Nationalpark Neusiedler See-Seewinkel

The Neusiedler See national park is Central Europe's only steppe lake landscape, a flat, reedy, almost oceanic environment that has no business existing in landlocked Austria. The lake itself is barely 1.8 meters deep at its deepest point, but it covers 315 square kilometers and extends across the Hungarian border.

The Nationalpark Neusiedler See-Seewinkel protects Central Europe’s only steppe lake landscape, a flat, reed-fringed basin on the Pannonian plain shared with Hungary. The Austrian side holds UNESCO World Heritage status as part of a transnational cultural landscape designation. The park is one of Europe’s most important bird migration staging areas, with over 340 recorded species; birders arrive in large numbers in spring and autumn. The salt pans scattered across the Seewinkel plain east of the lake are rare ecological features supporting specialized plants and shorebirds. The 127-kilometer cycling circuit around the lake is one of Austria’s most popular long-distance rides. Train from Vienna Hauptbahnhof to Neusiedl am See; regional bus to Illmitz for the visitor center. Free park access year-round.