Along the river of poets.
Cycling vacation along the neckar bike trail
Look forward to a biking holiday of high contrast! From the watchmakers in the Black Forest through wide nature reserves, along the marvellous wuerttemberg wine route and cross the Odenwald, you will be surprised by many majestic castles. Idyllic small towns and phantastic cultural and university towns like Tübingen, Ludwigsburg and Heidelberg offer promising possibilities. The Neckar bike trail is well-signposted leading for the most part along asphalted roads, quiet country roads and bike paths.
Our Cycling tours along the neckar bike trail
This is how beautiful the neckar river is
Enjoyable cycling along the Neckar
Along the beautiful Neckar River, you can enjoy cycling through Baden-Württemberg on well-maintained and well-signposted bike paths from the source near Villingen-Schwenningen to Marbach, Tübingen or Heidelberg. Most of the time you roll along in the flat country, only now and then there are slight climbs, as the route does not always run in the Neckar valley and directly along the river.
Towers, poets and thinkers
Even Mark Twain knew, "Germany is the summit of beauty in summer, but no one has grasped the supreme extent of this gentle and peaceful beauty who has not ... cruised down the Neckar." So let's go: after the looping and looping start of the Neckar, Rottweil, the city of towers, awaits you. The elevator in the Thyssen-Krupp test tower takes you up to 232 meters in tower height within 30 seconds. The view from the top over the surrounding countryside, the Roman and the medieval city of Rottweil is magnificent. In the medieval university town of Tübingen stands the Hölderlinturm. The poet's former home is now a literature museum. In Esslingen, the focus is on artfully crafted half-timbering on more than 200 buildings, including the oldest continuous row of half-timbered houses in Germany. Medieval Tübingen is sure to tempt you out of the saddle, as is Le Corbusier's Weissenhofsiedlung in Stuttgart, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Heidelberg University, Germany's oldest, was founded in 1386 and is well worth a visit. The main attraction of Heidelberg, however, is the castle, which towers over everything and can be seen from afar. It consists of many individual palaces that could all stand on their own and is one of the most beautiful Renaissance buildings north of the Alps, built entirely in the golden section.
Organs, operas and carillons
Culture without end: Along the Neckar you will find everything your cultural heart desires. Visit the organ summer events in Tübingen or listen to classical music at the Vielklangfestival. In Esslingen there is even an international carillon festival called Turm und
Klang. The Stuttgart Opera is one of the most important European opera houses and part of the multi-discipline house of the three state theaters, which also present drama and the famous Stuttgart Ballet. The Theater Heidelberg and the Romanischer Keller, where amateurs and students perform plays, and the Unterwegs Theater, with acrobatics, dance and drama, are tips for the university town. The UNESCO City of Literature also hosts many readings and numerous events related to literature.
Wines, Maultaschen and chocolates
Right at the start in Esslingen, you'll encounter Germany's oldest sparkling wine cellar. Grapes and vines are also the order of the day on Besigheim's unique terraced steep slopes. In the vinotheque there, you can taste Pinot Gris or Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay or Merlot. The oldest winery in Baden-Württemberg and second oldest in the world is located in Homberg Castle, where you might enjoy a Trollinger or a Lemberger. Wine needs a base: try Swabian specialties such as Maultaschen or Laubfrosch (a meat wrap), onion tart or the stew Gaisburger Marsch (a beef broth with greens and diced ox meat). Filderkraut is a cabbage that grows in the Filder (fields) around Stuttgart. Those who now feel a sense of fullness should drink a Heidelberg melon schnapps. For a sweet dessert, you might enjoy Tübinger Kirschle Pralines or the Heidelberger Studentenkuss, a handmade praline.
Nature parks like pearls on a string
The Neckar flows through a potpourri of different landscapes: Where it rises is the Schwenninger Moos, a high moor on the European watershed. It is followed by the Black Forest Central/North Nature Park with forests and torrents, high moors and bizarre rock formations, and near Tübingen by the Schönbuch Nature Park with forests, ponds and orchard meadows. Finally, the Neckartal-Odenwald Nature Park encompasses a densely wooded low mountain range landscape. In the adventure center in the most beautiful and oldest house in Eberbach, you can learn about the local flora and fauna.
