Rhine Cycle Track: bicycle touring in Germany

The river Rhine is one of the longest in Europe and the most important from a commercial and tourist point of view. It travel over 1,300 km from the Swiss Alps to the Netherlands. The Rhine has been absolute protagonist of European history since Roman times, when it marked the northern border of the empire, and still today has great strategic value.

The Rhine Cycle Track allows you to travel along the banks of the river and visit “slowly” the countries it crosses: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and Holland. It is a well-known route frequented by European cyclists, it is very well signposted and equipped with refreshment points and accommodation facilities that welcome all bike travelers. Most of the Rhine flows in the heart of Germany, this stretch of the river has a cycle track on both sides. An efficient ferry service allows you to move easily from one part to another.

Along the route alternate natural areas, archaeological sites, small villages in the countryside and large cities. Kohln and Dusseldorf, Duisburg and Bingen are definitely worth a visit. In Germany, the Rhine has inspired legends and superstitions including the saga of the Nibelungen. So you can meet gnomes and ghosts, castles and hamlets become the theater of fantastic stories. The most famous legend is that of the nymph Loreley who with her song drags sailors to a bad end.

Between Bingen and Koblenz lies the Rhine Gorge, the section was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002.