Biking along the canal in Colmar, France. Photo via Flickr:Francisco Antunes

Blue house in Riquewihr, France. Photo via Flickr:Guy Lejeune
4.5/5 (2 ratings)

Breisgau & Alsace Wine Road

France, Germany Bike Tours

Bike the Black Forest and along the Rhine

This amazing France and Germany bike tour takes your through Breisgau, a region in southwestern Germany between the Rhine River and the Black Forest that is known for its fruit orchards and wine. Directly west of Breisgau is Alsace, a region in eastern France also a world famous wine region.

Whereas Strasbourg is the largest city in Alsace, Freiburg is the largest city in Breisgau. Freiburg’s sunny climate, scenic location, colorful streets and marketplace have made it a favorite among regional tourists. Its largest square, the Münsterplatz, is home to the famous red sandstone Gothic Münster Cathedral built from 1200-1530.

Day 2 of the tour offers a route to the vineyards of the Tuniberg to Breisach or if you prefer, a route to sunny Kaiserstuhl, both ending in the medieval town of Endingen. Then it’s past the wine village of Sasbach cycling along the Rhine to Rust with a large amusement park.

Highlights:

  • Strasbourg
  • Freiburg
  • Obernai
  • St. Hippolyte (castle)
  • Ribeauville
  • Riquewihr
  • Colmar, known as “Little Venice”

We have many more bicycle tours in Germany to explore.

Where You’ll Stay

Accommodations in 3 star and 4 star hotels and guesthouses

What’s Included

  • Accommodations for 7 nights
  • Breakfasts
  • 21/24 or 7 speed touring bicycle
  • Luggage transportation
  • Detailed route descriptions with maps
  • Service hotline
  • Entrance fee in Unterlinden museum in Colmar

What’s Not Included

  • Train ticket Frankfurt to Freiburg
  • Lunches and dinners
  • Bicycle protection
  • Trip insurance

Breisgau & Alsace Wine Road Map

TourBike
TypeSelf Guided
SkillEasy–Moderate
Length8 days
From€725 Rates
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Tour Dates

Every Sunday from April 10 to October 9, 2016

Skill Level

This Germany and France bike tour is classified as an easy (with some rolling hills) self-guided hotel tour. Distances per day range from 19 to 40 miles.

Day-To-Day Itinerary

Breisgau & Alsace Wine Road Map

Day 1: Arrival in Freiburg.
Day 2: Freiburg – Endingen/Malterdingen,  22 mi. (35 km)
Day 3: Endingen/Malterdingen – Rust/Mahlberg, 19/24 mi. (30/38 km)
Day 4: Rust/Mahlberg – Strasbourg,  31 mi. (50 km)
Day 5: Strasbourg – Molsheim/Obernai, 16/24 mi. (25/39 km)
Day 6: Molsheim/Obernai – St. Hippolyte, 32/23 mi. (51/37 km)
Day 7: St. Hippolyte – Colmar/Eguishelm, 14/19 mi. (23/31 km)
​Day 8: Colmar/Eguishelm - Freiburg, 34/29 mi. (54/46 km) Departure.

DAY 1: Arrival in Freiburg
Your bike tour in Germany begins with arrival in Freiburg. The sunny city at the foot of the Black Forest has a lot to offer: the old part of town with picturesque lanes and the famous Freiburger brooks, cultural monuments like the Abbey and numerous wine and Vesper lounges for epicureans. Overnight in Freiburg.

DAY 2: Freiburg - Malterdingen/Endingen, 22 mi. (35 km)
Today's route takes you to the foot of the vineyards of the sunny Kaiserstuhl (emperor's chair). The region is one of the sunniest in Germany and the volcanic earth guarantees good grapes for excellent wine.  Your destination is the medieval town of Endingen. Overnight in Endingen or Malterdingen.

DAY 3: Endingen/Malterdingen - Rust, 19/24 mi. (30/38 km)
Passing the wine village Sasbach, you’ll start cycling the Rhine. You’ll bike through the green Rhine meadows, sometimes on the embankment of the Rhine, towards Rust. The European Park is located in Rust, which is an amusement park with many attractions. Overnight in Rust.

DAY 4: Rust - Strasbourg, 31 mi. (50 km)
Today you’ll cycle again through the alluvial land of the Rhine. On the right side the scenery of the northern Black Forest will accompany you. The beautiful Alsatian metropolis of Straßbourg with its attractive old part of town is the highlight of the day. Overnight in Straßbourg or Kehl, the frontier town on the German side of the river. From Kehl you can easily go with public transports to Straßbourg.

DAY 5: Strasbourg - Molsheim/Obernai, 16/24 mi. (25/39 km)
You can take your time in the morning for a visit to Straßbourg’s many great attractions. The cycle tour leads you on the euro-cycle track to Molsheim, the hometown of the famous car dynasty Bugatti. Here your route starts along the Alsatian Wine Road. Destination is the wine town Obernai. Overnight in Molsheim or Obernai.

DAY 6: Molsheim/Obernai - St. Hippolyte, 32/23 mi. (51/37 km)
You continue your bike tour in France on the “Route du Vin” in direction to the South. You cycle through green vineyards and past a few Alsatian villages with multicolored half-timbered houses. Passing Dambach-la-Ville, you’ll reach St. Hippolyte, which lies at the foot of the famous, majestic castle. Overnight in St. Hippolyte.

DAY 7: St. Hippolyte - Colmar/Eguisheim, 14/19 mi. (23/31 km)
Your last day of cycling Alsace Wine Road takes you through the romantic towns of Ribeauville and Riquewihr. Finally you’ll come to Colmar. Discover the picturesque town that is often called “Little Venice” and the beautiful half-timbered houses in the Gerber-road or the world-famous Issenheimer Altar in the Unterlinden Museum. Overnight in Colmar or in the neighboring Eguisheim.

DAY 8: Colmar/Eguisheim - Freiburg, 34/29 mi. (54/46 km). Departure.
Today you cycle the Rhine lowlands passing Breisach with its powerful cathedral and the Tuniberg to go back to Freiburg. After returning the bicycles and retrieving your luggage, your Germany/France bike tour ends.

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Customer Feedback

  • Joseph Paladino 10 months ago

    A great trip overall and a good value. I would've preferred an upcharge option for better hotels. The downside was the directions book, though well made and attractive, it was not helpful or practical. I found it was much easier to follow the road signs and ignore the book. Also, the book needs to point out attractions and diversions and points of interest. People are coming from all over the world to see this one particular area, it is so important to know what there is to explore in the countryside rather than just following the route.

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  • Datha Miller 10 months ago

    Th best way to describe our bike tour is to say, it felt like we were living in our very own fairy tale.

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  • Kevin Wolley 2 years ago

    This is a beautiful part of the world to see, and doing it via bike is excellent. We wanted to do it on a tandem, which the tour operator did not offer, so we rented one from a bike shop in Freiburg, and that worked out fine. The hotels were good, and so were the breakfast buffets that they offered. The distances cycled each day were good, which is to say short enough to allow stopping along the way as suited us, and arriving at the hotel in the evening with some time left to look around. We found part of our prescribed route to be flooded by the Rhine, so we had to divert to the roads through nearby German villages. This turned out to be fine, as a few miles on the Rhine levee is enough--after that, it gets a bit monotonous. The flower bedecked villages of Alsace are sensational. We ate wonderful French cuisine, and came home with a trove of beautiful pictures from this trip! On the negative side, the tour maps need to be improved. They are not detailed enough, far too often making it hard to know where the turn points of the route are. North is not always at the top on the maps, and there are no markings to indicate where north lies. The print is miniscule, so street names are almost impossible to read. The written directions accompanying the maps need improvement, too, due to occasional lapses of detail. The tour operator could solve these problems by offering handlebar mounted moving-map GPS rental. I believe people would be willing to pay for this additional aid. Overall, we are satisfied with this tour, and hope Pack and Pedal/Tripsite will work at refining their guidance to make it even better for those who take it later.

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  • Monica Neish 3 years ago

    The routes and towns for this trip were perfectly selected. The hotels were charming and the staff was friendly and accommodating. The bikes were high quality and in nearly new condition. We found the written route instructions, written in English, were very thorough and detailed for each day of riding.. Yes, we did manage to get ourselves a little lost on a few occasions but in retrospect the fault was always ours for not following the instructions carefully. Because of the detailed road maps included it was always easy to get ourselves back on track. The suitcase transfer was flawless- we never felt rushed to get our bags ready in the morning and they were always waiting for us at our next hotel. Our group ranged from mid 50's to mid teens and all of us were equally captivated by the scenery and region's history. This was a great trip and we look forward to taking another vacation with Tripsite.

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  • Derek 5 years ago

    Overall a very enjoyable tour staying at good hotels and the bikes while a little heavy did the job well. The one area that needs improvement was the directions. For the first couple of days we were given detailed instructions in English but subsequently we were instructed to follow the route in the map book which was in German! As a consequence we had to work out our own route which we did using a large scale map and google maps. Also the suggestion was that we could have taken two possible routes on the first ride day but we only given instructions for one. Still a most enjoyable ride, fantastic scenary the weather was perfect.

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