Freiburg and the Alsatian Wine Road
★★★★★★4.2/5 (6)
Freiburg and the Alsatian Wine Road
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An awe-inspiring adventure along the Alsatian Wine Road awaits
On this Freiburg and Alsatian Wine Road tour, you'll travel through France and Germany, passing beautiful scenery and diverse regions every pedal of the way.
Enjoy the exquisite cultural highlights offered by beautiful Freiburg, Strasbourg (the most important city in the Alsace region) and Colmar (also known as 'Little Venice'), all featuring magnificent old buildings. Glide through the captivating 'Kaiserstuhl' area of Germany and ride through the resplendent Rhine Valley, dotted with vibrant vineyards and picturesque villages. After a loop tour, you'll return to fabulous Freiburg.
If you love delicate wines, sumptuous cuisines, and excellent culture, this is certainly a perfect tour!
Highlights
- Freiburg's historic town center and picturesque alleys
- Strasbourg
- Vineyards of the sunny 'Kaiserstuhl' ('Emperor's Chair')
- Baden's 'Europapark'
- Colmar, known as 'Little Venice'
- Romantic towns of Ribeauville and Riquewihr
Learn More
Learn more about self-guided tours.
Interested in adding to your itinerary? Take a look at our cycling day tours in Frankfurt and Munich. -
Traveler photos
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Daily program
Day 1: Individual arrival in Freiburg
The sunny city of Freiburg, in the gorgeous Black Forest, has a lot to offer, including the Old Town's picturesque alleys, the famous 'Freiburger Bächle' (water-filled runnels), and cultural and historical monuments like the Minster. Numerous wine and snack bars line the streets. Visit the Freiburg Cathedral and sink your teeth into a scrumptious slice of Black Forest gateau, accompanied by a coffee in a selected cafe (included in tour price).Overnight in Freiburg.
Day 2: Freiburg – Endingen/Malterdingen (22 miles/35 km)
After a hearty breakfast, you'll start out on your first cycle tour beneath the vineyards of the sunny 'Kaiserstuhl' ('Emperor's Chair'). This region is one of the most sun-kissed in Germany, and the volcanic loam earth guarantees perfect grapes for the wine production here.Today's destination is the medieval timber town of Endingen or, as an alternative, the wine-growing community of Malterdingen. Both are rich in tradition.
Overnight in Endingen or Malterdingen.
Day 3: Endingen/Malterdingen – Rust/Ringsheim (28-31 miles/45-50 km)
Passing the wine village of Sasbach, you'll reach the shore of the Rhine. Cycle through the flourishing Rhine meadows and occasionally along the Rhine embankment as you make your way to Rust. This small town in Baden is known for the 'Europapark' - an amusement park with many attractions.Overnight in Rust/Ringsheim.
Day 4: Rust/Ringsheim – Strasburg (28-31 miles/45-50 km)
Today you'll cycle along the Rhine once again, this time with the beautiful backdrop of the Black Forest on your right. The stunning Alsatian metropolis of Strasbourg, with its attractive old center, is the highlight of the day.Overnight in Strasbourg.
Day 5: Strasbourg – Obernai (37 miles/60 km)
In the morning, you'll have time to visit the numerous sightseeing delights of Strasbourg. The cycle tour then leads you to Molsheim, hometown of the famous car manufacturer, Bugatti. From here, you'll ride along the Alsatian Wine Road.Overnight in Obernai.
Day 6: Obernai – St. Hippolyte (25 miles/40 km)
Today you'll continue cycling southward along the Route du Vin. An attractive stretch of road leads you through lush vineyards and past lovely Alsace towns with colorful timber houses. By way of Dambach-la-Ville, you'll reach St. Hippolyte, uniquely located beneath the majestic Hochkönigsburg Castle.Overnight in St. Hippolyte.
Day 7: St. Hippolyte – Colmar/Eguisheim (16-19 miles/25-30 km)
The last day along the Alsace Wine Road takes you through the romantic towns of Ribeauville and Riquewihr, where medieval alleys invite you for a stroll. You'll then continue biking until you reach Colmar. Explore this picturesque town - known as 'Little Venice' - with its beautiful half-timer houses in the Gerbergasse, as well as the world-famous Isenheimer Altar in the Unterlinden Museum.Overnight in Colmar or neighboring Eguisheim.
Day 8: Colmar/Eguisheim – Freiburg (37 miles/60 km)
Today you'll cycle through the Rhine Plain, past the mighty Minster in Breisach and the Tuniberg, before heading back to Freiburg. After returning your bike and collecting your luggage, you'll depart individually, or you can choose to spend an extra night in Freiburg.Day 9: Departure from Freiburg
Surface and terrain
The quality of the roads varies widely in the Alsace and Kaiserstuhl regions. In Alsace, only the larger cities have developed cycle paths. Usually, you will cycle on roads with minimal traffic. At some village entrances and exits, there might be slightly heavier traffic. In Germany, you'll cycle on side roads or streets with a separate cycle path.
The terrain on the tour is mostly flat with occasional hills. Approximately 50% of the tour follows roads shared with traffic, 30% follows quiet roads, and 20% follows dedicated bicycle paths. This tour is appropiate for road bikes and standard bikes.
Hotels
These are sample hotels and may vary based on availability.
3- and 4-star hotels
Hotel Central, Freiburg
https://central-freiburg.de/Hotel Keller, Malterdingen
https://landhaus-keller.com/Hotel Sleep & Dream, Ringsheim
https://hotel-sleep-dream.de/Hotel Le Grand, Strasbourg
https://www.le-grand-hotel.com/en/Hotel Le Colombier, Obernai
Hotel Munsch Alsace, St. Hippolyte
https://hotelmunsch.com/Hotel Mercure, Colmar
www.mercure.comInterested in visiting other areas before or after your tour? Visit our hotels page to learn more about lodging options.
How to get there
Tour start and end
Nearest airport: Basel, Swizerland; Stuttgart, Frankfurt, or (further away) Munich, GermanyNearest train station: Freiburg, Germany
Tips on getting to and from your tour.
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Dates
Saturdays: Apr 20-Oct 5, 2024 (Additional dates upon request for parties of 4+)
Season 1: Apr 20, 2024 - Apr 30, 2024
Season 2: May 1, 2024 - May 31, 2024
Season 3: Jun 1, 2024 - Sep 30, 2024
Season 4: Oct 1, 2024 - Oct 5, 2024
Prices
Tour package
Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Per person, double occupancy €1258 €1358 €1378 €999 Single use room (1 person/1 room) €1678 €1778 €1798 €1419 Bike Rentals
Standard touring bike, 24-speed €99 Electrically assisted bike €229 Extra Nights, Freiburg
Per person, double occupancy €99 Single use room (1 person/1 room) €169 Discounts
Children, ages 0-4 sharing a room with two full-paying adults (on base package price) 100% Children, ages 5-13 sharing a room with two full-paying adults (on base package price) 25% Third person, ages 14+ sharing a room with two full-paying adults (on base package price) 10% Included services
- 8 nights accommodation in 3- and 4-star inns and guesthouses
- Breakfast (mostly buffet)
- Luggage transfer from hotel to hotel (unlimited number of luggage pieces)
- Detailed information with maps, route descriptions, sightseeing recommendations
- Bike protection (if rental bike is booked)
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Entrance to the Unterlinden museum in Colmar
- Service hotline available in case of problems or questions
- GPS data is available upon request
Please note visitor's tax not included. You will be required to pay the tax at each hotel upon check-out (approximately €2-5 per person).
Bike rentals
Bikes available to be rented (in advance at the time of booking) include:
- Standard touring bike, 21- or 24-speed
- Electrically assisted bike*
*More about electrically-assisted bikes >
All above bike rentals will be equipped with the following at no additional charge:
- Saddlebag and handlebar bag
- Cycle computer
- Repair kit (one per group)
- Lock (one per 2 bikes)
Additional equipment available upon request:
- Handlebar bag
- Second saddlebag
Helmets:
Please plan to bring your own helmet for safety and hygiene purposes. Helmet rental is not available on this tour.
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Route Map
Maps are for information purposes only and reflect typical routes between overnight locations. They may not reflect your actual route.
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Reviews
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★★★★★ Stephen Graham 3 months ago
Great area, careful with cars in France
Fascinating area, half German half French. French side has the cutest towns, German side the safest biking. Beware biking on the French side on weekends, as locals drive to the vineyard towns for lunch or overnights, and they drive fast. Often no shoulder or bike path, drivers not always courteous, a lot of energy on avoiding catastrophe for less-experienced riders instead of enjoying the scenery. Support was good, replacing a bike with brake problems mid-trip. Navigation had one major error, sending us to a small bridge across islands in the Rhine near Strasbourg that had in fact been closed for months. A bit stressful at the end of a long day riding, but we found another way across. Minimal guidance as to where to stop for cafes, lunch, etc.; could use a more detailed list of suggestions. Some of the budget hotels are not in charming locations or walking distance from restaurants. The Grand Hotel in Strasbourg has seen better days.
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★★★★★ Leonard72 June 23, 2019
Beautiful French Wine Countryside
The bikes, the hotels, the French Wine Country Scenery were beautiful, the German side was very uninspiring. We cycled through Agriculture farm country on the German side. Freiburg a wonderful, beautiful shopping town is geared to hiking in the Black Forest.
- What was the date of your tour?
- MAY 13, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- Completed four, this was #5.
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Dona2017 October 9, 2017
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/24/17 to 10/1/17
- How many tours have you completed?
- First one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Brittany October 10, 2017
We're glad you enjoyed your cycling vacation. Thank you for the review and the great pictures!
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★★★★★ Biabattistella September 18, 2017
A great trip
The trip was great, the landscapes are fantastic, the little villages are very charming, well preserved! What could be better is having gps files for the path. The orientation, sometimes, are not clear and cost some kilometres more!
- What was the date of your tour?
- sept 3 to 10/2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- This is the second
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ MaryB May 4, 2017
Biking Adventure of a Lifetime!
This was the perfect bike tour for us to combine with a visit with our son and his family who were living in Freiburg for the year. The bike company was very accommodating and let us rent the bikes a few days early so that we could ride around Freiburg with our kids. Getting the bikes early was a good chance to get
familiar with the bikes so that we could exchange one of them when we found out
that it was too big. Although we gave our height so that the tour company could estimate the right size bikes for us, it might have been more helpful to give our inseam length to determine if our legs could swing over the bar or touch the ground from the seat. Estimate your height a little lower than you actually are to get the right fit bike. The bikes were a great weight, had nice sized tires for the type of terrain we rode over, and they shifted very well. The saddlebag was roomy and held all my day gear, but the weight of it tended to tip the bike over on slanted hills. You might want to get a saddlebag on each size to balance out the weight more evenly. There is no mirror or water bottle holder on the bikes. I carried my water bottle in my back pack and trusted the cars and bikes behind me to pass carefully! I loved the countryside and trails through the woods. Riding on the Rhine was awesome. The quaint villages we rode through and stayed in were beautiful. Our hotels were all lovely and had delicious breakfasts. Our luggage arrived every day on time or early and we had secure locations to park and lock up our bikes every night. We did have trouble following the maps and directions given. It was almost like going on a scavenger hunt when you aren't sure that you are interpreting the clues correctly. The map was way too small to read and the written directions were on a separate page from the map so you had to keep flipping back and forth to get the full picture of where you were going. It seems that the directions and/or maps were old and had not been updated recently. We ran into construction along the Rhine River path and had to take a long detour----following the German signs was hard and it added many miles to that day's ride. We also had construction in two other cities and had to find our way on our own as the detour was not obvious. Sometimes there are bike signs at an intersection that say you can go in directly opposite ways to the same place. Quite confusing. One time we were told to turn right in our written directions but according to the map we should have gone left....what to do? We were directed to ride on one way streets going the wrong way. There were no directions to get to the hotel in Strasbourg if you took the new bike path over the river. That was very difficult. We were quite frustrated with having to figure out if we were on the right path or not. My suggestion is to have the tour company check the current directions before each trip and indicate detours and update street names. Definitely provide new directions for getting into Strasbourg over the bike bridge. The German tour company should try following their directions with someone who is not familiar with the route and who does not speak German - then correct each turn where it is confusing. That would saved a lot of frustration and make the trip more enjoyable. Or, provide GPS devices for everyone. If we had had one, it would have been easier. It costs $10 per day to use our smartphone as a GPS device so we opted not to. It might have been worth it. I think adding an option of staying an extra day in Strasbourg and Colmar would be nice...a break from biking every day and a chance to see more of the cities. Other than the directions, we loved the trip and felt a real sense of accomplishment when we were done. Our kids and grandkids were very proud of us for going on such an adventurous bike tour! SHOW MORE- What was the date of your tour?
- April 24 - 30, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was the first.
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ fudledudle September 26, 2016
Allsace wine route
This tour is fairly easy to do, great scenery particularly on the French side of the Rhine, some minor detours due to missing signage, all in all a great tour
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 10/16
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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