The German Wine Route - one of the oldest tourist routes in Germany - runs between the House of the German Wine Route in Bockenheim and the German Wine Gate in Schweigen-Rechtenbach. The hilly landscape of the Palatinate, in which the German Wine Route is embedded, is also known as German Tuscany due to its relief and mild temperatures.
There is a 95-kilometre German Wine Route cycle route that can be combined with other exciting and well-signposted themed cycle routes to create circular tours. Starting from Neustadt an der Weinstraße, this 266-kilometre circular tour takes in the most beautiful corners along the German Wine Route, makes a detour to its French neighbour, leads into the low mountain landscape of the Palatinate Forest, dotted with castles and bizarre rocks, and heads east to the cathedral city of Speyer and the Rhine.
The tour is relatively flat along the Rhine, the Wieslauter, the Queich and in the Rhine plain. Along the German Wine Route cycle path and away from the Rhine and its tributaries, you can also expect some inclines.
GPS data
You can find the GPX track for this tour in the MYBIKE Collection on komoot
Journey
The start and end point of the tour, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, can be easily reached by train, information at www.bahn.de and www.bahn.de/bahnundbike
Information about taking bicycles (bus and train) on site at www.vrn.de
Neustadt an der Weinstraße can be reached by car via the A 65 motorway, for example, which is easily accessible from Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern.
Contact us
Information is available from Pfalz.Touristik e.V., Matin-Luther-Straße 69, 67433 Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Tel. 06321-39160, www.pfalz.de.
Special cycle path information at www.pfalz.de/de/radfahren-in-der-pfalz. Cycle route descriptions with elevation profile and GPS tracks can be found at www.radwanderland.de
Accommodation tips
Stiftsgut Keysermühle, Bahnhofstraße 1, 76889 Klingenmünster, Tel. 06349-99390, www.stiftsgut-keysermuehle.de
Haus am Weinberg, Oberst-Barrett-Straße 1, 67487 St. Martin, Tel. 06323-9450, www.hausamweinberg.de
Kurpark-Hotel Bad Dürkheim, Schlossplatz 1-4, 67098 Bad Dürkheim, Tel. 06322-7970, www.kurpark-hotel.de
Food and drink
Forest restaurant Forsthaus Breitenstein, 67466 Breitenstein, Tel. 06328-227, www.forsthausbreitenstein.de (game dishes, trout and seasonal specialities such as wild garlic weeks)
Winery and wine bar Muskatellerhof, Winzergasse 41, 76889 Gleiszellen, Tel. 06343-4600, www.muskatellerhof.de (Regional dishes such as Saumagen or tarte flambée as well as seasonal specialities, e.g. with chanterelles or asparagus)
Cycling events
Every year, numerous cycling experience days are organised in the Palatinate, including the "German Wine Route Experience Day", which has been taking place since 1985. During the cycling experience days, many roads are closed so that you can cycle through the countryside in a relaxed and sociable manner. There is also regional food and drink on every corner as well as various events. Download information at www.pfalz.de/de/raderlebnistage
Worth seeing
Hambach Castle with exhibition on the history of German democracy. Info at www.hambacher-schloss.de
Landeck Castle (near Klingenmünster) with a great view and castle pub (delicious tarte flambée). Knight's banquet for groups on request. Info under www.landeck-burg.de
You can find out about events (e.g. wine festivals) in the Palatinate at www.pfalz.de/de/weinfeste-weinmessen-und-vieles-mehr-finden-sie-hier-auf-einen-blick
The Westwall Museum in Bad Bergzabern (Kurfürstenstraße) provides information about the underground military defence system built in the 1930s, which ran for over 600 kilometres along the western border of the German Reich in the form of bunkers, tunnels and trenches. Information on admission prices and guided tours at www.otterbachabschnitt.de
The Dürkheim giant barrel has a diameter of 13.5 metres and a volume of 1,700,000 litres, making it the largest barrel in the world. It does not contain wine, but a restaurant with a beautiful garden restaurant, www.duerkheimer-fass.de
The Altdahn castle group near Dahn is the largest castle complex in the Palatinate. There is a castle pub and a small museum on the grounds. For further information, please contact the tourist office in Dahn on 06391-919600, www.dahner-felsenland.net
Schweigen-Rechtenbach is home to what the company describes as the "first Wine trail of the world". The approximately three-kilometre-long trail was opened in 1969 as Germany's first educational wine trail. It begins at the German Wine Gate, which has marked the entrance to the German Wine Route since 1936. Info at www.weinlehrpfade.de (under the heading "Schweigen-Rechtenbach").
In Bornheim (a detour from Offenbach an der Queich) there is a lovingly decorated Stork centre with permanent and special exhibitions all about Master Adebar. Info www.pfalzstorch.de. Here you can also view the Bornheim storks in their nests using various webcams and find out more about the PfalzStorch campaign.
In contrast to most railway museums, the Railway Museum Neustadt an der Weinstraße not just static objects: The historic steam locomotive "Kuckucksbähnel" has been travelling between Neustadt an der Weinstraße and Elmstein since 1984. In addition to the normal excursion trips, there are also special wine-tasting trips, for example, which are often fully booked due to the high demand. Information under: www.eisenbahnmuseum-neustadt.de
The Elmsteiner Samenklenge presents many exciting topics relating to the forest. Info under www.alte-samenklenge.de
The Bad Dürkheim graduation tower, also known as the Saltworks is part of the attractive spa gardens. Info under
www.bad-duerkheim.com/sehen-und-erleben/sehenswuerdigkeiten.html
In the Hauenstein Shoe Museum you can see, among other things, the world's greenest shoe. Info under www.museum-hauenstein.de
In Speyer you should not only visit the famous cathedral, but also the Museum of Technology (speyer.technik-museum.de ). The Historical Museum of the Palatinate in Speyer hosts changing special exhibitions on topics such as the Pharaohs, the Salians and the Titanic (www.museum.speyer.de)
On the former Robber baron's castle Berwartstein (detour from the German-French Pamina cycle path Lautertal, 9 km there and back) there are exciting guided tours and a castle tavern with an idyllic sun terrace. Info at www.burgberwartstein.de
The Palatinate Forest/North Vosges Biosphere Centre has an exciting information centre with a multimedia exhibition on nature and energy technology as well as Germany's first treetop walk. Accessible from Bundenthal via the biosphere tour (ant as logo), approx. 9 kilometres, easy. Info at www.biosphaerenhaus.de
The complete article was published in Trekkingbike issue 5/2014. You can download the individual article here as a free PDF file.
