German Danube Cycle Route

Danube cycling de luxe

Along the Young Danube, you roll gently downhill from the source on almost continuously asphalted and well-signposted bike paths. The signposting is also perfect. Not for nothing was the route along certified by the ADFC e. V. with four stars. This is cycling de luxe from Donaueschingen to Passau!

Cultural highlights

The spring in Donaueschingen is surrounded by a group of sculptures: There, the stone Mother Baar has placed an arm loosely around the young, pretty Danube, showing it the way toward the Black Sea. Next door, the Fürstenberg Castle is enthroned, and the Danube Cycle Path begins just around the corner. It is followed by the mighty Beuron Monastery and the impressive Hohenzollern Castle of Sigmaringen, Germany's second largest city palace. Even from the bike path, you can see the Gothic Ulm Cathedral with the world's highest church tower at 161.53 meters! Climb up and enjoy the panoramic view. Visit the medieval old town of Ingolstadt or dive into sulfur and mineral thermal water in Bad Gögging. Weltenburg Monastery and the Benedictine Abbey are one of the other highlights on this route. Look forward to the northernmost city in Italy, as the UNESCO World Heritage city of Regensburg is also called. With its ostentatious towers, hidden backyards and winding medieval alleyways, it looks like a small Tuscan town. Stroll across the Stone Bridge and to the towering cathedral. In the three-river city of Passau with its cathedral, which is well worth seeing, you have almost reached the border with Austria.

Festivals, celebrations

The Danube Festival in Deggendorf or the Dillkat Festival in Dillingen, the Ulm Tent Festival with theater, concert and comedy

or the Regensburg Herbstdult with rides, tents and booths - you are sure to encounter one of the celebrations on the banks of the Danube somewhere. Theater stages can be found in Ehingen, Ulm and Regensburg, among other places. 

Eel and Alblinsen

In the Swabian Alb biosphere area, biosphere hosts invite you to the table who value regional products, e.g. the aromatic alb lentils or the alb lentil pig. In Regensburg, visit the oldest bratwurst kitchen in the world: the "Historische Wurstkuchl", first mentioned in 1378. But of course the Danube is also often about fish: pike, pike-perch, perch, eel and catfish are on the plate. - You can also look forward to rustic beer gardens and beer variety along the way: Whether the barley juice of Zoller-Hof Bräu in Sigmaringen, from Blank's brewery in Zwiefaltendorf, the Berg brewery Ehingen and last but not least that of Weltenburg Monastery.

Natural Paradise Young Danube

The source of the river is fed by the Baar, and shortly thereafter you can marvel at the Danube sinking: because of the permeable limestone, the water seeps into the ground and is swallowed up with a gurgling sound. It comes to light again after more than 60 hours in the Aachtopf, flows further into Lake Constance and thus actually into the Rhine and the North Sea. Unspoiled, natural floodplains line the way, wetlands and a rich plant and animal life can be found along the banks. Near Blaubeuren, you'll encounter the Blautopf, a 22-meter-deep, funnel-shaped karst spring whose gurgling waters are deep blue. Between Weltenburg and Kelheim, the Danube even forces its way through high rock walls, forming the Danube Breakthrough and the Danube Loop. A truly impressive spectacle.