The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
279 km from Innsbruck to Innsbruck, about 4 h 38 of riding. It goes by way of The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria:, Neuschwanstein Castle, Pilgrimage Church of Wies and back through Pilgrimage Church of Wies. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,950 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses from Austria into Germany - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules.
Scenic road chapters
Romantische Strasse
The ride follows Romantische Strasse for 1 km.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
Length
1 km
Named road
Romantische Strasse
Pass
Ammersattel
Romantische Strasse
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 23 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
Length
24 km
Named road
Romantische Strasse
Pass
Ammersattel
Romantic Road
For 1 km this is Romantic Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
Length
1 km
Named road
Romantic Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Innsbruck
Innsbruck sits in a bowl. The Inn river runs through the middle, the town name means bridge over the Inn, and on both sides steep limestone mountains rise almost from the streets. To the north the jagged Nordkette stands over the rooftops, and a funicular and a cable car carry you from the old centre to over two thousand metres in about twenty minutes, so that you can drink a morning coffee in town and an afternoon coffee among the rocks.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Innsbruck is where the day begins. Next is The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria:.
2. The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria:
Neuschwanstein is the castle that everybody has seen before they arrive, and it is almost impossible to see it freshly. Ludwig II, the king of Bavaria, had it built from 1869 as a private retreat in the style of a medieval knight's castle, with towers, turrets and rooms painted with scenes from the operas of Wagner, whom he adored. It stands on a rocky spur above the Pöllat gorge, with the Alpsee lake and the plain below. Ludwig lived in it only a few months before he was declared unfit to rule and died in mysterious circumstances in Lake Starnberg in June 1886, at the age of forty. The castle was opened to the public within weeks.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: comes up 26 km in. Next is Neuschwanstein Castle.
3. Neuschwanstein Castle
King Ludwig II of Bavaria began building Neuschwanstein in 1869 as a private dream, a medieval knight's castle with all the comforts of the nineteenth century, including central heating and running water. He never saw it finished, and he lived there for only a handful of months. In 1886 he was declared unfit to rule and removed, and he died a few days later in the Starnberger See, in circumstances that are still debated. Within weeks the castle was opened to the public to pay off his debts, and it has been admired ever since. Walt Disney's designers are said to have taken inspiration from it.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least 58 km in you reach Neuschwanstein Castle. Next is Pilgrimage Church of Wies.
4. Pilgrimage Church of Wies
In a meadow at the foot of the Ammergau Alps, surrounded by fields, cows and a few farmhouses, stands one of the most extraordinary churches in Europe. From the outside, the Wieskirche looks fairly plain, a white building with a modest tower. Step inside and you are hit by a wave of light, colour and movement: white and gold stucco, pastel frescoes, columns and galleries that seem to float, and a ceiling painting of Christ's return that opens the roof into heaven. It is the masterpiece of the Bavarian Rococo, built between 1745 and 1754 by Dominikus Zimmermann, with frescoes by his brother Johann Baptist, and it was listed by UNESCO in 1983.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 279 km.
Leg by leg
Innsbruck to The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria:
Innsbruck → The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: is 79 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Neuschwanstein Castle to Pilgrimage Church of Wies
Neuschwanstein Castle → Pilgrimage Church of Wies is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pilgrimage Church of Wies to back through Neuschwanstein Castle
back through Pilgrimage Church of Wies → back through Neuschwanstein Castle is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: to Innsbruck
back through The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: → Innsbruck is 79 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.