Hey everyone,
I will be staying in Cortina d'Empezzo in Northern Italy for a few days in late August. How long does it take to cross the Grossglockner and can I travel from Cortina to Salzburg using that route in one day? Thanks in advance.

Dave Taylor, Chicago

Yes---see www.viamichelin.com and input an intermediate point to include the Grossglockner.

Michelin says 4:23 but I would allow at least 6 hours

In looking at map of Austria there is only one logical way to travel from Cortina to the start of the Großglockner Hochslpenstraße. Go north out of Cortina toward Toblach. Go east to Lienz and then north to Heilgenblut. The toll gate is just north of Heilgenblut.

The Großglockner Hochalpenstraße is more than just a drive over a high mountain range.

As you approach from Heilgenblut, you soon reach a road junction. The west fork leads to the Nationalpark Hohe Tauern and to the observation point known as Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe“ or Emperor Franz Joseph's Highpoint. At the site, there is a beautiful observation building sponsored by Swarovski.

The views of the Großsglockner itself are impressive as are the views of the remnants of a once much larger glacier, which is still the longest in the eastern Alps.

The best time to be there is before noon so that the sun is behind you for photographs of the mountains.
The Großglockner itself is a high peak in a spectacular range.

Returning to the high road itself, it continues in a mostly northerly direction over the crest of the ridge. As it winds it way upwards, there are several viewpoints and exhibits. Most of the descriptions at the exhibits were in German only the last time I was there, but the pictures told the story about as well as the text below them.

At one place near the top, we enjoyed a very nice lunch that had an English speaking server or two.

The downhill side is very steep in places, but I did not consider it dangerous, provided your car has good brakes and tires.

Even though I had a five-speed manual transmission car, I kept it in 3rd gear to avoid running the engine near redline. That meant I had to brake quite a bit.

I think the brakes were rather warm when I reached a flatter area.

In terms of how long it takes to drive it, that is a very good question. If you linger and look like we did the first time over, it can take several hours.

The second time we stayed in Heilgenblut and drove from there back to Salzburg. On the return trip we did not stop and drove the road continually. I don't recall the exact time, but it was not more than 90 minutes. We left in the morning before 9 am and traffic was not yet a factor.

One thing about the road that can bother people is the number of daredevil motorcycle riders that zoom around the curves. For them, it is a big "Thrills Hill." Usually most of the speed merchants are out on the weekends.

These riders zoom past cars and take the curves seeming leaning over at an angle greater than 45 degrees.
As I told my wife, if one of them misses a curve it will not be our problem, but look out below, perhaps 2,000 feet down.

Is it worth it, considering the €28 toll (or Maut in German)?
I thought so, or I would not have gone back. Of course, the euro did not cost me $1.58 at the time.

That is a judgment you will have to make for your self.

Visit the various websites, look at the pictures, and then decide.

Hi Dave,

We drove the Grossglockner starting from Ramsau, Germany (by Salzburg) to Heiligenblut, Austria two years ago. We left Ramsau at about 9:30 and got to Heiligenblut around 2 pm. You can certainly do the drive from Cortina to Salzburg, via the Grossglockner, in a day. I'd also allow/plan for 6 hours. The Grossglockner drive is spectacular!

www.grossglockner.com

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel11.html

Hope this helps.

Paul

You will find that coming from Cortina, Lienz you make better time going up the mountain road than going down toward Bruck (Zell am See). On this latter part of the trip you will encounter more tourist busses coming from and returning to Bruck and onwards. They go the half-trip to the glacier and return. Once you are stuck behind one of these carefully moving busses, you are more or less stuck. One reason to leave Cortina early and descending the Grossglockner Strasse in a lower gear to conserve yoy brakes.

If you want to by-pass the Grossglockner on a quicker road, you can go from Lienz on route 108 to Mittersill. Not quite as impressive as the Grosglockner, but a good and scenic road road over the Tauernpass.