Between Hops and Vines
Cycling vacation on the Main
Discover the beauties of the Main! Enjoy ideal cycling routes mostly in close proximity to the river, well developed, asphalted and well signposted. The route of the Mainradweg crosses a variety of the most beautiful forests in the Main Valley. The Fichtelgebirge mountains are also close by. On the way you will notice what an excellent view you have of the landscape and its surroundings. You start your bike tour wherever you like, whether in the festival city of Bayreuth, in the historic beer city of Bamberg or in the residential city of Würzburg, and just a few kilometers further on you will be immersed in the wine Franconian realms, where the famous Franconian wine is grown. In combination with numerous visits to the various sights in the cities, you can spend a beautiful day. Romantic, historical and exhilarating, the Main region presents itself to the cyclist's heart's content. No matter how many days, no matter which route - between Bayreuth and Mainz, we as local organizers fulfill every wish on the Main Cycle Path.
Cycling de Luxe on the Main Cycle Path
The Main Cycle Path is well developed and excellently signposted. Cycling is fun. From the source near the festival city of Bayreuth to the mouth of the Rhine in Mainz, you almost always whiz along the river on smooth asphalt bike paths and cycle from one sight to the next on the flat route.
Castles and palaces
Along the Main, you first encounter many Franconian half-timbered towns such as Bamberg or Kulmbach - and castles: In Kulmbach, Plassenburg Castle towers high above, and Marienberg Fortress in Würzburg. People have always liked to settle along the Main River, which is why castles steeped in history can also be found near its banks. The Aschaffenburg Castle and the impressive Würzburg Residence with its huge courtyard garden are well known.
Art and culture
The Residenz in the baroque city of Würzburg, with a ceiling fresco by Tiepolo, will leave your mouth agape, as will the baroque pilgrimage basilica in Vierzehnheiligen. In Seligenstadt, one of the oldest towns in Germany, stands the Einhard Basilica with the adjacent Benedictine Abbey. The entire Main Valley is rich in cultural treasures, such as the Bamberg Cathedral, and numerous museums, such as the Senckenberg Natural History Museum or the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt. Music and theater lovers can visit the Bayreuth or Frankfurt opera houses or the Mainfranken Theater in Würzburg.
Beer and wine border
If you first cycle through Upper Franconia, the region with the highest density of breweries in the world, this changes abruptly at Limbach, where Franconian wine reigns in the Bocksbeutel and in Frankfurt, finally, the Äbbelwoi in the Bembel. In Franconia, hearty dishes are often served: bratwurst, Schäufele or roast pork. On the wine island near Volkach, people eat "Meefischli" (Main fish). Green sauce made of seven herbs should be tried in Frankfurt and, of course, Frankfurter sausages. Foodies love the Frankfurter Kranz, a sweet cake. You can pedal off the calories right away.
Nature
The White and the Red Main rise in the hills of the Fichtelgebirge and the Franconian Alb respectively as a rivulet and join at Kulmbach. From there on, the Main flows through Franconian forests, meadows and past vineyards. It becomes wider and wider in the Spessart region, where it is bordered by red sandstone, until it finally reaches a considerable size in Mainhattan, Frankfurt. After 527 kilometers of flow, it has a width of almost 150 meters and is swallowed by its big brother, the Rhine, in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate.
