Münsterland: radial tour 8 days

The most cycling friendly city awaits you. Here the "Leeze" is the most used means of transport and no other city has such an extensive network of cycle paths and so many special offers around the bicycle. We recommend to arrive early in Münster and use this first day for a little exploration tour: at the "Promenade", a 4,5 kilometer-long, car-free ring around the Old Town you can literally make a complete city tour. In the evening the night watchman will take you on a tour (Fri and Sat at 9.30pm) and so you immediately get an entertaining overview of the city's history and the first insider tips for the following days.

Today's tour takes you right into the heart of the Münsterland. You cycle on small, mostly paved rural roads through the typical park landscape with its fields, pastures, woodlands and hedgerows. Your first destination is the "Haus Rüschhaus" which was the residence of the poet since 1826. Today it hosts the Dorste-Museum where you can make hourly tours. (Tue - Sun 10am - 5pm). You continue cycling past the “Haus Vögeding” till you reach castle Hülshoff, one of the romantic moated castles in Westphalia. The local museum (daily 11am - 6.30pm) provides insights into the habits of the Münster nobles in the days of Classicism and Biedermeier. After so much culture you can relax in the cafe in the courtyard before you cycle through Roxel back to Münster. Here you can visit the Münster City Museum (Tues-Sun) and learn more about the history of the Westphalian city.

New experiences are waiting for you today! Right at the edge of the city of Münster you reach the former water castle “Haus Lütkebeck” whose two distinctive octagonal pavilions are evidence of the original baroque splendor. Only a few minutes away is the “Paohlbürgerh", a former estate that houses today the first Westphalian Carnival Museum , showing over 10,000 props and documents from the Narrenzunft from the Münster. Soon after you ride on the beautiful Weser-bike trail through the surrounding meadows and fields and pass through the forest area “Hohe Ward” featuring the picturesque pumping station from 1906. A perfect location to relax, refresh and recover is lake Hiltruper. In this well-known recreational area you can swim, relax and tank up new energy. To return to Münster you follow the new bike paths on the Dortmund-Ems Canal till the center of the city to the old port of Münster. Here at the “creative-pier” with its loving restored barns, the old industrial heritage still is visible. During the day a colorful mixture of beach bars, restaurants and cafes bring the pier alive as it never has been before.

This morning a guide awaits you to take you on a 2-hour tour in Münster (usually Tuesdays at 9.30 am, German language). No traditional walking tour, instead you will discover more distant sites of Münster by bike. In the afternoon we are offering another attractive treat: you change your "vehicle" and 'take off to sea'. The 2.5 km long Lake Aa is the most popular recreational area of the city. Here you will make a boat tour with the solar ship 'Solaaris' (daily) and you have the opportunity for a stopover, to visit the famous open-air museum, 'Mühlenhof' (daily open to visitors). The museum shows the culture and history of the country featuring more than 30 historic buildings. This boat tour terminates at lake Aa terraces where you can comfortably end your day.

Today you can choose; sleeping late before it goes back into the saddle, or visiting the large weekly market (Wednesday and Saturday) at the Cathedral Square in the city center. The weekly market is one of the most “beautiful farmers markets in Europe”, this recognition was given at an international competition by the Foundation "Living City" in 2008.
Later you cycle along the floodplain of the romantic Werse, a small tributary that flows into the Ems nearby Münster. Follow the signposted Weser-cycle track on its last and most beautiful kilometers and discover the original river landscape with its oxbow lakes, floodplains and sand banks. This cycle track is also very popular with locals and therefore there are many secluded picnic areas and beautiful tourist cafes and beer gardens on the road. Enjoy the round trip with all your senses before cycling back to Münster.

Today you are heading north, cycling on complete new routes. Soon you reach the City Park Wienburg and the first beautiful beer garden. The trail leads into the so-called sewage, a wetland of international importance, as it is used as refuge for many rare bird species. You can read about the importance of this area as a European reserve classified bird sanctuary in the local Biological Station before you continue to cycle to the typical farming village Gimbte with its picturesque town center. The beautiful path leads you to the Dortmund-Ems canal, easily you cycle back to the center of Münster.

Münster is also a cultural city of European standing. Since 1977, international artists made more than 60 sculptures for selected buildings and spaces within the city and created a now established worldwide unique collection. You can discover this 'museum of a special kind' everywhere in the city, because it is for free and outside. Take a bike and go to discover the sculptures. The 42 km long route is divided into five different tours, so you can freely choose whether you make the 3 km long tour though the Old Town or if you include the outskirts. Some of the art works you saw already within in the last few days, and so you can decide yourself which area you still want to explore.

In the morning your beautiful radial-tour is ending at the hotel. We wish you a safe journey home and hope that you will keep this week for a long time in good memory.