Day 1: Vienna – Stockerau – Mikulov (72 km/45 miles)
After breakfast meet our representative who will transfer you 30 km from your hotel in Vienna to Stockerau for welcome briefing. There you will be given bikes and all necessary information materials.
The first cycling day follows the rolling countryside of Weinviertel (Austrian Wine Quarter) past picturesque Galgenberg Hill encircled with wine cellars. Leave Austria for the Czech Republic arriving at Mikulov with its imposing castle, the Dietrichstein family tomb and the Jewish cemetery where the oldest tombstones date back to 1605.
Overnight in Mikulov.
Day 2: Mikulov – Brno (56 km/35 miles)
Today you will ride the wine-making region of South Moravia climbing over the Palava Hills Protected Landscape Area with hilltop castle ruins serving as the main landmark for the day. After descending to Pavlov, a Stone Age archaeological museum site, cross the controversial Nove Mlyny water reservoirs, the largest man-made lakes in Moravia built at the end of the Communist era. Then follow the Svratka River plains to Brno, the center of Moravia, with an impressive Gothic cathedral, huge Spilberk fortress or UNESCO enlisted modern Villa Tugendhat.
Overnight in Brno.
Day 3: Brno – Moravsky Kras (43 km/27 miles)
Getting out of the Brno city center is like cycling through the history of architecture from Gothic to postmodern era. Leave the city riding along the Svitava River towards the Moravian Carst Protected Landscape Area. The limestone carst is known for its caves and abysses, amongst which Punkevní Caves with the underground Punkva River are the most outstanding. The Macocha Abyss, 138 m/453 ft deep, it is the deepest one in Central Europe.
Overnight in the Moravsky Kras area.
Day 4: Moravsky Kras – Olomouc (61 km/38 miles)
Begin the day climbing over the Drahanska Hills with a rewarding descent to Plumlov, a small town with an imposing Baroque chateau stacked high above a pond. Then follow the fertile plains to Olomouc, the second most famous town for historic monuments in the Czech Republic after Prague. A trip to the Premyslid palace or St. Wenceslas Cathedral is an experience not to be missed; the ornate Trinity Column in the square is enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Overnight in Olomouc.
Day 5: Olomouc – Teplice nad Becvou (52 km/32 miles)
After sightseeing around Olomouc ride through the rolling countryside to the Becva River valley. Then follow the riverside bike path via Lipnik nad Becvou, with its old town walls, Jewish cemetery, synagogue and a nearby imposing Helfstyn Castle, one of the largest castle ruins in Europe, which can be visited taking a short side trip. Continue along the Becva to the spa town of Teplice nad Becvou, where you have the opportunity to visit the Zbrasovska aragonite cave, or stroll the spa grounds and sip the invigorating waters.
Overnight in Teplice nad Becvou.
Day 6: Teplice nad Becvou – Stramberk (40 km/25 miles)
From Teplice go past Stary Jicin castle ruins to Novy Jicin with its Renaissance arcade square and chateau. Arriving to Stramberk, a small town famed for its spectacular castle tower, you can try local culinary speciality “Stramberk Ears“, commemorating a bloody incursion by the Tatars in 1241. The local museum presents the work of Zdenek Burian, whose paintings depicting the Stone Age are commonly found in textbooks and museums around the world. The nearby cave Sipka is a world-known Neanderthal site.
Overnight in Stramberk.
Day 7: Stramberk – Cesky Tesin/ Cieszyn (67 km/42 miles)
The first stop of the day is in Koprivnice, home of automobile works featuring a technical museum displaying unique Tatra cars of revolutionary design. Then go on to Hukvaldy, the birthplace of the composer Leos Janacek, a lovely small town famous for its ruined castle. Continue riding up and down along the foot of Beskydy Mountains Landscape Protected Area to a border twin town of Tesin: Cesky Tesin on the Czech side, and Cieszyn on the Polish side.
Overnight in Cesky Tesin/Cieszyn.
Day 8: Cesky Tesin/Cieszyn – Jaworze – Oswiecim (43 km/27 miles)
The cycle route on the Polish side leads through farmland and forests through the town of Skoczow, the birthplace of Saint John Sarkander. Then ride up to Jaworze, from where you will be transferred by car to Oswiecim (Auschwitz), the site of terrible concentration and extermination Nazi camp during WWII.
Overnight in Oswiecim.
Day 9: Oswiecim – Babice – Krakow (25 km/15 miles)
This day allows you to spend more time in Oswiecim. The short ride is mainly flat riverside bike path ride and it finishes in Babice at an interesting outdoor museum of traditional Polish architecture and crafts. Transfer by car from Babice to Krakow.
Overnight in Krakow.
Day 10: Krakow
In Krakow you will probably want to spend more than just one day: Wawel Castle, the Old Market Square, the Kazimierz Jewish quarter, or the town walls and Royal Way could easily take a day. To really soak up the atmosphere of this vibrant city you must get into the cafes or pubs, theatres or clubs, and that takes more than a day too...
Just outside of Krakow you could visit the salt mine in Wieliczka, which has been in constant operation since the Middle Ages. It includes vast chambers ornately carved out of rock salt.
