Cycle tour from Cologne to Nice

Even the start along the Rhine is spectacular. The landscape of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley is dotted with knights' castles, historic towns and monumental buildings and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for good reason.

The Rhine Cycle Route is number 15 of the Eurovelo routes and is already well signposted and fully tarmaced.
Up to the Alsace it rolls along so comfortably. While the Vosges Mountains rise up in the west with their impressive climbs, this tour is at most "undulating". The route runs gently up and down through gentle hills and vineyards until shortly after Neuf-Brisach. In Fessenheim, you turn off onto the cycle path along the Rhine-Rhône Canal. The EU has invested 650,000 euros in expanding the cycle path network in Alsace and has tarmaced a section of this towpath.
In Montbéliard, the starting signal is given for the Great crossing of the Jura (GTJ). Deep valleys, wild gorges, bare hilltops and green plateaus characterise the low mountain landscape on both sides of the French-Swiss border.
It gets mountainous from Lyon onwards. Fitness and mountain-ready gear are now a must! From the second largest city in France Lyon to Nice the tour runs through the Vercors mountain massif into the lonely mountains of the Drôme department, past the famous Mont Ventoux into Provence and finally through the foothills of the Maritime Alps with the spectacular Verdon Gorge.

Character

The Rhine Cycle Route is one of the few Eurovelo routes that is already fully developed and signposted. Alsace also has a perfect network of cycle paths. Cyclists won't get lost here. The Grande Traversée du Jura is also signposted. Please note: There is also a variant for mountain bikes. The rest of our planned route from Lyon to Nice runs mainly on quiet side roads.

Highlights

UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley with 65 castles and the Loreley Rock, www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de,
www.romantischer-rhein.de
Strasbourg: the old town centre around the cathedral and the "Petite France" district, www.strassburg.eu
Malbuisson: "Cathedrale du Comté". Around 100,000 Comté cheeses mature in Fort St Antoine. www.comte-petite.com
Provence: Verdon Gorge, the Grand Canyon in France.
www.provence.de/provence-entdecken/landschaften/verdon-schlucht.html

The article was in the Europe special in Trekkingbike issue 4/2016. You can download the issue in the Trekkingbike app (iTunes and Google Play) or order it in the DK shop.