The National Park Centre is located on the northern edge of Illmitz. An exhibition there provides year-round information about the flora and fauna of the Seewinkel. The centre focuses broadly on nature, while the routes highlight individual landscape features and observations. The exhibition is dedicated to the plant and animal life of the Seewinkel; the routes focus on specific lakes, wet meadows and salt lake shores.

Routes through lakes and wet meadows

The Stinkerseen, Hölle & Lettengrube route passes by the Upper, Middle and Lower Stinkersee lakes and through their silting zones. These zones form transition areas between lake and shore. The Illmitzer Zicksee & Geiselsteller route has a different focus: it passes through wet meadows and along salt lake shores. These shores provide nesting sites for meadow-breeding wading birds. During dry periods, salt efflorescence on the salt lakes and in the seasonally wet meadow areas can be observed from the roadside.

The difference is clear when choosing a route based on landscape: Stinkerseen, Hölle & Lettengrube focuses on lakes and silting zones; Illmitzer Zicksee & Geiselsteller combines wet meadows with nesting sites and seasonal salt observations. If you are interested in birdlife, the nesting sites of meadow-breeding wading birds are a distinctive point of interest. Salt efflorescence, by contrast, can be observed from the roadside during dry periods.

Scenic tours and Sandeck

The Zicklacken scenic tour leads to Lower Stinkersee and the Przewalski’s horse enclosure. At Sandeck, White Donkeys play an important role in nature conservation: their trampling and grazing keep the vegetation short. The Sandeck area offers a view into the inaccessible core zone of the national park. Sandeck thus brings together two different aspects of nature: the donkeys’ role in vegetation management and a view into the core zone.

The Sandeck scenic tour starts at Kutschenhof Gerhard Gangl on Ufergasse in Illmitz and then heads into the national park. The Neusiedler See scenic tour starts at the same point and leads into the Sandeck area of the national park. Both tours therefore share a starting point; one leads into the national park, while the other names the Sandeck area as its destination. This can help you choose based on the kind of nature experience you are looking for: one focuses on the national park as a destination, the other on its specifically named Sandeck area.

Martiniloben: Dates and open cellar doors

The traditional Martiniloben takes place in Illmitz on the first two weekends of November; the exact dates vary from year to year. In 2026, 32 Illmitz winemakers will hold open cellar door days: from 6 to 8 November and from 13 to 15 November. The open cellar doors are the event’s specific connection to wine. If wine and local tradition are the reason for your trip, you can plan your stay around these event dates.

For planning your dates, there are different seasonal reference points: salt efflorescence can be observed during dry periods, while Martiniloben takes place on the first two weekends of November.

Discover more destinations: Podersdorf Am See, Andau, Winden Am See, Apetlon, Sankt Andrä Am Zicksee, Jois, Nickelsdorf, Pamhagen

For the overview of the wider region: Neusiedl Am See.