Villach Alpine Road and Goldeck Panorama Road

The city where we are getting ready today is a true gem: Villach, beautifully located at the tri-border area Austria, Italy, Slovenia, is considered one of the most attractive cities in Austria due to its old buildings, mild climate, and sunny cafés. Therefore, we strongly recommend taking a walk through Villach's historic center before jumping on your motorcycle. Or how about a visit to the Villach Automobile Museum, which displays over 250 old and young-classic cars across 4,000 square meters?

Now finally turn the ignition key, engage first gear, and off you go. First at a steady pace along Lake Ossiach. Landskron Castle greets from the right. It towers high above the water and offers, besides a castle café, a postcard-perfect view of Lake Ossiach. Carinthia's third-largest lake is partly under nature protection but also features remarkable culture such as Ossiach Abbey in the homonymous town. In Feldkirchen, we signal left and turn onto the B 95. The charming Feldkirchen is always worth a stop or at least a round on the motorcycle. The “Church in the Field” was built in the 8th/9th century and boasts a rich arsenal of historic buildings like churches, townhouses, and noble residences. The B 95 heading northwest positively surprises with varied route design, grippy surface, and quite acceptable curve density. Near Döbriach, the route leaves the federally owned asphalt, skims Lake Millstatt, and heads into the Drava Valley. Then the first rider's highlight of the day appears before the handlebars – the Goldeck Panorama Road.

Its construction is closely linked to the development of the ski area at Goldeck south of Spittal. Those who today curve up the 14.5-kilometer long route from Zlan to 1,895 meters altitude can hardly imagine with what primitive means workers carved this daring route into the rock back then. The reward is ten perfectly developed hairpin bends, ten percent gradient, and magnificent views. While the road initially passes through dense mountain forest, further up it reveals beautiful views of the Millstätter Alpe, Lake Millstatt, Gailtal Alps, Karawanks, and Drava Valley. Back in Zlan, we weave onto small side roads crossing into the Gail Valley. Here comes the Windische Höhe into play. Narrow and somewhat bumpy, it climbs up to 1,100 meters, where it does not necessarily have to be windy. Because this was once the German-Slovenian language border; Windisch is the historic German term for the Slovenian language.

In Nötsch, we cross the Gail Valley, behind Maglern the border into Italy, and quickly approach the Julian Alps via Tarvisio, where Italian, German, Friulian, and Slovenian are spoken – four languages in all. Alps? Sounds like curve fun. And that's exactly what this stage offers in abundance on the way into Slovenia. At Lago del Predil, it turns toward the eponymous pass located in Slovenian territory and immediately delivers a handful of sharp curves. At the top awaits the Mangart Road, a twelve-kilometer highlight that winds adventurously narrow and through five dark tunnels up to 2,056 meters. An absolute must!

Just as curvy, it continues through the beautiful Triglav National Park to the 1,611-meter-high Vršič Pass and its notoriously cobbled hairpin bends toward the end. However, these are the least of your worries if you've mastered this pass with a total of 48 hairpin bends so far. As long as the cobblestones are dry and no cow blocks the way, you continue leisurely northward. That the small Kranjska Gora is a major winter sports resort is unmistakable: surrounded by mighty mountains of 2,500 meters with snowy peaks, its houses seem to flow along the Wurzenbach. What a panorama. Continue to the Wurzen Pass, whose 1,073-meter-high saddle is quickly reached on a perfectly developed roadway. Be sure to stop at the memorial and the Russian tank at the border crossing, which recall the darkest chapter of the multi-ethnic state Yugoslavia. Down into the Gail Valley, back to Villach, and now the cherry on top of this ride awaits. Called the Villach Alpine Road, it is 16.5 kilometers long. The first meters start in the Villach district of Möltschach. Subsequently, the road overcomes 1,200 meters of altitude and throws 116 curves and bends before the front wheel. Right at the start, it winds uphill in several switchbacks to then offer wide views of Villach, the Julian Alps, and the Karawanks. Then it follows the escarpment of the striking mountain ridge until it leads beyond the tree line over alpine meadows to Rosstratte, where you get a view of the 2,166-meter-high Dobratsch peak.

 You can hardly conclude a day of riding more successfully than by cruising back toward your accommodation now.