Vienna does not stay urban for long. The route leaves the centre towards the Danube, then continues through the city’s green eastern edge, where floodplains, embankments and wide paths set the pace. Beyond the Lobau, the landscape opens into the Marchfeld, with river country and long flat sections heading east. Near Petronell-Carnuntum, Roman history sits close to the route before Hainburg brings a clear change of scene with its town walls, gates and castle hill. Soon after comes the Slovak border. Bratislava is the strongest urban moment of the day, with its castle, Danube waterfront and denser streets. The final stretch leaves the city to the south-east, running through flat country near the river to Šamorín.
