Lahn: laid-back tour

The laid-back bicycle tour

Look forward to the charming Lahn valley. Follow the bike path through forests, along meadows, mighty castles and romantic towns with beautiful half-timbered architecture. The Lahn river takes you to the fairy tale country of Brothers Grimm and Students in Marburg and Gießen add to the  lively flair of the university towns. In Wetzlar, Weilburg or Limburg, the narrow streets invite you to walk around the picturesque towns. Bad Ems, a health resort, will guarantee your well-being! There will be enough time for all kinds of activities!

1. day Lahnquelle arrival

You will spend the night next to the Lahn spring, in a cozy Landhotel. (For those who arrive by train, the hotel offers a pick-up service form the train station in Feudingen.)

2. day Lahnquelle - Biedenkopf 30 km

Starting from the spring, you will roll through wooded landscapes via Feudingen and Bad Laasphe to Biedenkopf. Romantic narrow streets in the Old-town and the Landgraves Castle will impress you. The catsle is one of the most important monuments in Hessen.

3. day Biedenkopf - Marburg 39 km

Your next stage leads you through the wide Lahn valley to the Otto-Ubbekohde-museum in Sarnau. A short break is worthwhile as Otto Ubbelohde is famous for his drawn print templates and his illustrations for the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Just a few kilometres from here Marburg awaits you. Do not miss the famous Elisabeths Church and the Landgraves castle. Let the fabulous flair of the Old-town capture you and enjoy the international restaurants and the cozy pubs in the evening.

4. day Marburg - Gießen 34 km

Time to say goodbye to the fascinating Marburg. But the route on flat paths to Gießen is enjoyable and you will look forward to the next stop: the Mathematikum in Gießen, which is the world's first mathematical science center. More than 170 exhibits open a new door to mathematics. Visitors of all ages solve puzzles, build bridges, stand in a giant soap bubble, see themselves infinite times in a mirror and much more. Look forward to a few surprises!

5. day Gießen - Wetzlar 21 km

After breakfast, Wetzlar will be reached soon. Visit the Old-town with its narrow streets, half-timbered houses and the Cathedral! We reccommend a side trip to the mine "Grube Fortuna" in Solms. There you will have the chance to take a breath-taking look into the depths of the earth. Old mine workers traditions are filled with life again; you will dive into a world that will fascinate you. On a 50-minute guided tour you will learn how ore mining was accomplished with the original machines.

6. day Wetzlar - Weilburg 32 km

The first kilometres of the day will be accomplished fast. You will not forget the beautiful landscape seaming your way to Weilburg and the renaissance palace of Weilburg, located at a rock high above the Lahn river. Book a guided tour around the castle and enjoy a cup of coffee in the castles garden.

7. day Weilburg - Limburg 40 km

The course of the river winds it´s way between Taunus and Westerwald. You cycle on the asphalted path via Aumenau and Runkel to Limburg, well-known for the cathedral. The Old-town with its half-timbered architecture dating from the 13th -18th century is under a preservation order. Colorful carved ornaments are very typical for the local architecture. 

8. day Limburg - Nassau 27-39 km

A scenic highlight awaits you today. Far away from any traffic, you will cycle through untouched landscapes from Diez to Balduinstein. Two climbs (which can be comfortably accomplished by train (11 km)) are part of the route today. Have a rest at the monastery of Arnstein. A beautiful forest track will take you to Nassau with its small castle, which invites you to conquer in the afternoon. 

9. day Nassau - Koblenz 28 km

In Bad Ems you will marvel at the numerous impressive buildings which are contemporary witnesses of Roman history and German Romanticism. Back on your bike the Rhine valley open before your eyes (after 12 km).  What an amazing view! On this beautiful Rhine-bike path you will reach "Deutsches Eck" and the heart of Koblenz soon.

10. day Koblenz departure

Your holiday ends after breakfast. You can either depart by train or return to the spring by using our comfortable transfer service  (departure 9am).

Worth knowing

Below you will find specific information about the bike trip on the Lahn - bike path. If you have further questions about this trip, you simply call us: Phone: 06421 – 886890.

Arrival by train

The next train station is in Feudingen. Hotel "Forsthaus Lahnquelle" offers a pick-up service from the train station for a small value (ca. 30 Euro per bus (max. 6 persons), Tuesday is rest day), reservation required. Current schedule information and price information can be found at: 

Train schedule information

Parking facilities at the hotel

At hotel Forsthaus Lahnquelle you can park your car for the entire duration of your tour, costs ca. 5,- Euro per day. No reservation possible.

Condition of cycle paths

The Lahn Valley Bike Trail leads through beautiful and varied landscapes of forests, hills, meadows, wetlands and steep slopes studded with rocks. The Lahn originates in the middle of silent forests in the low mountain ranges Siegen-Wittgenstein, the most densely forested region of Germany. After the Lahn has left the mountain country, the Lahn valley widens and passes into a hilly landscape. The Lahn then runs through an open and fertile Shire before the slopes come closer and form a gorge-like valley. In the last section the Lahn runs in tight turns to its mouth with the Rhine at Lahnstein.

The Lahn Valley Cycle Route was honoured in 2006 as one of the first cycle tracks in Germany, with 4 out of 5 stars by the ADFC. Evaluated have been navigability, eviction, security and tourism infrastructure.

You cycle on mostly flat, paved hiking and cycling trails aside from traffic noise, only occasionally a few gradients must be overcome. The route is very well signposted. Most of the time the railway line runs parallel to the bike path.

Available rental bikes

If you choose to rent a velocipede-rental bike for the tour, you can choose between woman’s and men's bicycles either with 7-speed gear shift and coaster brake or 27-speed gear shift and freewheel or electric bikes. All ladies' bikes have a low opening that makes mounting and dismounting much easier. The bikes are suitable for all ladies from 150 cm in height and for all gentlemen from 165 cm in height. You simply specify your wishes at time of booking.

Velociped rental bikes

Transfer back to the starting point of the journey

Daily at 9am there is the possibility to use our transfer service back to spring (approx. 3 hrs). Pick up is at your hotel and the bus takes you back to your first hotel, thus ensuring a perfect return service. 

Extra costs which are not inculded

A possibly applicable city tax is not included and has to be paid at the hotel locally.

7 days hotline service

Passport and visa requirements, health regulations

For EU citizens, there are no special passport or visa requirements and no health formalities to be considered for this trip.

Travel insurance

The tour price already includes the statutory insolvency insurance. In addition, we recommend that you take out travel cancellation insurance upon receipt of your travel confirmation in order to protect yourself against financial disadvantages in the event of travel cancellation, interruption of travel, illness or accident.

Spring of the Lahn river

The Lahn rises in the southern Rothaargebirge very close to other two rivers in the region, Sieg and Eder. The source is located at an altitude of 610 m near Lahnhof (North Rhine-Westphalia). The Lahn Cycle Path accompanies the river from its spring to its mouth into the Rhine river near Lahnstein. This bike path is one of the most popular long-distance cycle paths in Germany.

Castle Biedenkopf

The landmark of Biedenkopf is the Landgrave castle, built in the 15th century, with its museum “Hinterlandmuseum”, which towers high above the small lanes of the half-timbered old town.

Biedenkopf

Castle

Marburg Castle

Dominating the landscape, the primary residence of Hesse’s Landgraves was built as fortress on a rocky outcrop known as the Gisonenfelsen. The earliest traces of habitation date back to around 1000 AD, making the Castle of the Landgrave one of the first hill castles in Germany and the nucleus for the growth of the town of Marburg.

Marburg

Marburg Castle

St. Elisabeth Church

Construction of the earliest purely Gothic hall church on German soil began in the same year that Elisabeth of Thuringia was canonised (1235). The church which was erected by the Teutonic Order over the grave of Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia was consecrated in 1283 and became one of the most important pilgrimage sites of the late Middle Ages. Until today, the Protestant community church is an extraordinary monument to sacred architecture and the destination of tens of thousands of visitors every year. In addition to the burial ground of the Landgraves of Hessen, Elisabeth’s richly ornamented golden shrine is very impressive. The colourful stained-glass windows show St. Elisabeth’s life and charity work and are among the most significant examples of Gothic glass art. 

St. Elisabeth Church

Mathematikum Gießen

Mathematikum in Giessen is the world's first mathematical science center. More than 170 exhibits open a new door to mathematics. Visitors of all ages and educational backgrounds exerimentate: they puzzle, build bridges, stand in a giant soap bubble, see themselves infinite times in a mirror and many many more.

Mathematikum Gießen

Braunfels Castle

Looks like in a fairy tale, but is true: located on the top of a basalt rock, Schloss Braunfels welcomes its visitors. Since 800 years the castle is a living cultural monument, rich in very special art treasures and still inhabited by the family.

Castle Braunfels

Weilburg castle

Weilburg Castle with adjoining castle garden towers high above Weilburg, on the top of the mountain spur. Here you can enjoy the best view over Weilburg.

Castle Weilburg

The Limburg Cathedral

With its multiple towers the Limburger Dom looks like a Romantic castle. Located at the top of the attractive city of Limburg an der Lahn the painted church was built in the 13th century and became a cathedral in 1827. It is well preserved in its original form and contains a multitude of murals and early medieval sculpture.

Limburg Cathedral

Nassau

Nassau an der Lahn is the cradle of numerous European monarchies. Even today, descendants of the House of Nassau reign in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg with King William Alexander of the Netherlands and Grand Duke Henri. This impressive history is best brought to life by a visit to Nassau Castle, the ancestral seat of the noble families. 

Nassau

"Deutsches Eck" in Koblenz

World-famous: Where Father Rhine and Mother Moselle meet: "Deutsches Eck"

The establishment of the Teutonic Order at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle in 1216 gave this historic site its name, the “Deutsches Eck”. Koblenz also owes its name to the meeting point of the Rhine and the Moselle - from “Castellum apud Confluentes”, Latin for “fort at the confluence”, which over time became the current name of Koblenz.

Shortly after Kaiser Wilhelm I’s death, the idea arose of creating a memorial to him, as it was the Kaiser who had brought about the unification of Germany after three years of war. Three years later in 1891, Kaiser Wilhelm II, the grandson of the deceased, chose the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz as the most suitable location. A harbour of refuge in the Moselle estuary was filled in to create space for the memorial. The Deutsches Eck in its present form was created.

Deutsche Eck