3 Imperial Cities sporty | Round trip starting in Neustadt

Your holiday starts with a tour information meeting and bike fitting in the secret wine capital of Germany, where you can visit the city’s winding alleyways, mighty abbey church and the Elwedritschenbrunnen fountain.

The route will lead you through romantic wine villages with unique atmospheres. In the historic fortified city, Landau, you can visit the medieval market hall (Altes Kaufhaus) on the large main square Rathausplatz and Klingenmünster enjoy the view of the Rhine Valley from the castle Landeck. In Bad Bergzabern we recommend visiting the Baroque palace, the historic Inn “Engel”, and the Westwall museum. Then you will pass the wine gate in Schweigen and get to the Alsace city of Wissembourg with its former Benedictine abbey. You will enjoy a leisurely bike ride through the forest Bienwald and the valley Lautertal to the river Rhine. At the end of your tour, you will get to the impressive baroque residence in Rastatt.

After a very beautiful section along the Rhine, the cycle route takes you past the old royal seat of Karlsruhe with its castle and pyramid. Then, you will cycle through the largest nature reserve of the Pfalz region – the Hördter Rheinauen – and get to the former fortified city Germersheim. The river Rhine will then take you to the imperial city of Speyer and its impressive cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The famous ensemble of palace and palace gardens in Schwetzingen is just a few kilometers away and is certainly another highlight of the tour. The tour continues through the Rhine plain to Heidelberg, the seat of the oldest German university. Visit the famous palace complex and the unique old town directly on the Neckar. Follow the Neckar to Ladenburg. The many half-timbered houses create a unique ambience. Through extensive forest areas, you follow the route to the old imperial city of Worms (legendary cathedral).

The tour takes you leisurely along the Rhine, partly on the idyllic paths of the arms of the Old Rhine to Oppenheim, the town of "Gothic and wine". During a short ferry ride across the Rhine, you can already enjoy the view of Nierstein with its countless vines. You cycle directly through the vines towards the second imperial cathedral of the tour in Mainz.

In Mainz you cross the Rhine and in romantic Rüdesheim a ride on the cable car over the vineyards is a recommended experience. After crossing the Rhine again, you reach the mouth of the river Nahe in Bingen and the intersection of four wine-growing regions. In addition to the Mäuseturm in the Binger Loch, the Drusus Bridge dating from the 10th century and its bridge chapel are worth seeing. The route goes up and down through the vineyards to the "Volkerstadt" (Volker town) of Alzey, which has close ties with its fiddler from the Song of the Nibelungs.

You reach the start of the German Wine Route in Bobenheim and cycle through the tranquil winegrowing town of Grünstadt. Beautiful winegrowing villages are the cultural highlights of this day. In Bad Dürkheim you come to the largest wine barrel in the world. In Deidesheim, a visit to the wine museum in the medieval town hall is worthwhile, and over the balcony of the Palatinate you cycle to the secret German wine capital, Neustadt.