A rendezvous with diversity
Biking vacation along the saar river
Discover on this cycling tour the largest tributary of the Moselle: the river Saar that enchants all bikers! Having its source in France, it forms the German-French border over 11 km to Saarbrücken-Güdingen. Do you already feel it? The sensation of 'vive la France'? You don't? But in Saarbrücken where the tours start, French flair is omnipresent. Look forward to a well-paved, signposted bike trail that mainly runs nearby the river. You will cycle through multicoloured meadows and pastures, then follow the Saar bike trail to the World Heritage Site 'Völkinger Hütte', to the Fortress City of Saarlouis, through apple plantations, and then through the scenic Saar loop to the place where the Saar flows into the river Moselle.
Cycling like God in France
The Saar Cycle Path runs 110.4 kilometers flat from Sarreguemines in France to Konz, where the Saar and Moselle rivers meet. French is often spoken in the Saarland, oh là là, and on the smoothly paved bike route you ride like God in France.
Industrial and fortress architecture - baroque and half-timbering
Industrial plants, power plants and steel mills accompany the bike path and river through the former coal mining area to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Völklingen Ironworks. In Saarlouis, you can admire the city's fortifications, some of which are still standing, built by Vauban for the Sun King Louis XIV. Baroque can be found in Saarbrücken on the square by Ludwigskirche church. The square, commissioned by Prince Wilhelm Heinrich from master builder Friedrich Joachim Stengel, looks like a Place Royale in France. Baroque can also be seen in Saarburg - and half-timbered houses.
Interesting cultural scene
Something special is the Maria-Helena theater ship in Saarbrücken, where you can watch cabaret, concerts, theater and cinema. Exhibitions are held in the former ore hall of the Völklingen Ironworks. Concerts are held in the Gebläsehalle (blower hall) there, because after it was shut down it was found to have better acoustics than many an opera house.
Gefillde and married
"Café au Lait" for the bike break can be found everywhere. There are "brasseries" and pub bars and even in brewery inns French is parliert. Friends of upscale, French-influenced gastronomy are also guaranteed to find what they are looking for. After all, Saarland is said to have the most star chefs in Germany. They drink Saar Riesling or, in Merzig, "Viez," apple wine made from apples from the surrounding orchards. But people also eat oddities like "Gefillde," stuffed dumplings, "Dibbelabbes," the national dish of potatoes roasted in the oven with leeks and bacon, or "Geheiratete" or "Verheiratete," potatoes and dumplings cooked together. These traditional dishes once provided energy to industrial workers and miners. "Hauptsach, gudd gess" is, after all, the motto of the Saarlanders.
Slag heaps and Saar bend
On the Saar Cycle Route, you are surrounded by lots of greenery, meadows and bushes. Even in and around the blast furnace plant in Völklingen, which was founded in 1873, nature is reclaiming a part of it, for example the two green slag heaps, which some people never thought would turn green. Now mixed forest grows on them, and they are leased out as hunting grounds.- From the Cloef viewing platform near Orscholz, you can look out over the Saar Loop. It almost winds around itself once and closes the curve.
