Silvretta and Arlberg loop

Route description

Bregenz sits on Lake Constance, with a floating opera stage and the Pfänder cable car for views over the lake. Drive south through the Rhine valley and the Walgau to Bludenz, then turn into the Montafon valley.

Schruns is the main town of the Montafon, with painted houses and a pleasant centre. The B188 then becomes the Silvretta High Alpine Road, a toll road with 34 hairpins climbing to the reservoir at Bielerhöhe, 2,032 m, where you can walk around the lake or take the boat.

Descend into Tyrol through Galtür and the Paznaun valley to Landeck, below its castle. Turn west to St. Anton am Arlberg, one of the birthplaces of alpine skiing, and cross the Arlberg Pass rather than taking the tunnel.

From Alpe Rauz, the Flexen Pass leads through galleries to Zürs and Lech, a mountain village that is as pretty in summer as it is famous in winter. The Silvretta road is normally open from June to October; caravans need to check restrictions, and both passes are busy with cyclists on summer weekends.