EuroVelo 15: From the source of the Rhine to its mouth in the North Sea

"The Rhine combines every quality a river can exhibit. The rapidity of the Rhone, the breadth of the Loire, the rocks of the Meuse, the sinuosity of the Seine, the translucency of the Somme, the historical reminiscences of the Tiber, the regal dignity of the Danube, the mysterious influence of the Nile, the golden sands of the glittering streams of the New World, the phantoms of some Asiatic stream" - Victor Hugo.

Suitable for cyclists of all fitness levels and abilities, the Rhine Cycle Route runs along one of the longest rivers in Europe. From the Swiss Alps to the North Sea, the Rhine has fostered a cultural and economic dialogue between the Alpine arc and Northern Europe for over 2000 years. Explore the beauty of this river landscape and the picturesque towns and villages lining its banks, a number of which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Go for a stroll or a bike ride along the cycling route following the course of the Rhine. Welcome to the Eurovelo 15 website - the Rhine Cycle Route

1233km in
length
9Unesco World
Heritage sites
4 european
countries
Easy rides for
the family

Culinary delights along the Rhine
The Rhine
Cultural heritage
Art along the Rhine
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Europe
Natural heritage

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Gottlieber Hüppen

Crisp, stuffed and rolled wafers, made since 1928 in Gottlieben, on Lake Constance, the Hüppen are handmade by the Gottlieber firm which makes 11 million of them each year. Each wafer is rolled like a cigar before being filled with a chocolate or amaretto-flavoured cream.

Basler Läckerli

Similar to gingerbread, made with crystallised fruits, honey and almonds, these biscuits from Basel are cut into small squares, then glazed.

Asparagus from Lampertheim

The market garden area in and around Ried in Hesse is famed for its asparagus, strawberries, onions and other fruit and vegetables. Hence it is affectionately known as “the biggest vegetable garden in Hesse”. Between mid-April and end of June, the asparagus season dominates life in the region. The traditional Lampertheim Asparagus Festival of Lampertheim is the ideal opportunity to savour the region's speciality, but it's not the only one.

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut with smoked pork, frankfurters and potatoes is probably the best-known Alsatian dish and one of the best-loved traditional dishes in France. Thinly sliced cabbage fermented in brine, simmered in white wine with potatoes, Montbéliard and Strasbourg sausages, streaky bacon, smoked pork breast and shoulder, flavoured with juniper berries and cloves, a good sauerkraut is ideal for filling empty stomachs after a long day in the saddle.

Capuns

Capuns is a speciality of the Graubünden canton in Switzerland. They are meatballs made using dried meat and sausage and then wrapped in a chard leaf. They are often served in restaurants in and around Chur.

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The Rhine Falls

Only a few hundred metres downstream from Schaffhausen is one of Europe's most powerful and impressive waterfalls. 150 metres wide and 23 metres high water flows over the falls at an average of 750 m3 per second. The wild spectacle of the Rhine hurtling over the rocks attracts hundres of thousands of sightseers every year. Boat rides enable visitors to get even closer to the falls.

Fish ladder in Gambsheim

Weirs, locks and a fish ladder at Gambsheim. To meet shipping, agricultural and power generation requirements, weirs and hydraulic plants have been built on the River Rhine. These often create obstacles difficult for migrating fish to overcome on their way to their spawning ground. To enable them to reach the Rhine basin, Germany and France signed an agreement in 1997 to construct fish ladders at the hydro-electric plants in Iffezheim and Gambsheim. The Gambsheim fish ladder, opened in 2006, is the largest in Europe. An observation room enables visitors to watch the salmon, eels, trout and river herrings on their way upstream.

Passerelle des Deux Rives

In conjunction with the first cross-border garden show in 2004, Kehl and Strasbourg linked the French and German banks of the Rhine with a "passerelle" - a bridge for the sole use of pedestrians and cyclists. © Peter Heck

The port of Rotterdam

The second largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam, Rotterdam, is the industrial heart of the country. Located at the mouth of the Rhine and the Meuse, its strategic position provides an economic outlet for western Germany and makes the region one of the most dynamic in Europe. Its facilities stretch over 28 kilometres making it the fourth largest port in the world and the largest in Europe. Alongside Le Havre in France, Rotterdam's deep water "Europoort" is the only port in Europe capable of accommodating supertankers and their cargo of 400,000 tons of fuel. Refineries and petrochemical plants abound in the region.

Duisburg Inner Harbour

Where grain was once stored and milled, visitors will today find museums, restaurants and a marina - Mediterranean flair right in the centre of the city. The old harbour has been transformed into an ambitious urbanistically and architecturally attractive city quarter.

Lake Toma

Located at the foot of Piz Baduz at an altitude of 2345 metres, Lake Toma is considered to be the source of the River Rhine. A one-hour walk away from the Oberalp Pass in Graubünden, it is the only place where the river can be crossed in one stride. With a surface area of 2.5 hectares, it is also the start of a 1230 kilometre journey through four European countries to the North Sea.

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Würth Museum - Erstein

Built in Erstein by the company Würth, the museum houses some of the 10,000 works from the personal collection of Reinhold Würth. In a fantastic space covering 800 m², you can admire masterpieces of German expressionism and surrealism, significant sets of geometric abstraction and neo-figurative paintings of the 1980s. Famous artists include: Edvard Munch, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Emil Nolde, Max Beckmann, Pablo Picasso and Max Ernst. Exhibitions are regularly accompanied by guided tours, lectures, concerts and meetings with the artists.

Rees, historic town centre

The oldest town in the Lower Rhine still holds some of the attractions of its powerful past in its historic town centre. The 700 year-old ramparts, with watchtowers and an underground fortress can be visited by the public.

Speyer Technology Museum

Where can you both visit a Boeing 747 and get inside a submarine? At the Speyer Technology Museum, which also boasts the largest space flight exhibition in Europe - "Apollo and Beyond" - where visitors can visit the Buran space shuttle. Fire engines, musical instruments, locomotives and motorbikes also feature in the museum, which also has an IMAX theatre to give visitors a tremendous experience.

Drosselgasse - a pedestrianised alley in Rudesheim.

Drosselgasse lies at the heart of the old town of Rudesheim. 144 metres in length, this narrow, paved street is for pedestrians only and is a major draw for visitors to this small Rhineland town in the tourist season. With its traditional restaurants, the wine flows to the sound of traditional music. This is a good place to sample local wines, including Rüdesheimer Riesling, in one of the many "Weinstubbe" - local wine bars.

Zons medieval stronghold

A journey to medieval times can be made in the city of Zons. The stronghold has been fortified in the Middle Ages to collect the customs duty from all ships heading towards Cologne on the Rhine. Nowadays the city's historic district provides an impressive walk along the city wall - fortified with basalt rocks and dominated by its mighty towers.

Cologne Museums

Cologne as a "City of Museums" is among the most important and lively cultural centres in Germany. 36 museums are with their superb collections and fascinating exhibitions a magnet for art and culture lovers from all around the world. They offer a rich variety of exhibits from Antiquity to the present day and inform visitors about things as diverse as chocolate, modern art and the city's history.

Basel

Basel is where the River Rhine joins Germany, France and Switzerland thus creating the cultural centre of the “three countries corner”. The people of Basel feel very attached to the River Rhine: the district's anthem is titled “Z Basel am mym Rhy” (“Basel on the Rhine”). It is the last port on the River Rhine that can be accessed by barges.

River navigation museum in Offendorf

An exhibition held on a Freycinet-type of barge rescued from scrapping, restored and renamed “CABRO”, retraces the evolution of river navigation in Alsace and in particular in Offendorf, the largest village of boatmen in the East of France in the 20th century.

Reichenau

The island of Reichenau, the biggest of the three islands of the Lake of Constance, is listed as a world heritage by the UNESCO since 2000 and demonstrates the religious and cultural importance of the big Benedictine monastery during the Middle-Age. To reach the island you will go over a dike with a magnificent Pappel avenue (Deutsche Alleenstraße). Good examples of the monasterial architecture are the three roman churches of the island: the cathedral of St. Maria and Markus with a treasure chamber, St. Georg with Ottonian mural paintings and St. Peter and Paul. © Tourist-Information Reichenau, photographer Achim Mende

Rotterdam: Euromast & Spacetower

With its head in the clouds the 185 metres Euromast is the highest tower open to the public in the Netherlands. Its 360 degree panorama awaits visitors at the top, along with many other attractions, some of which are reserved for those with the strongest stomachs - bungee jumping and a 100 km/h zip slide. For the less adventurous or those of us that like a little less excitement the tower has a panoramic restaurant 96 metres up in the air.

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Napoleon Museum of the Arenenberg Castle

Overlooking the lower part of Lake Constance, the Arenenberg castle was the main residence of the former Queen Hortense of Holland and her son, Prince Louis Napoleon, future Napoleon III, who spent his adolescence in this castle while studying at Augsburg, Bavaria. Beneath its appearance as a country manor, the Arenenberg castle does not give any clues as to the treasures hidden within. Visitors can discover a whole series of remarkable furniture and decoration in First Empire, Biedermeier and Second Empire styles, completed by an exceptional collection of artwork. It is the only museum devoted to the history of Napoleon in a Germany-speaking country.

Strasbourg: Tomi Ungerer Museum

Artist and illustrator of books for readers of all ages, including the children's book “The Three Robbers”, Tomi Ungerer, who was born in Strasbourg in 1931, is considered to be one of the greatest illustrators of the last 50 years. The 700 square meter museum – the first public museum in France devoted to an artist during his lifetime – has been established in the Greiner Villa and houses more than 11000 drawings donated by the artist to his home city.

Basel: Its museums

Basel's museums and galleries house several important international works of art. Each year more than one million visitors visit 36 exhibition. Compared to other similarly-sized cities, Basel has one of the highest densities of museums and galleries in the world. Art aficionados should not miss “Art Basel”, the largest annual modern art show in Europe. It is held every year in mid-June.

Bonn: The Museum Mile

Attracting over one million visitors every year, Bonn's Museum Mile is a must for all lovers of art and culture. The Museum of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany (Haus der Geschichte) presents the country's contemporary history by means of photographs, documents and original objects from recent German history. The Fine Art Museum (Kunstmuseum Bonn) exhibits Rhenish expressionist works and German art from the post-war period while the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany (Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) plays host to travelling exhibitions designed to show national and international cultural trends with the inclusion of science and technology. The Alexander Koenig Museum is one of the top zoological museums in Germany. Finally, the Bonn German Museum presents the milestones of scientific discovery over the past 50 years. It boasts around 100 original items, from the magnetic rail ‘Transrapid' train to the Nobel Prize winning ion trap.

Rolandseck: Arp Museum

Rolandseck railway station has always been more than just a station. Right from its inauguration in 1858, it has always been a focal point for artists and intellectuals. Since September 2007, it has formed a part of a new museum on the Rhine - the "Arp-Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck". Built on the banks of the river in the town of Remagen, the museum of contemporary art has four floors of exhibition space devoted to the Alsatian painter and sculptor Hans Arp and his wife Sophie Taeuber-Arp, who were involved in the rise of the Dada and surrealist movements in the early 20th century. Paintings from the Middle Ages right up to the modern day are also on display.

Mainz: Gutenberg Museum

The reconstruction of the old workshop of the inventor of the printing press including a press that visitors can operate and a copy of the Gutenburg Bible - the first book to be printed in Europe using movable type - are just two of the main attractions in the Gutenburg Museum in Mainz. On display are four millennia of written history and culture and the most important prints from the 14th century right up to the present day.

Insel Museum Hombroich and the Langen Foundation

Located a few miles south of Neuss, the Museum Insel Hombroich opened in the heart of an old park on the island of Hombroich in 1987. The museum embodies and enacts a famous quote made by Cézanne: "Art is a harmony parallel with nature". The exhibition building and the artist's studio blend naturally into the vast landscape. Winding paths are punctuated by works of sculptural architecture. The island hosts a wide diversity of events involving philosophers, poets, musicians and artists. Designed by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando, a new exhibition hall combining lightness and transparency was constructed on a former missile launch site a stone's throw from Hombroich in 2004. The Langen Foundation displays works from the Langen collection that includes almost 500 Japanese artworks and 300 modern pieces.

Chur: Graubünden Museum of Fine Arts

Housed in Villa Planta, which was built in 1874-75 by the architect Johannes Ludwig, the Museum of Fine Arts in Chur is home to works of art predominantly by Swiss or Graubünden artists and sculptors from the 18th century to the present day. On display are works by, amongst others, Alberto Giacometti, Giovanni Segantini and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.

Weil am Rhein: Vitra Design Museum

The Vitra Design Museum is one of the biggest design museums in the world. The American architect Frank Gehry, known, in particular, for designing the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, has created an architectural masterpiece made up of towers, ramps and cubes. Permanent exhibitions showing the historical and contemporary developments in the world of design provide visitors with the opportunity of discovering the diversity and importance of design.

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Brühl: Schloss Augustusburg and Schloss Falkenlust

The UNESCO World Heritage Schloss Augustusburg and Schloss Falkenlust palace complex is one of the first important Rococo masterpieces in Germany. Schloss Augustusburg, the favourite residency of the archbishop-elector of Cologne, Clemens August, is linked to the Falkenlust hunting lodge by a large park.

Abbey of St Gall

Located a few kilometres to the south of the Rhine is the former Saint Gallen Monastery. After the city was founded in 612, the first Benedictine Monastery was founded on the site in about 719. Switzerland's second oldest monastery and one of the biggest Benedictine monasteries in Europe, it was highly influential cuturally for over 1200 years. Distinguishing features are the late Baroque collegiate church and the 160.000-book Baroque library with rococo furnishings. 2.200 codices of which 500 are over 1000 years old. The library therefore houses one of the richtest collections of medieval books belonging to the German-speaking part of Europe.

City of Strasbourg

Set within two arms of the River Ill, the “Grande Ile” (Grand Island) is the historical centre of Alsace's main city. Added to the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1988, it has several historical buildings dating back to medieval times. Particularly worth mentioning are the minster, the four ancient churches, the Kammerzell house, the Palais Rohan the former residence of the cardinal, covered bridges ...

Kinderdijk Windmills

Windmills have been a synonym for Holland ever since the 15th century. The Kinderdijk Windmills lying 15 kilometres to the east of Rotterdam are one of the country's most popular tourist attractions. Visitors can marvel at the centuries-old hydraulic structures which served to drain the landscape, reclaim land and build towns and villages. Sea dykes, reservoirs and pumping stations are, together with the 19 restored windmills, all a part of the special attraction of Kinderdijk which was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Neuf-Brisach: Vauban's fortifications

Commissioned by Louis XIV, Vauban began building the Neuf Brisach fortifications, which are unique in the whole of Europe, in 1699. It turned the town into the new stronghold in the Alsace lowlands after Breisach, which lies on the other side of the Rhine, was lost in 1697. Protected by star-shaped bastions, the eight-sided town is one of the show-pieces of Vauban's work. When riding along the EuroVelo 15 Route, one can see the moat belonging to the fortifications by Niffer in the Haut-Rhin department.

Speyer Cathedral

Begun in 1030, Speyer Cathedral is the largest Romanesque cathedral in the world. The basilica with its four towers and two domes was highly influential in the development of Romanesque architecture. It was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981.

Upper Middle Rhine Valley

The whole 65-kilometre stretch of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley between Bingen and Koblenz is, together with numerous separate elements, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The section has historical, natural and shrouded-in-legend surprises for visitors at a multitude of places. The Middle Rhine Valley has influenced poets, painters and composers and is a magnificent example of a natural landscape that has also been shaped by man. A dominant feature of the impressive cultural landscape are the gorges cut into the Rhenisch slate hills that are lined by about 60 towns and villages and surrounded by vineyards and numerous ruins of castles that once controlled shipping on the river.

The Lorelei

Located in the Upper Middle Rhine UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site, the 132-metre high Lorelei is a slate rock that rises up out of the river on its eastern bank. Legend has it that the Lorelei mermaid combed her long golden hair and lured boatmen with her song into the dangerous current of the Rhine and then onto the rock where they broke up.

Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral is the town of Cologne's landmark as well as the heart of the city. Situated directly beneath the bank of the Rhine in neighbourhood of the Hohenzollernbridge and the Central station, it is easy to reach all major points of interest of the city from here. Be it one of the many museums or the shopping district with Hohe Strasse and Schildergasse. The "High Cathedral of St. Peter" with its five naves has been completed in 1880 after 632 years of construction. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and is able to bear about 4.000 believers during mass services. Due to its spiritual and cultural historic importance it has become UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

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Strasbourg : the capital of Europe

A symbol of French-German reconciliation and European unity, Strasbourg is considered to be the capital of Europe due to the presence of several European Union and other institutions in the city. With it being the home in particular of the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg is one of the rare cities, together with New York and Geneva, to house international institutions without it actually being the capital of a state itself.

Lörrach, Germany: THREE COUNTRIES MUSEUM

The award-winning building in Lörrach is home to the only Three Countries Museum in Europe. On show in the permanent exhibition is life past and present in the Upper Rhine where Germany, Switzerland and France meet. "Get involved" stations, audio stations and media terminals turn the tour of the interactive exhibition into an experience to remember.

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Nature reserve of the Offendorf forest

Located on a former Rhine gravel bank, the nature reserve protects 60 hectares of alluvial forest. The whole of the natural site, deprived since 1977 of the Rhine's floods and their contributions in nutritious sediment, is flooded, at the start of the summer, by the rising of the water table during the period of the Rhine's high waters. Gigantic trees, mysterious reed beds and a large variety of water birds make up the attractions of this Alsace jungle.

River Linge

108 kilometres in length, it is the longest river flowing solely in the Netherlands. Flowing from east to west, it runs through the Betuwe region from Doorenburg to Gorinchem. Motorized boats are not allowed on the Linge unless the "Watershap Rivierenland" (the Dutch waterways authority) issues a permit for the stretch between Geldermalsen and the Kanal van Steenenhoek.

Gelderse Poort

Located between the towns of Arnhem, Nijmegen and Emmerich am Rhein, Gelderse Poort is a nature reserve that is considered to be one of the 20 most beautiful countryside areas in the Netherlands. It is the starting point for the vast Rhine Delta.

Lampertheim Nature Reserve

The Lampertheimer Nature Reserve is one of the most important wildlife conservation areas in the northern part of the Upper Rhine. A dominant feature of the 525-hectare area, which includes the Biedensand peninsular and the shallow Lake Welsch Loch, is the natural flood dynamics of the Rhine.

The horticultural region of Betuwe

Between the two main Rhine Delta rivers, the Waal to the south and Nederrijn to the north, is the horticultural region of Betuwe. It is above all known for its pear and cherry tree orchards. The delta's rich alluvial deposits make the area ideal for horticulture.

The North Sea and the dunes

Awaiting cyclists at the end of the EuroVelo 15 route is the little seaside resort of Hoek van Holland - today a part of Rotterdam. The long beaches are perfect for a gentle walk and the dunes are awaiting discovery. Here again are unique plants deserving protection that visitors should take care not to trample on. Now it really is time to rest one's legs and relax.

Sauer Delta Nature Reserve

The Sauer Delta Conservation Centre is located 100 metres from the River Rhine. It marks the entrance to the largest nature reserve in the Alsace basin, the Seltz Munchhausen reserve or better known as the Sauer Delta Nature Reserve. Located where the River Sauer, a 70-kilometre long river whose source is in the Palatinate, Germany, flows into the Rhine, the nature reserve is home to a biodiversity typical of alluvial plains. To be seen here is a jungle-like forest a phenomenal number of birds.

Biesbosch National Park

Biesbosch Natural Park lies in a brackwater zone in which freshwater and saltwater mix. Lying in the estuary of the Rhine and Maas in the North Sea, Biesbosch provides the ideal habitat for numerous kinds of animals and plants. Normal long ago for the western part of the Netherlands, large areas of reeds, meadows, islands full of willow trees and marshy woodland are still to be found in the national park. All the various forms of vegetation have been protected in Biesbosch, one of the biggest national parks in the Netherlands, since 1994.

Kühkopf-Knoblochsaue nature reserve in Riedstadt.

Covering an area of 24 square kilometres, Kühkopf-Knoblochsaue is the largest nature reserve in the State of Hesse. It is home to exceptional flora and fauna, including bush willow, reed beds and Kühkopf island, surrounded by an ancient branch of the Rhine. This nature reserve gives us a good idea of what the Rhine area looked like before its banks were developed by Man.

Untersee

The Swiss-German ‘Untersee’ is one of the most beautiful parts of the Lake of Constance. There lie the peninsula of Höri, loved by the famous painters and writers Otto Dix and Hermann Hesse, the monasterial heritage of the Reichenau island, the gorgeous painted facades in Stein am Rhein, where you can find a very dense mix of what characterizes the Lake of Constance: beautiful islands, peninsulas and bays, mysterious monasteries and castles, culinary delights and top-class events. © Tourismus Untersee, photographer Theo Keller

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Latest news: Experiences along the Rhine Cycle Route for the whole family

The Rhine Cycle Route EuroVelo 15 follows the Rhine and its 1.233 km from its source in the Swiss Alps to its outlet in the Dutch sea. It passes four countries and unique landscapes. Sights and activities for the whole family complete the offer for visitors of one of the largest rivers in Europe.The “Family tour Lake Constance” between Rorschach and Romanshorn in Switzerland is the perfect route to enjoy a relaxed trip with the whole family.
Read more Aug 03, 2017; EuroVelo 15 – Rhine Cycle Route Summer Photo Contest

It’s time for the EuroVelo 15- Rhine Cycle Route Summer Photo Contest, again! Last year Arturo Martinez from Spain won the EuroVelo 15- Rhine Cycle Route tourist package by sharing his cycle holidays´ picture with us. Congratulations, Arturo! Sharing the best picture of your cycle holidays on Facebook and/or Twitter will be awarded. The author of the most shared picture will get a fantastic 8 days/ 7 nights cycle tourists package to cycle along a section of the EuroVelo 15 - Rhine Cycle Route.
Read more Jul 19, 2017; The Rhine Cycle Route EuroVelo 15 in 2017

2017 will be influenced by the 200th anniversary of the bicycle. When Karl von Drais made the first ride on his invention called “Laufmaschine” (literally “running machine”) on June 12, 1817 through Mannheim, a town along the Rhine Cycle Route EuroVelo 15, he laid the ground stone for a new era of mobility. In the meantime, the “Laufmaschine” has developed into a modern bicycle and has become a vital everyday mode of transportation for many people around the world. To celebrate this anniversary, many events will take place along the Rhine Cycle Route in 2017, especially in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the birth place of the bicycle.
Read more Dec 22, 2016; Your EuroVelo Moment 2016

From new cycling world records through a truly epic ride in the snow of Scandinavia - the EuroVelo cycle route network has seen magnificent moments throughout 2016. We would like to share the best EuroVelo moments of the year with you!
Read more Dec 16, 2016; EuroVelo 15: From the Upper Middle Rhine Valley to Rotterdam

Pete Martin, a fellow cyclist and author, has cycled most of the river routes throughout Germany and Austria. We would like to share with you an extract from his book "REVOLUTIONS: Wandering and wondering on a sabbatical year", in which he is writing about his cycling trip from the northern part of the Rhine between Neuwied (near Koblenz) to Widdig on his way to Rotterdam.
Read more Dec 19, 2016; Along the EV 15 from Germany to the Dutch coast

Sabina and Stephan were so enthusiastic about their first bike tour last year, from the Furttal in Switzerland, across the capital cities Vienna and Praque to Dresden further to Heidelberg that this summer they decided to take a bicycle trip along the EuroVelo 15. They always treasure their exciting experiences on their own website. We like to share the last section of their EuroVelo tour from the German-Dutch border leading to the Rhine estuary at Hoek van Holland.
Read more Nov 07, 2016; More…

The countries

Switzerland Germany France Netherlands