Carinthia - A curved dream

The Austrian province of Carinthia borders Styria to the east and northeast, the Salzburger Land to the northwest, Tyrol to the west and Italy and Slovenia to the south. The area is about 9500 sqkm, the state capital is Klagenfurt am Wörthersee.

The best time to travel is from April to October.

The maximum speed is 50 km/h in urban areas, 100 km/h outside urban areas and 130 km/h on motorways.

A vignette is mandatory on highways and motorways. They are available at Austrian motorway service stations and at petrol stations close to the border in neighbouring countries. The ten-day vignette costs 5.30 euros for motorcycles, 13.40 euros for two months and an annual vignette costs 35,50 euros.

The blood-alcohol limit is 0.5, and fines of 300 euros or more are to be expected. From 0.8 per mill alcohol content in the blood, it costs at least 800 euros and there is a risk of a driver's license being revoked.

Warning vests are not mandatory for motorcyclists, but a first aid kit must be carried.

The helmet must comply with ECE standard 22-05.

Emergency number: 112

Carinthia has over 270 sights to offer. In addition to castles and palaces such as Hochosterwitz Castle or the ruins of Landskron Castle, there are numerous viewpoints such as the Pyramidenkogel and some interesting technology museums. Over 240 vintage cars are on display in the Villach vehicle museum, for example, and the private Porsche Museum in Gmünd is unique. With the Kärnten Card, which can be purchased in many motorcycle hotels, you have reduced access to over 100 destinations.

Particularly recommendable routes, passes and vantage points in and around Carinthia:

• Staller Saddle
• Braies Wild Lake
• Carnic Dolomites
• Lienz Dolomites
• Pustertal mountain road
• Grossglockner High Alpine Road
• edelweiss point
• Franz-Josefs-Höhe
• Radstädter Tauern
• Passo Pramollo
• Triglav National Park
• Vrsic pass
• mangard
• root pass
• Soca Valley
• Nockalm Road
• Turracher Height
• Malta-Hochalm Road
• Cologne breinsperre
• Goldeck panoramic road
• Lake Millstätter See
• Gurktaler Alps
• Villach Alpine Road
• and much more

The Kärtner cuisine is full-bodied with Slovenian and Friulian influences. Kasnudeln, which are available in different preparation variants, are regarded as the national dish.