To Hellbrunn and Back Again: A Salzburg Bike Tour

Looking to explore more of the outdoors in Salzburg?
Hike from Hohensalzburg Fortress across the Mönchsberg in Old Town, or wander across Kapuzinerberg in New Town. Further afield, head to Kleiner Barmstein for a challenging climb, or hike past waterfalls in Almbachklamm (Almbach Gorge).

I BIKED IT

Plan on biking 20 to 30 minutes one way to reach Hellbrunn Palace from Old Town. I spent about four hours on my outing in 2023, including an hour and a half wandering the grounds Hellbrunner Park and a detour to Leopoldskron. I revisited in 2024 to determine the best route and spent four hours on foot, including a visit to the botanical garden.

CURRENT INFO

A map and other information is available on Komoot. Planning a trip to Salzburg and Austria? I highly recommend Rick Steves’ Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol guidebook.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Bike rentals are available at aVelo, located by the river next the the Salzburg Staatsbrücke on the Old Town side of the bridge. Rates are reasonable and they are a good source of information for bike rides throughout the area.
• There are many ways to bike from Salzburg to Hellbrunn Palace. For a good direct route, follow my directions above. Once you’re familiar with the route, have a little fun on the way back — take a side trip to the botanical garden, or go for a longer ride along the riverfront path.
• Public toilets are available at Hellbrunn Palace.
• If you want to tour Hellbrunn Palace, I recommend making advance reservations online. You can purchase tickets in person, but you may have to wait, especially in the busy summer season.
• There is a lot to explore at Hellbrunner Park, even if you don’t tour the palace. Picnic in the park, stroll the gardens, and let the kids play at the playground. For a simple hike, park your bike near the palace and follow the signs for the Volkskunde Museum (Folklore Museum) or Steintheater (Stone Theater). Hiking trails lead up into the woods past these minor sights, and there are several good viewpoints along the trails.
• Hellbrunner Park is a great place to picnic. Consider packing a lunch or snacks from one of the Spar grocery stores in town, or from the BackWerk bakery, which sells sandwiches to go.
• Bring water. You may run across a few fountains with potable water, but it’s best to be prepared. Tap water in Salzburg is safe to drink, so fill up your water bottle at your hotel.
• Always follow Leave No Trace principles. There are a few garbage bins along the trail, but be prepared to pack out everything you bring with you.

SALZBURG & THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Many Americans know Salzburg as the setting for the popular movie musical The Sound of Music. If you’re a fan, look for these Sound of Music sights on your bike ride to Hellbrunn. I’ve marked them all on the map for “How to Bike from Salzburg to Hellbrunn” for you.

• While biking down Hellbrunner Allee, keep an eye out for the distinctive yellow facade of Schloss Frohnburg, which was used as the front facade of the Von Trapp mansion in the movie.
• When you arrive at Hellbrunner Park, you’ll see a familiar-looking pavillion just outside the palace walls. It’s the gazebo where Liesl and Rolf danced during “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”.
• Take a detour for a lakeside view of Schloss Leopoldskron. This requires navigating city streets, as there is no bike path for much of the way. Leopoldskron was the setting for the lakeside scenes at the Von Trapp mansion, and now houses an elegant hotel.

HIGHLIGHTS

I can think of few more delightful ways to spend a sunny day in Salzburg than a bike ride out to Hellbrunn Palace. Heck, even on a cloudy day it’s pretty great. This bike ride is easy and flat, and most of the route follows dedicated bike and pedestrian paths. Touring Hellbrunn Palace is a highlight for many, but even if you prefer to simply stroll the grounds, there’s plenty to see. Head out early to beat the crowds, and don’t forget to stop along the way for beautiful views of Hohensalzburg Fortress and the surrounding countryside.

THE KIDS’ TAKE

If your kids are confident bicyclists, then a ride out to Hellbrunn Palace is the perfect family outing. You get to ride bikes, visit fun playgrounds, and tour a palace with trick fountains (yes, trick fountains!). With enough time, you can also stop by the incredible Leopoldskronn swimming pool. While not located directly on my recommended bike route to Hellbrunn Palace, its five pools, water slide, and nearby mini golf course make it well worth the detour on a warm summer day. If you aren’t up for biking, you can also reach Hellbrunn and the Leopoldskronn swimming pool by bus.

WHILE YOU’RE HERE

Salzburg is a great place to explore on foot as well as by bike. Check out Kapuzinerberg in the New Town, where you can catch amazing sunset views. In Old Town, hike up to the mighty Hohensalzburg Fortress, then continue your walk across the Mönchsberg for more fabulous views.

If you’re feeling hungry, I recommend heading to Linzer Gasse (Linzer Alley) in Salzburg’s New Town, directly across the Staatsbrücke bridge from Old Town. For a casual meal, I like BioBurgerMeister, which offers a variety of veggie burger choices in addition to beef and serves delicious French fries. Ludwig is another great pick, with burgers, bowls, and delicious drinks. For traditional Austrian food, head to Zum Fidelen Affen. In the mood for something sweet? Both Eis Greissler and Gelateria La Romana serve excellent Ice cream.

Further afield, bus #840 from Salzburg leads to even more natural wonders. Stop for a hike through mystical Almbachklamm (Almbach Gorge), glide silently across Königssee by boat, or marvel at the view from the Eagle’s Nest. If you have an interest in the Nazi/World War II history of this area, I highly recommend a tour with Eagle’s Nest Historical Tours.

Looking for a short but challenging hike with intoxicating views? Head to the nearby village of Hallein to hike to the top of Kleiner Barmstein. Hallein is also home to Salzwelten Salzburg, one of several salt mines you can tour in the region.

The day started off with a good breakfast. After lingering over a final cup of coffee, it was time to hit the trail. But this time, rather than hiking, I was traveling by bike.

After walking down Linzer Gasse from my hotel and crossing the Staatsbrücke (Public Bridge), I stopped by aVelo bike rental. It wasn’t long before I was on my way, whizzing down the riverside bike path with the wind in my hair.

The ride started off easily enough on the bike path, but soon things got a little more complicated. At Karolinenbrücke, the next bridge with car traffic, it was time to leave the riverfront path behind. I turned off the path and headed to my right to join the morning rush hour traffic.

I admit that I have been confused by this very roundabout in the past and gone down the wrong street. In fact, on this occasion I was determined to bike to Leopoldskron first, so I deliberately took a different route than the one I’m recommending here.

What route, you ask? Well, let’s just say it’s hard to explain and leave it at that. I did make it to Leopoldskron and enjoyed a lovely ride through Hans-Donnenberg-Park on the way, but not without a lot of stopping to check the map and figure out just where the heck I was. If you want to detour to Leopoldskron, I suggest following the route on this map at Komoot. Or you, like me, can simply head out into the wilds on your own adventure!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled bike ride. Follow the roundabout in a counterclockwise direction. Turn right onto Nonntaller Hauprtstrasse immediately after passing the yellow building with green shutters, as shown below. Continue straight until you reach the next traffic light, then turn left. You will very soon turn right again onto Erzabt-Koltz Strasse, which leads past a large modern university building.

Just past the modern university building, look for a pedestrian/bike path on the left. Turn here, then turn right onto another bike/pedestrian path. The modern university building will now be at your back as you bike away into the countryside.

After passing a massive outdoor sports complex, the path changes from paved to gravel. This is Freisaalweg, with idyllic views of vast green meadows, elegant country homes, and jagged mountain peaks looming in the distance. Eager as you may be to reach Hellbrunn, don’t forget to stop once or twice to turn around. The view of Hohensalzburg Fortress from here is spectacular.

While biking along Freisaalweg, you may notice a turnoff for the botanical garden. We’ll stop by on the return trip, but for now, keep heading for Hellbrunn. Up ahead, after crossing the road, Freisaalweg becomes the tree-lined lane called Hellbrunner Allee. This is a popular route for the Fräulein Maria Sound of Music bike tours, so don’t be surprised if you pass a few groups singing along to “Doe, a Deer” on their bicycle speakers. One of the film locations for the movie, Schloss Frohnburg, is located on Hellbrunner Allee.

After my meandering detour to Leopoldskron, I joined the bikes on Hellbrunner Allee for the final ride to Hellbrunn Palace. It’s a fun place to tour, but this time I had a different agenda. If you booked tickets in advance (or if you decide on a spur of the moment visit), clear signage marks the way to the ticket office and entrance. This is also a good place for a WC break.

I decided this was also a good time for a lunch break, and found a bench in the park to enjoy my simple picnic. Fortunately, aVelo provides locks with their bike rentals, so it was easy to leave the bike behind while I strolled the gardens following my meal. No ticket is required to visit the main gardens at Hellbrunn, making them a lovely place to wander.

If you’re in the mood for something a little more strenuous, the park offers hiking trails as well. I followed the signs for the Volkskunde Museum, or Folklore Museum, which led up a rather lengthy series of stairs and switchback trails. Although I didn’t visit the museum, the nearby viewpoint overlooking Hellbrunn Palace and the Salzburg countryside was well worth a stop.

I decided to continue my hike past the museum and head to the far side of Hellbrunn Mountain. Most of the trails wind through the woods, but if you make it to the end there is a lovely viewpoint of the Watzman Mountain. Or, in my case, the Untersberg Mountain. That’s the Untersberg in the foreground below, while the Watzman is barely visible in the distance behind the clouds.

From the Watzman overlook, it’s not far to the Steintheater, an amphitheater built into the natural rock of the mountainside. It was undergoing some repairs when I visited, but I’m curious to know how often performances are held here.

I met few other hikers on the trail. It takes some time to walk as far as the Steintheater, and most visitors to Hellbrunn come for the palace and stay for the palace. Hellbrunn Mountain, on the other hand, was such a quiet, secluded place that I wasn’t surprised to cross paths with a few deer grazing mere steps from the trail.

Back at the palace, I explored some more of the grounds before returning to my bike. I noticed someone else had a little fun with the statuary, which, if you know anything about the Prince-Archbishop Markus Sitticus who built Hellbrunn, seems totally appropriate. After a breezy ride down Hellbrunner Allee, I had a few choices. I could ride the city streets to the riverfront path and enjoy a longer ride back along the Salzach River, or I could take a detour to the botanical garden.

You can’t go wrong with either option (and really, why not do both?). On my most recent visit, I explored the garden, which is free to enter and managed by the university. Signs point the way from Freisaalweg, and it’s not far from the main route. With a wide variety of plant life and beautiful summer blooms, it’s a joy to visit.

No matter the return route, I was bound to end up back by the Staatsbrücke in Old Town. After all, I had to return the bike. Naturally, I was a little sad to turn it in, knowing that my bicycle adventures were over. Until next time, that is — until next time!