MYBIKE has picked out the six most beautiful cycle tours on former railway lines in the Eifel:
1st Vennbahn cycle route: 3-country tour
TOUR: 128.2 km, 968 m elevation gain, easy
Of course, it doesn't have to be the whole route. If you only want to go on a day trip, you could start in the imperial city of Aachen and only take the first two stages of around 50 kilometres, which lead through tranquil woodland and meadows via the Belgian town of Raeren back into German territory to the Eifel town of Monschau with its half-timbered houses and narrow alleyways. But it is well worth travelling the entire route along the route of the Vennbahn railway, which was built at the end of the 19th century as a link between coalfields in the north and steelworks in the south and closed in 2002, for a special kind of border experience. The route repeatedly switches from Germany to Belgium and back again, and finally leads to Luxembourg. That means: Open your eyes to take in the diversity of the regions between the Eifel hills, fascinating moorland in the High Fens or the idyllic Our Valley. And open your ears to experience the charm of the different languages and dialects, from Walloon and French to the Moselle-Franconian language variety "Lëtzebuergesch".
Highlights
- Historic old town of Aachen
- High Fens-Eifel Nature Park
- Cross in the fens on the rock of Richelsley
- Historic old town of Monschau
- Reichenstein Viaduct
- Our valley
- Rollefbach Viaduct
Food & drink:
- Country inn
- Marienbildchen Estate Roetgen
Further tips:
- www.vennbahn.eu
2nd Maare-Moselle cycle path: path of viaducts and tunnels
TOUR: 58.5 km, 381 m elevation gain, easy
The most fun begins after around 30 kilometres. Shortly after the Plein Viaduct, the route descends for around ten kilometres, at times at breakneck speed. Just let it roll, feel the airstream, cross three tunnels - the longest 585 metres: Oh, beautiful! Provided you ride this route, which runs along a railway line that was put into operation at the end of the 19th century and closed down in the early 1980s, from north to south, from the Eifel town of Daun to Bernkastel-Kues on the Moselle. Right at Daun, it crosses the most impressive of several viaducts on the line, with a sweeping view over the surrounding area. Shortly afterwards, another 560 metre-long cycle tunnel, known as the "Big Slit Ear", awaits. Incidentally, it's not just the finale that leads to the water. On the first section through the Volcanic Eifel, there are short detours to some of the Eifel maars. The cycle path, which is almost entirely tarmac, passes through small villages and extensive nature reserves.
Highlights on the Maare-Moselle cycle path
- Daun Castle
- Manderscheid castles
- Strohn lava bomb
- Maars
- Historic market square Bernkastel-Kues
Food & drink:
- Farm shop Vulkanhof Gillenfeld
- Eifel barn café
- Morgenfelderhof farm café
- Winzerhofcafé Görgen Platten
3rd Nims cycle route: Gently undulating tour with a detour to the beer city
TOUR: 61.9 km, 841 m elevation gain, medium
The trail starts at the source of the little river Nims and is slightly hilly, with some challenging uphill sections, especially on the 20 kilometres from Lasel to the beer town of Bitburg. First, however, the route passes through the Niesenberg and Schönecker Schweiz nature reserves with the Schönecker Dolomit rock formation and over the heights of the Hardtwald forest. A diversion is necessary between Seffern and Bickendorf as a result of the 2021 flood disaster. The tour continues to the beer town of Bitburg, where the Bitburger-Erlebniswelt is well worth a visit. The last 20 kilometres or so from Bitburg to Irrel on the border with Luxembourg run along a former route of the Nims-Sauertal railway - and are therefore largely flat. The destination is the Irrel mill, where the Nims flows into the Prüm. There is a connection to the Prüm cycle path. The Irrel waterfalls, once an attraction in the region, were destroyed by the 2021 flood.
Highlights
- Bitburger Erlebniswelt (beer brewery)
- (Water)castle Rittersdorf
- Niederweis Castle
- Devil's Gorge Ernzen Dinosaur Park
- 8 sandstone sculptures along the way
Food & drink:
- Restaurant Hotel Koch - Schilt in Irrel
4th Prüm cycle path: hops metres high
TOUR: 96.8 km, 986 m elevation gain, medium
The 20 kilometres from Prüm to Waxweiler run along a former railway line. The route descends gently from around 460 to 330 metres above sea level. The route from Stadtkyll to Prüm and then from Waxweiler to Minden on the Luxembourg border is peppered with quite a few climbs. The tour largely runs alongside the Prüm, the second longest river in the Eifel. In addition to mostly asphalted cycle paths, there are also a few kilometres on roads with little traffic. At the end of August/beginning of September, near Holsthum just before Minden, the hop plants are metres high right next to the cycle path. At the destination, the Prüm cycle path meets the Sauer cycle path.
Highlights
- St Salvator Basilica Prüm
- Devonium (Museum in Waxweiler)
- Prüm Castle
- Bitburg reservoir
- Roman Villa Holsthum
Food & drink:
- Restaurant Landhotel am Wenzelbach (also overnight accommodation)
5th Sûre Cycle Route: Off to Luxembourg!
TOUR: 61.2 km, 441 m elevation gain, easy
This route meanders along the German-Luxembourg border river Sauer. After the start in Wasserbillig, where the Sûre flows into the Moselle, the first section runs along cycle paths on both banks, connected by several bridges. The route is fairly flat overall, easy to cycle on thanks to the tarmac cycle paths and runs partly along a former railway line. Vineyards and picturesque villages in the Luxembourg countryside characterise the tour, as do the 336-metre-long illuminated Ralingen Tunnel and many bridges. Between Metzdorf and Wintersdorf, after around 10 kilometres, the path is raised 200 metres to protect a wetland area. The last 35 kilometres from Echternach to Ettelbrück, which is well worth seeing, are entirely in Luxembourg, where the route is signposted as "Piste-Cyclable-de-la-Basse-Sûr". In Minden, there is a connection to the Prümtal cycle path.
Highlights
- Rest point Grutenhäuschen
- Weilerbach Castle and Ironworks
- Abbey town of Echternach
- Bollendorf Castle
Food & drink:
- Restaurant Hotel Hauer (Bollendorf)
- Wine café-restaurant Johannishof (Langsur)
6th Eifel-Ardennes cycle path (railway line section): Living railway history
TOUR: 36.2 km, 289 metres in altitude, medium
From Prüm to St. Vith in Belgium, the route runs along the railway line of the West Eifel Railway, which was built during the imperial era and is now disused. It offers many sweeping views of the landscape and a touch of railway romance, for example with a detour to the small open-air railway museum with its restored locomotive and old railway relics in Pronsfeld. The route continues along the Alf and Ihrenbach streams, over numerous bridges, through meadows and forests. After Bleialf, where the Weltenbummler restaurant with beer garden in the former station building invites you to stop for a bite to eat, you pass through a 400 metre long railway tunnel, which is closed in winter to protect bats. A bridge over the Our leads to Belgium, where you have to take a section of country road with little traffic. Now you have to cross the picturesque valley of the Our to reach the small town of St. Vith, where there is also a connection to the racecourse cycle path. By the way: the complete Eifel-Ardennes cycle path leads from Prüm to the Nürburgring via Gerolstein, a much more challenging 75 kilometres to the east.
Highlights
- Pronsfeld Railway Museum
- St Salvator Basilica Prüm
- Eifel Zoo (Lünebach)
- Mühlenberger visitor mine
Food & drink:
- Restaurant Weltenbummler
- Restaurant am Wenzelbach
- Café Stullwerk (Pronsfeld)
Info & tips for a cycling holiday in the Eifel
Journey
Aachen and the Eifel towns of Gerolstein, Euskirchen and Kall can be reached by train, with changes in Trier or Cologne, for example. Various cycle bus routes (300, 555, 260, 777) then take you to some of the starting points or destinations of the tours. More information on timetables and bike transport can be found at https://radbusse.de
For opportunities also on the Belgian side https://www.vennbahn.eu/info-service/#rueckreise-mit-der-bahn
Long-distance cycle paths near the Eifel railway lines
- Ahr cycle path, 76 km
- Three Rivers Tour, 312 km
- Eifel-Höhen-Route, 203 km
- Erft cycle path, 104 km
- Industrial heritage in the Rhineland by bike, 439 km
- Kyll valley cycle path, 130.8 km
- Rhineland-Palatinate
- Cycle route, 138.1 km
- Mittelland route, 1,074 km
Bike-friendly accommodation
- Schlosshotel Neuerburg, www.schlosshotel-neuerburg.de
- Blankenheim Castle Youth Hostel, www.jugendherberge.de/jugendherbergen/blankenheim
- Romantik Schloss Hotel Kurfürstliches Amtshaus in Daun, www.daunerburg.de
- Hotel Horchem, Monschau, www.horchem.com
- Am Brunnenplatz Hotel Garni, Gerolstein, www.hotelambrunnenplatz.de
- Boutique Hotel Marielle, Bad Münstereifel, hotel-marielle.de
- Landhotel am Wenzelbach, Prüm, www.wenzelbach.de/de/home
Further accommodation:
- www.eifel.info/radfahren/fahrradfreundliche-gastgeber
- www.vennbahn.eu
- www.bettundbike.de
Bike hire
Many options, especially for e-bike hire. Information on this can be found at
- www.eifel.info/radfahren/fahrradverleih
- www.gesundland-vulkaneifel.de/radfahren/e-bike-verleih/
E-bike charging stations
- www.hocheifel-nuerburgring.de/radfahren-hocheifel/rad-service
Bike service
- www.wergen-bikes.de
- www.eifelrad.de
- www.fahrradservice-pelm.de
6 railway cycle paths in the Eifel
GPS data for the railway routes in the Eifel
You can download the GPX tracks for the six railway routes in the Eifel from download directly here or can be found in the MYBIKE-Collection on komoot.
Route planning & maps
App & tour planner: www.eifel.info/informationen/touren-app-eifel
Bikeline cycle tour book "Bahntrassen & Flussradwege Eifel", Esterbauer-Verlag, 180 pages, 2020, Esterbauer Verlag, 14.90 euros
"By bike along old railway lines in the Eifel", 128 pages, 2019, J. P. Bachem Verlag, 14.95 euros
MYBIKE tip:
21-23 July 2023, Nürburgring:
Bike on the ring
Cycling event on the motorsport and former Formula 1 race track of the Nürburgring in the Eifel. Various races are organised, including a race for everyone with different distances, a 24-hour race, races for mountain bikers and e-bikers, a kids' race and pure touring without a competitive character. There is also an expo where many companies present their cycling-related products. https://radamring.de/
General information
- www.eifel.info
- www.vennbahn.eu
