Читать книгу The Rhine Cycle Route. From source to sea through Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands онлайн

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Meersburg harbour with Neues Schloss on the hill above (Stage 5)

France

From Basel to Strasbourg (France) and its sister town of Kehl (Germany) there are three alternative routes. This guide follows the French Vèloroute Rhin (VR, but now re-waymarked as EV15), leaving the river to follow canal towpaths, forest trails and a disused railway line through Alsace, passing Neuf-Brisach en route to Strasbourg. There is another waymarked route (D8) closely following the German (right) bank through Breisach to Kehl. This is shorter, but is a dusty, bumpy unsurfaced track for most of its length and is not recommended. The third alternative is to follow quiet former military roads along the French bank of the Rhine.

Germany

After Strasbourg, the route continues following EV15, now along the riverbank, through the French/German border area before crossing the river to visit the model fan-shaped city of Karlsruhe. EV15 continues along the left bank through Wörth, but major works are going on in this area to create flood relief polders and deviations take the track away from the river. Returning to the left bank after Karlsruhe, the route passes through the cathedral city of Speyer, then crosses over briefly to visit Mannheim (and miss the duller part of Ludwigshafen). Then it is back on the left bank through Worms and Nierstein to Mainz, the most attractive ‘big city’ on the Rhine. For most of the stretch between Karlsruhe and Mainz through Mannheim it is possible to follow D8 along the right bank, but while this is a quiet route along surfaced tracks, it is far less interesting than the preferred left bank route.