Walking/Nordic walking

Walk from the hotel towards the bus station and cross Kaiser-Franz-Joseph-Straße. Turn into the narrow lane between the shop called "Schafleitner" and the Mercedes/Peugeot dealership. Walk past the swimming pool until you reach a narrow path.

Now walk for approximately 5 minutes along the Ischl. Once you have reached the main road, you will see a bridge behind you with the sign pointing to "Hobltenne", which you need to cross on your walk. Now carry on straight ahead along the Ischl until you reach Pfandl. Turn left off the asphalt road. Walk across the bridge and turn left again. You will then be on a forest trail that runs along the Ischl and which next to a brewery leads directly back to the road. Walk 200 metres along the pavement until on your left you reach the road leading back down to the Ischl, Holzrechengasse. From there the ****Royal is just a 10-minute walk away.

Duration: approx. 45 min.
Distance: etwa 6 km

The first part of the walk once again involves walking along the Ischl until you reach the bridge. Then walk along the road until you reach the Gasthaus Hobltenne. Turn right and walk uphill to Jainzendörfl. Now walk along the asphalt road, through the woods and to the next crossroads, before turning right.

Go towards the Gebirgsbauernschule (alpine agricultural college), taking the gravel path towards Roith. In Roith you will see a sign saying "Gehweg nach Bad Ischl" (Footpath to Bad Ischl). Go straight ahead. The path is partly asphalt and is gently uphill all the way. What goes up also comes down, and after a downhill stretch keep to the right until reach the large bypass road. On the left you will see a large shopping centre and on your right a Skôda car dealership. Walk along Götzstraße and turn left into Voglhuberstraße to reach your original starting point again.

Duration: 1 hour
Distance: approx. 8 km

Exit the hotel and walk past the Kaiser-Therme towards the town centre. Walk along the esplanade of the Traun, past the trotting course, the tennis courts and the riding school and continue along the path. Go past the Kaiserjagdstandbild monument and carry on until you reach Soleleitungsweg. Continue along the same road until you reach the village of Lauffen. Once you have left Soleleitungsweg, walk downhill, cross the village bridge over the Traun and walk uphill until you reach the main road. Now continue along the cycle path. After approx. 1.5-2 km, leave the main road where the shopping centre and Möbelix are located. Once again your route will lead you along the Traun until the cycle path ends. Remain on this side of the river, however, and carry on walking to the right of the river towards Traunkai, a little-used road. Once you have walked past the wine tavern Attwenger, cross the bridge and walk back through the centre to the hotel.

Duration: 1,5 hours
Distance: approx. 12 km

Follow in the footsteps of Emperor Franz and his wife Sisi, off the beaten track and surrounded by Bad Ischl's amazing scenery.

Kreuzplatz - Schröpferplatz - Esplanade - Kreutererstrasse towards the Katrin cable railway - Engleithenstrasse to Lauffen - past the railway crossing, via Windensteeg into the village - cycle path (partly gravel) along the Traun to the town centre - Pfarrgasse - railway station as the starting point - continue along Rechensteeg - Jainzendorfstrasse - Kreutererstrasse to Pfandl - walk through Pfandl and along Dammweg and Salzburgerstrasse to the starting point.
This walk used to be the emperor's favourite, and is signposted throughout. On some sections, you might prefer to use the footpaths directly adjacent to it instead.

Distance: approx. 22 km

The world's most famous round-the-lake race is probably the one around Wolfgangsee. Each October thousands of runners from all over the world meet here to compete in this challenging 27 km-long race that includes altitude differences of 200 metres and some difficult terrain. The race route can be also challenging and worthwhile for hikers. Naturally there is no need to complete the entire 27 kilometres; the hike can broken off at various points en route and the return journey made by boat. The walk can be done in either direction. Here it is described in the counter-clockwise direction.

Start at St. Wolfgang parish church or any other spot on the lake.

1st section - St. Wolfgang to St. Gilgen (9 km)

Start from the front of the church in St. Wolfgang and head westwards along the shore of the lake until you reach Ried (3 km). Turn off the road here and climb a wide path until you reach the highest point of the walk (735 m) near a small chapel. The path then gently descends downhill to the idyllically-situated Falkensteinkirche and Fürberg (tavern located 6 km from the starting point; open between May and October). Continue along the very pretty lakeside path until you come to Brunnwinkl with its charming houses. Climb upwards to the old Mondsee-Straße, which is lined with stately villas. As soon as the road exits the forest, the beautiful grounds of the Hotel Billroth will become visible to your right. Go down the steep hill known as the "Sonnbichl" until you reach Sonnplatz, where the benches are ideal for sitting down and enjoying the magnificent view of the Strobl mountains. The path now leads past the indoor swimming pool and the public lido to the church in St. Gilgen (9 km). From the church, walk along Ischler Straße to reach the lake again, where the boat landing stage is located next to the Fischerwirt restaurant, and from where you can catch a boat back to St Wolfgang if necessary.

2nd section - St. Gilgen to Strobl (12 km)

Walk along the lakeside promenade to reach the road into the village from the south, then follow the asphalt pedestrian and cycle path that runs alongside the lakeshore until you reach the Gamsjaga tavern. Here the route branches off the main road and leads through the hamlets of Schwand and Farchen to the Staudach forest, a beautiful mixed forest. Walk through the forest to reach the hamlet of Abersee-Reith, followed by the Zinkenbach stream (16 km from the starting point).

Cross the Zinkenbach using the suspension bridge to reach the village of Strobl. The trail now continues along a perfectly straight road which was formerly the railway bed of the narrow gauge Salzkammergut local railway.

After another kilometre you will come to the lake again and to the Gschwendt landing place, from where you can board a ferry to the various stops around the lake.
The route now continues along the access road for 500 m and then branches off to the left. After a short while you will pass the beautifully-located Pitznerbauer farmstead. Continue along the path roughly parallel to the lake until you reach the Waßbad, a public lido, and from here walk through the Blinklingmoos moor nature reserve.

From the east end of the moor it isn't far to Strobl and the parish church. Another ferry landing stage can be found on the lakeside promenade.

3rd section - Strobl to St. Wolfgang (6 km)

From the parish church proceed along the lakeside promenade until you cross the Klausbrücke with its mechanisms for regulating the drainage and thus the water level of the lake.
Leave the official running race route (which goes counter-clockwise around the Bürglstein hill) and keep to the path along the lake until you arrive at the "Lapidarium", a collection of stones found around the lake.

The path now continues over wooden bridges directly above the waters of the lake along the cliffs of the Bürglstein to Berau where it rejoins the race route. A cyclist and pedestrian path now follows the main road roughly parallel to the lake leading to St. Wolfgang and back to the start of your walk at the parish church in St. Wolfgang.

Highest point of the walk: Chapel on the Falkenstein, 735 m

Signs: signposted throughout