Hamburg: radial tour 8 days

The longest stage with the most beautiful destination is ahead of you today: the individual journey to the Hotel Zollenspieker Fährhaus. We recommend that you arrive early today and enjoy the unique location with a wide view over the banks and the Elbe and let it sink in. There is no better way to get in the mood for the upcoming days.

Today's round trip offers pure variety and leads to the 'Dreistromland' Vierlanden in Hamburg. In the morning you cycle on a former railway line to the open-air museum "Rieck Haus", a remarkable ensemble from the 16th century with thatched-roof farmhouse, original barn, old bakery and historic mill. Then you roll along the canal on beautiful bike paths through the garden settlement Nettelnburg and experience why Hamburg has more bridges than any other major European city. Enjoy the beach feeling here or stop by the rustic Dorfkrug with an excellent cuisine. At the Eichbaumsee it is worth taking a bathing break before you escape the hustle and bustle into the “Die Reit” nature reserve and finally follow the winding course of the Gose-Elbe on a winding dike road.

A whole day at the beautiful Elbe! You cycle on the marshland dam and enjoy wide views to the right and left of the Elbe. After 15 km, marvel at the large and remarkable Elbe bridge with barrage and lock systems in Geesthacht. This impressive technical system regulates the entire water level for the port of Hamburg! Then the Elbe cycle path takes you through the wooded nature reserve 'Hohes Elbufer' to the boat town of Lauenburg. Richly decorated, colorful half-timbered houses await you here in the picturesque old town, the Elbe shipping museum and, as a nostalgic eye-catcher on the promenade, the historic paddle steamer "Kaiser Wilhelm". After a worthwhile break, you can roll back to the hotel on the left bank of the Elbe.

Another day with new destinations! You use the Elbe ferry again and in the morning follow the well-signposted Ilmenau cycle path along the tranquil course of the river, whose area is consistently designated as a European nature reserve with its tributaries and floodplains. Via Oldershausen with typical old courtyards and Bardowick with the unusual cathedral, you finally cycle on the historic towpath on the Ilmenauufer directly to the old salt and Hanseatic city of Lüneburg. The undestroyed medieval cityscape still presents many stone witnesses of the rich past with the monumental patrician houses. Visit the exciting German Salt Museum in Lüneburg with unique exhibits on the 1,000-year history of local salt mining. Then take a well-deserved break on your circuit in Winsen an der Luhe with its beautiful castle, before you end this day with many impressions in the beautiful hotel.

In the morning you cycle from the hotel to downtown Hamburg on the Elbe Cycle Path and take an extensive sightseeing tour by bike. Marvel at the historic Hamburg City Hall, enjoy the atmosphere at the Jungfernstieg and visit the city's landmark, the 'Michel' (Michaeliskirche). On secret paths you roll on to the Elbe promenade, where the cosmopolitan city of Hamburg can really be felt! We continue through the Speicherstadt to the Elbphilharmonie and over the St. Pauli Landungsbrücken to another highlight of the trip, the Old Elbe Tunnel. Opened more than 100 years ago as a technical masterpiece, it leads over 420 m length under the Elbe at a depth of 24 meters and is now used by over 60,000 cyclists and 700,000 pedestrians every year. What an experience! At the other end, you leave the large elevator and stand right in the lively harbor. Here a safe bike path leads you through the "Freihafen" to Wilhelmsburg and on to the beautiful old Harburg Elbe bridge. You then cycle south of the Elbe back to the hotel on small roads.

Today also offers a lot of variety, because eight important sights are on the route. The functioning Riepenburg grain windmill, the Reinbek Castle, built in the style of the Dutch Renaissance, or the Bergedorf Castle with its parks on the Bille. You can also visit the Neuengamme concentration camp memorial and trace the work and life of Otto von Bismarck (museum, permanent exhibition and mausoleum). Or visit the 'Garden of Butterflies' and be enchanted by the tropical colors of free-flying butterflies from all over the world. All of this is on your route today, which runs through the marshland, in the extensive Sachsenwald and through the nature reserve along the winding Bille. On this day tour, natural and cultural experiences are perfectly combined.

You cross over with the ferry and after a few kilometers you cycle on the edge of the nature reserve 'Untere Seeveniederung'. In April and May you can expect a very special and rare floral magic of the chessboard flower, which is worth protecting, a botanical rarity that grows here on an area of 130 ha and is therefore one of the largest occurrences in Germany. You continue to cycle idyllically on the Seeve cycle path to Jesteburg. Marvel at the well-preserved thatched roof houses that still shape the village character today. Look forward to the Bossard art site, which is right next to the bike path. The artist couple Bossard has created an impressive work of art with a tree temple and monastery garden, art temple and studio house, vegetable and fruit tree gardens on a 30,000 m² forest property. In addition, the café in the courtyard invites you to linger and enjoy homemade cakes and delicious snacks. On the way back, a stop at the medieval Horster Mühle is particularly worthwhile before you finally take the ferry to the hotel.

Today, the goodbye is really hard: the beautifully situated and embosomed Zollenspieker Fährhaus hotel, many fascinating day trip destinations and sights along the way, the beautiful and worth cycling bike paths - all that have made this trip a real experience.

You can choose how many kilometers you want to cycle on each day, as each tour has at least one shorter and one longer variant. Either the route offers a shortcut or there is a practical train connection to bridge a section. So you can decide spontaneously each day how much time you want to spend in the saddle.
You are also free to decide which stage you cycle on which day. You cycle mostly on flat asphalt paths, with only short climbs and a few forest paths to contend with. In Hamburg and in the cities, it is not always possible to avoid major road traffic, but you are usually on cycle paths there.