from the Congress building in under 25 minutes.
The Altstadt is well preserved and compact. The Goldenes Dachl, Emperor Maximilian I's gilded Gothic oriel window, is the most photographed building in Tyrol and the natural centre of any walking tour. The Hofkirche nearby contains Maximilian's elaborate Renaissance cenotaph, one of the finest examples of late-medieval court art in the Alps.
For a day trip on the second day, Swarovski Crystal Worlds at Wattens (25 km east, 25 minutes by road) is worth the drive: the underground chambers designed by international artists are genuinely unusual. Ambras Castle (5 km southeast of the centre) offers a strong alternative: a 16th-century archduke's palace with collections of armour, curiosities, and the Spanish Hall, one of the most complete late-Renaissance interiors in Central Europe.
The final leg from Innsbruck to Salzburg covers around 170 km via the A12 and A10 motorways, roughly two hours. This is a motorway stretch rather than a scenic finale. If time allows, a detour through Kitzbühel (45 minutes from Innsbruck via the B170) shows a well-preserved Tyrolean market town before joining the A10 at Salzburg Süd.
Getting there: Fly into Salzburg Airport (direct from most European cities) or Munich Airport (90 minutes by road via the A8). Pick up the rental car at the airport.
Austrian motorway vignette: Required on all motorways, approximately €10 for 10 days (2026). The Grossglockner toll is separate. Many rental companies include vignettes; confirm before collecting the car.
Grossglockner Road: Open from approximately mid-May to early November, weather permitting. The road is closed at night. Motorcycles and campervans welcome; heavy lorries restricted.
Money: Austria uses the euro. Hallstatt is the most expensive stop on the route; Lienz is noticeably cheaper than Salzburg or Innsbruck.
Accommodation: Book Hallstatt a minimum of two months ahead for summer travel. Innsbruck and Salzburg have more options, though July and August weekends fill quickly.
June through September covers the full route including the Grossglockner. Early June may have late snow at altitude but the pass usually clears by mid-month. September offers shorter days, better light for photography, fewer crowds at Hallstatt, and the larch forests around Lienz and the Grossglockner turning gold.
July and August bring the most reliable weather but the most crowds at major viewpoints. Starting early (at the Grossglockner gates by 8am) keeps you ahead of most traffic.
October onwards sees the Grossglockner close (usually early November at the latest). The Felbertauern Tunnel provides the link between Zell am See and Lienz instead, which removes the visual drama but not the destination.
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The full route — stops, maps, and driving times — is on Routebook by Kington.
A nine-day circuit through Austria's grandest Alpine scenery: the UNESCO village of Hallstatt, the Grossglockner High Alpine Road to 2,504 m, East Tyrol's Dolomite foothills, and Innsbruck's gilded medieval Altstadt.
