Grossglockner High Alpine Road: Zell am See to Heiligenblut

Austria’s Grossglockner High Alpine Road (Großglockner Hochalpenstraße) climbs through 36 hairpin bends to about 2,500 m beneath the country’s highest peak. You drive on the right. Note that this is a toll road, open only in the warmer months (roughly May to October, weather permitting) and closed at night and in winter — check the dates and pay the toll at the entrance gate. Take it slowly, use the pull-offs, and let faster cars pass.

Day 1 — Zell am See to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe (50 km)

From the lakeside town of Zell am See, drive up to the toll road and climb the northern hairpins. Stop at the Edelweißspitze, the road’s highest point, then continue to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe terrace facing the Pasterze glacier and the Grossglockner itself. Sleep near the pass or back in Zell am See.

Day 2 — Over the pass to Heiligenblut (20 km)

Descend the southern hairpins to the postcard mountain village of Heiligenblut, whose slender church spire is framed by the peak. From here you can carry on to Lienz, or turn around and drive the pass again in the other direction.

Costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights for your exact dates. Budget for the Grossglockner toll (charged per car for a day’s access) — it is not a public road. Remember the road is seasonal and closed in winter. Mountain-village accommodation fills up in summer, so book ahead.

This trip is also in the free Roadcut trip planner: change the number of days and where you sleep each night, pick your vehicle to see the fuel cost, check the weather on the road, and open each day in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze.