Whether gravel bike, racing bike or e-bike action: the Central Carinthian tours between lakes, rivers and cultural and culinary highlights make you want more.

Outstanding views and historic sights combined with culinary delicacies - this is how you can describe cycling in Central Carinthia. The routes along the Carinthia Lakes Loop, for example, are perfect for families, but also for ambitious cyclists. The Wimitzer Mountains, with their low traffic volume and tough climbs on asphalt and gravel, are a paradise for racing cyclists. In addition, the Simonhöhe with its bike lift and a large trail landscape leaves nothing to be desired for mountain bikers.

Simonhöhe, racing bike © Michael Stabentheiner

Sightseeing biking in Central Carinthia

No matter where you cycle through the adventure areas between Glantal and Görtschitztal: in Central Carinthia you always pass first-rate sights and are spoiled with culinary delights at the highest level. The castle town of Friesach, which is the only settlement in Europe that is still completely surrounded by a water-bearing moat, invites you to linger and enjoy. The Craigher chocolate factory in particular is a big highlight, and not just for those with a sweet tooth. The historic mountain settlement of Althofen awaits you with a fantastic view over the Krappfeld. The Auer von Welsbach Museum also offers exciting insights into the life and work of Carl Auer von Welsbach, the inventor of the gas light bulb. In the heart of the nearby Gurk Valley, one of the most important Romanesque monuments in Austria awaits you with the Gurk Cathedral. The district capital St. Veit an der Glan invites you to stroll with its historic old town.

Would you like to cool off? Off into the cool water!

Carinthia is generally known as the land of lakes. The Central Carinthia region also has numerous bathing lakes, which are characterized above all by their natural beauty. The highlight is certainly Lake Längsee, over which the historic St. Georgen Abbey towers. Two outdoor pools surrounded by numerous vineyards invite you to take a dip. The municipality of St. Georgen am Längsee is also Carinthia's largest wine-growing municipality. The highest density of vines can be found around Taggenbrunn Castle. Here you can not only enjoy excellent food and taste the house's own wines, but also visit the exhibition "Zeiträume" by Andre Heller.

Pleasure for all the senses

In addition to the multitude of visual impressions that enrich the soul, the sense of taste is also challenged in Central Carinthia. Innumerable traditional inns with modern approaches provide culinary supplies, which are regularly awarded numerous toques for their skills. Clean rivers and springs as well as other small but beautiful bathing lakes such as the Kraiger See or the Hörzendorfer See provide refreshing cooling in the warm season.

For more information visit www.mittelkaernten.at 

Hochosterwitz Castle (c) Stabentheiner