Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse

Austria Built This Road During the Great Depression and It Remains the Best Drive in the Alps

The Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse is 48 kilometres of mountain road cutting across the High Tauern range between Bruck an der Glocknerstrasse in Salzburg state and Heiligenblut in Carinthia. Construction ran from 1930 to 1935, employed 3,200 workers, and required blasting through granite and limestone at elevations up to 2,571 metres. It was a public works project conceived during economic collapse, and the quality of the engineering – the hairpin sections, the tunnels, the retaining walls, all original – reflects what happens when a government throws serious money and engineering talent at a problem and then leaves the result largely intact for 90 years.

The road is a toll route. In 2026 a single-car day pass costs around EUR 40. Motorcycles pay less. This is not cheap, but the toll directly funds maintenance within Hohe Tauern National Park and is worth it.

The road typically opens in early May – in 2025 it opened on April 19, unusually early – and closes by early November depending on snowfall. Current status is always posted at grossglockner.at.

The Main Stops

Edelweissspitze, reached by a short side road near the northern end, sits at 2,571 metres and is the highest point accessible by car on the entire route. A round viewing tower stands at the summit. On clear mornings before cloud builds over the glacier areas, the panorama takes in over 30 peaks above 3,000 metres and extends to the Dolomites in Italy. Get there by 09:00 if visibility is your priority.

Franz-Josefs-Hohe, reached via a separate spur road near the southern end, is the closest driving approach to the Pasterze Glacier – at 8.4 kilometres, the longest glacier in the Eastern Alps. You park at 2,369 metres and walk to viewing platforms above the glacier terminus. The Pasterze has retreated more than two kilometres since 1850, and the current ice edge is substantially below the old photographs in the visitor centre. The retreat is visible in real time, which is uncomfortable but important to see. The Grossglockner summit at 3,798 metres is visible from the car park on clear days.

Hochtor is the main pass summit at 2,504 metres, crossed in a short tunnel. A small exhibition inside documents the Roman road that also crossed this pass in antiquity – the Hochtor was a trade and military route long before the first car arrived.

Cycling the Road

The Hochalpenstrasse is one of the canonical cycling climbs in Austria. The ascent from Bruck on the north side covers approximately 25 kilometres with 1,800 metres of elevation gain. The road width is adequate for cars and cyclists to pass safely but weekends and public holidays bring heavier traffic. The most rewarding approach is to ride up from the south, from Heiligenblut, which is steeper but shorter, then descend the longer northern side.

Where to Stop and Stay

The restaurant at Franz-Josefs-Hohe serves Austrian standards – Gulasch, Kasnocken, Apfelstrudel – at prices that reflect the altitude but are not extortionate given the circumstances. The quality is better than it needs to be.

Heiligenblut village at the road’s southern terminus has a 15th-century Gothic pilgrimage church containing a relic said to hold a vial of the blood of Christ, which explains the village’s name. Haus Senger and Liftgasthof Edelweiss are reliable midrange guesthouses at EUR 60 to 90 per room.

The road gets crowded on clear summer weekends, particularly the Franz-Josefs-Hohe spur. Arriving before 09:00 or after 16:00 avoids coach tour congestion at the main viewpoints and gives you the mountain to yourself in a way that peak hour does not.