Strasbourg to Nancy

Strasbourg to Nancy

Day 1: Strasbourg, 9 mi. (15 km)
Day 2: Strasbourg – Mommenheim (40km)
Day 3: Mommenheim – Saverne (40km)
Day 4: Saverne – Lutzelburg (10 or 41 km)
Day 5: Lutzelburg – Niderviller (13 or 36 km)
Day 6: Niderviller – cycling to Lagarde (40 or 50km)
Day 7: Lagarde – cycling to Dombasle-sur-Meurthe – sailing to Nancy (40km)
Day 8: Nancy

*All distances are approximate. The above-planned itinerary is subject to change, even on very short notice,  due to changing wind and weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances having to do with mooring requirements, docking location changes, lock repairs,  etc.

Day 1: Strasbourg, 9 mi. (15 km)
Embarkation begins at 12 pm - 2 pm. You can bring your luggage on board at 11 am but your cabin will not be ready for check-in. Embarkation should be completed by 2 pm and you will then enjoy a short ride to the village of Kehl in Germany to try out your bike to be sure all is well. In the evening, a guided walk in town will be offered.

Day 2: Strasbourg – Mommenheim (40km)

You start the week with a relaxed and flat ride through the Parc Pourtalés and later villages such as La Wantzenau and Robertsau where you can already see the first Tudor-style buildings. Later we ride at our leisure along the Rhine-Marne Canal. The mooring place of the barge is near the village of Mommenheim.

Day 3: Mommenheim – Saverne (40km)

First a ride along the canal to Hochfelden where the famous Meteor brewery (since 1640!) can be found and visited. Later we visit the old Jewish cemetery in Ettendorf. Around lunchtime we are in Bouxwiller, one of the nicest villages in Northern Alsace. It has a center with Tudor-style buildings, museums churches and a synagogue. On the way to Saverne we pass Dossenheim-zur-Zinsel with its impressive 13th-century fortified church. Saverne is a very nice town. You can enjoy the French joie-de-vivre on the many terraces while sipping a local wine or craft beer.

Day 4: Saverne – Lutzelburg (10 or 41 km)

A morning visit to the Haut Barr castle near Saverne is a must. This can be done by bike, on foot (1,5 hours) or you can get a taxi. Those who want can make a nice roundtrip with the tour leader from Saverne through the surrounding hills. You will see some nice villages and castles. The ride is for the climbers among us as it includes 550 vertical meters. Enjoying city life in Saverne for a while is no punishment either. In the afternoon we mainly ride through the forests of Parc Regional Vosges du Nord on the cycle path along the canal and through the Vallée des Eclusiers to Lutzelburg where the barge is moored.

Day 5: Lutzelburg – Niderviller (13 or 36 km)

In the morning you can first join the guide on a nice roundtrip of 26 km to Phalsbourg. Or, if you stay in town, you can take a stroll to Château Lutzelbourg. After lunch we board and sail through tunnels and take the Shiplift that transports ships to the next level. A magnificent piece of engineering and an exciting voyage! Before that elevator was there, a huge series of locks was needed. You can experience the ride in the Shiplift or take a scenic, short ride along the canal to Niderviller with the guide. The town was very famous for its porcelain pottery. Although the factory is no longer there, the town still has a Niderviller porcelain shop.

Day 6: Niderviller – cycling to Lagarde (40 or 50km)
Time for a morning ride along the canal from Niderviller to Gondrexage. The longer route takes you away from the canal to Sarrebourg. Later you will ride through wetlands until you reach Bataville. Bata is a well-known shoe brand. The industrial complex in Bataville is built in the Bauhaus style of the 1920s. The factory closed in 2001 and is now a historic monument to industrial architecture and can be visited. You continue the route along the canal on the traffic free cycle path to Lagarde.

Day 7: Lagarde – cycling to Dombasle-sur-Meurthe – sailing to Nancy (40km)

Another beautiful morning ride through the rolling countryside to the city of Luneville with its cathedral. At Luneville we pass the frontline of WW1. This city was heavily fought over in 1914 and has an impressive French cemetery and necropolis. We can also visit the local museum of the Battle of Leomont Hill nearby. We ride along the river and canal to Dombasle-sur-Meurthe where you will board the Clair de Lune for the last time. Sailing on the Rine-Marne-Canal you will enter Nancy, city of museums, parks and lovely squares.
 

Day 8: Nancy
Disembark before 10 AM.

Nancy to Strasbourg

Day 1: Nancy, 9 mi. (15 km)
Day 2: Nancy – sailing to Dombasle-sur-Meurte – cycling to Lagarde (40km)
Day 3: Lagarde, cycling to Niderviller (40 or 50km)
Day 4: Niderviller – Lutzelburg (13 or 36km)
Day 5: Lutzelburg – Saverne ( 10 or 41km)
Day 6: Saverne – Mommenheim (40km)
Day 7: Mommenheim – Strasbourg (40km)
Day 8: Strasbourg

*All distances are approximate. The above-planned itinerary is subject to change, even on very short notice,  due to changing wind and weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances having to do with mooring requirements, docking location changes, lock repairs,  etc.

Day 1: Nancy, 9 mi. (15 km)
Embarkation begins at 12 noon. You are asked to be on board by 2 pm. You can bring your luggage on board earlier but not before 11 am. You can take a test bike ride in the surrounding countryside and the evening , you will enjoy a guided city walk in town in the evening.

Nancy is situated on the left bank of the river Meurthe, about 10 km upstream from its confluence with the Moselle. The Marne–Rhine Canal runs through the city, parallel to the Meurthe. The oldest part of Nancy is the quarter Vieille Ville – Léopold, which contains the 14th century Porte de la Craffe, the Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine, the Porte Désilles and the 19th-century St-Epvre basilica. Adjacent to its south is the quarter Charles III – Centre Ville, which is the 16th–18th century “new town”. This quarter contains the famous Place Stanislas, the Nancy Cathedral and the Opéra national de Lorraine. Place Stanislas, a large square built between March 1752 and November 1755 by Stanislaus I of Poland to link the medieval old town of Nancy and the new town built under Charles III in the 17th century, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Day 2: Nancy – sailing to Dombasle-sur-Meurte – cycling to Lagarde (40km)

While you enjoy your breakfast, the barge sails to Dombasle-sur-Meurthe where your cycling tour begins. Our first stop is the city of Lunéville with its castle. At Lunéville we pass the front line of the Great War. This city was heavily fought over in 1914  and has an impressive French cemetery and necropolis. We can also visit the local museum on the Battle of Leomont Hill nearby. After this the WW1 is over for us and after a leisurely ride through typical French countryside we arrive in the nice village of Lagarde.

Day 3: Lagarde, cycling to Niderviller (40 or 50km)

You start the day with a ride along the canal on the car-free cycle path to Bataville. Bata is a well-known shoe brand. The industrial complex in Bataville was built in the Bauhaus style of the 1920s. The factory closed in 2001 and is now a historic monument to industrial architecture and can be visited. After Bataville we take a quiet and easy bike ride ride through the nearby wetlands to Niderviller. For those who want to ride more, the guide has a longer route that goes through the nice city of Sarrebourg.

Day 4: Niderviller – Lutzelburg (13 or 36km)

Niderviller was very famous for its porcelain pottery. Although the factory is no longer there, the town still has a Niderviller porcelain shop. We cycle to Arzviller where we board and sail through tunnels and take the Shiplift that transports ships to the next level. A magnificent piece of engineering and an exciting voyage! Before that elevator was there, a huge series of locks was needed. The barge moors at Lutzelburg at the foot o the Vosges. For those who want to ride more, the guide will arrange a 26 km ride to Phalsbourg. You can also take a walk to Château Lutzelbourg.

Day 5: Lutzelburg – Saverne ( 10 or 41km)

This morning you will first ride mainly through the woods and through the Vallée des Eclusiers on the cycle path along the canal to Savern, a ride of only 10 km. The mooring place is in the middle of town in Saverne. From Saverne you can visit Château du Haut Barr on foot, by bicycle or by taxi.
Here, too, the tour guide has for the explorers among us, an extra tour of 31 kilometers in the surrounding hills. The height-difference is in total 550 meter, so this is a ride for the climbers. Along the way you will visit some nice villages and castles. Staying in town and enjoying the French life on the terraces with a local wine or craft beer is no punishment either. 

Day 6: Saverne – Mommenheim (40km)

Today we cycle through the foothills of Parc Regional Vosges du Nord. On the way up from Saverne we pass Dossenheim-zur-Zinsel with its 13th century castle-church. From here we ride through the rolling countryside to Bouxwiller, one of the nicest villages in Northern Alsace. It boasts a centre with Tudor-style buildings, museums churches and a synagogue. Later we visit the old Jewish cemetery in Ettendorf and then Hochfelden where the famous Meteor brewery (since 1640!) can be found and visited. To top it all off, there is a ride along the canal to the village of Mommenheim where the barge will be waiting for you.

Day 7: Mommenheim – Strasbourg (40km)

This last ride takes you first along the canal and later through the forests of La Wantzenau en Robertsau. We end the week with a relaxed and flat ride through the Parc Pourtalés and find the mooring place of the Clair de Lune in Strasbourg, the second seat of the European Parliament. In the afternoon there should be enough time to visit this city on the border with Germany. Perhaps you are just crossing the Rhine in Germany. Strasbourg’s historic city center, the Grande Île (Grand Island), was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1988, the first time such an honour has been awarded to an entire city center. Strasbourg is immersed in Franco-German culture and although it has been violently contested throughout history, it has been a cultural bridge between France and Germany for centuries.

Day 8: Strasbourg
Disembark before 10 am.

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