Lake Neusiedl
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Ferto / Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape (2001, Shared With Hungary). Central Europe'S Largest Steppe Lake, Only 1 To 1.8 M Deep, Ringed By A Reed Belt With Over 300 Bird Species, Sailing, Cycling, Wine Villages Such As Rust (Stork Nests) And The Seewinkel National Park (1993). · Rust, Burgenland
Lake Neusiedl, the Neusiedlersee, is Austria's largest lake at about 315 sq km, with roughly three quarters in Burgenland and one quarter in Hungary. It is a shallow steppe lake, only about 1.2 m deep on average, ringed by a huge reed belt, and it lies about 50 km south-east of Vienna. The Neusiedlersee-Seewinkel National Park (1993) protects salty soda ponds and over 300 bird species, and the whole area is the UNESCO Ferto-Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape (2001). Rust has stork nests on its chimneys and sweet Ruster Ausbruch wine, Moerbisch stages an operetta festival on a floating stage, and Podersdorf has the beach. A flat cycle loop of about 125 km runs around the shore. The honest picture is a low-key lake holiday of wind, wine, birds and bikes, not a dramatic landscape. In dry years the water falls and the lake can look ugly. It makes an easy Vienna day trip, about 45 minutes by car, though a night or two lets you cycle, taste wine and watch the birds at dawn without any hurry, and trains run often.
Shallow steppe lake on the Hungarian border in Burgenland, about 50 km south-east of Vienna, with the towns of Rust and Illmitz and the Neusiedlersee-Seewinkel National Park, Rust, Burgenland, Austria
The lake, shore paths and villages are OPEN all year and free to walk. Boat trips, bike hire, beach buildings and many wine cellars run SEASONALLY, mostly May to September, and several are CLOSED in winter. Festival and national park tour dates change yearly, so check before you go.