Main: laid-back tour, Bamberg – Aschaffenburg

The laid-back tour

The Main bike trail from Bamberg to Aschaffenburg.

Let the Main River take you on an especially pleasurable 12 days bike trip! All you have to do is follow it from the world cultural heritage in Bamberg, very fascinating with its unique historical townscape, and cycle on to the Franconian wine-growing lands until you reach the residence of Würzburg, also classified UNESCO world cultural heritage in 1982. From here on, the landscape will change slowly as the vineyards disappear in favour of the green forests of the Spessart. On paved bike trails and always staying close to the Main, you will pass numerous lovely villages sticking out thanks to their neat half-timbered constructions. Short stages and many worthwhile breaks make this trip especially enjoyable. There will be enough time for all kinds of activities.

1. day Bamberg arrival

The Old-town of Bamberg will capture right after your arrival and make you want to visit every corner of its UNESCO world cultural heritage. 

2. day Bamberg - Haßfurt 37 km

Follow the Regnitz for a short moment until you reaching the Main River, taking you now to the beautiful pilgrimage church Maria Limbach. You will soon reach the first vineyards marking the border between the beer-brewing and the wine-growing areas of Franconia. Let a sunny day come to its end in Haßfurt where another historical Old-town will impress you.

3. day Haßfurt - Schweinfurt 24 km

A short side-trip to Theres is recommendable today: After a nice break there, you will continue along the edge of the Main to Schweinfurt. Discover the vestiges of the ancient imperial town and walk on the footprints of the industrial pioneers and discoverers and let the modern Schweinfurt treat you!

4. day Schweinfurt - Volkach 30 km

Passing numerous vineyards, you will cycle through the small, historic wine-growing town Wipfeld, home of the "Zehntgraf". Take a relaxing break here and marvel at the precious old buildings of the town and its idyllic situation. In the afternoon, you will cross Fahr, town of the Bocksbeutel (the local wine is sold in this unique kind of container), to reach Volkach, famous for its excellent wines!

5. day Volkach - Kitzingen 29 km

Leaving Volkach behind, you will follow the Main-channel before catching up to the Main River again in Schwarzach. By the side of the channel, you will have the chance to make a stop in Dettelbach, whose city wall has been preserved almost completely. It still has its 30 towers and both gates, making you want to take a walk around. The impressive St. Augustinus church in the centre of the Old-town with its two unequal towers is just as beautiful as the pilgrimage church Maria im Sand, known all over Europe as a unique example of architecture from the Late-Gothic and Renaissance period. After this visit in Dettelbach, you will reach Kitzingen in no time thanks to the well-paved and even Main-bike trail. Another historical Old-Town and more wine in Germanys oldest wine cellar wait for you here.

6. day Kitzingen - Würzburg 38 km

How to find out which one of these lovely places with their wine-growing traditions is the most beautiful one? There will not be very much time to think about it as Ochsenfurt, Sommerhausen and Eibelstadt are waiting for you now on your way to the amazing residence of Würzburg. The market place, the town hall, the old bridge crossing the Main offering an impressive view over the fortress, the pilgrimage church, the Rococo-style face of the Falkenhaus and Tilman Riemenschneiders sandstone figures of the Chapel of Our Lady, will dazzle you. The highlight is the former residence of the prince-bishop, built between 1720 and 1744 according to plans of Balthasar Neumann. Considering the overall impression, it is the most beautiful castle of the southern German Baroque.

7. day Würzburg - Karlstadt 29 km

You will have only just left Würzburg and another highlight is already waiting for you: Veitshöchheim with the prince-bishops summer residence and the French rococo-garden. The residence's garden was arranged by the prince-bishops of Würzburg and is today still known as one of the most beautiful ones of its kind in Germany. In between alleys and small paths seamed by hedges you will discover numerous pergolas, pavilions, circular flower beds and last but not least the Great Lake. The castle who originally served as a hunting lodge, then as a summer residence, was built under the prince-bishop of Dernbach in 1680/82 and extended by Balthasar Neumann in 1749/53. Take your time for a visit; Karlstadt will be reached on well-paved bike trails in no time afterwards.

8. day Karlstadt - Lohr 30 km

Even paths take you to Gemünden, where the three rivers meet. Walk around the Old-Town and up to the ruin of Scherenburg castle to enjoy the fantastic view over the Main valley, the Spessart and the Rhön from here. Then, the wooded hills seem to cuddle up closer and closer, forcing the Main River and the cyclists to wind themselves through. This is how you will easily reach Lohr, the gate to the Spessart nature resort.

9. day Lohr - Wertheim 42 km

You will reach Marktheidenfeld via Rothenfels, where the castle seems to watch over the valley attentively. Walk around the charming Old-town past the historical half-timbered houses, romantic narrow streets and enjoy a cup of coffee on the marketplace next to the fishermens fountain. Close to the river, you will follow the bike trail past the castle of Homburg to Wertheim. The graceful small half-timbered houses and the narrow streets will capture you for sure!

10. day Wertheim - Miltenberg 36 km

Miltenberg presents itself with pride: Let the half-timbered style, the market place, also called "Schnatterloch", and the Gasthaus zum Riesen, Germanys oldest shelter for princes who came to spend the night in Miltenberg, amaze you. The Old-town lies tucked in tightly between the Main and Greinberg; perfect scenery for scary stories and legends you should absolutely learn about on a guided tour around town.

11. day Miltenberg - Aschaffenburg 41 km

On even bike trails, you will quickly reach the sandstone-built Johannisburg castle of Aschaffenburg today after passing the Spessart and the Odenwald. The romantic Old-town sprawls over the hilltop with the town hall in its centre and up to the castle. Visit the church of the monastery, the Jesuits church and the square in front of the theatre with its sundial and the lions pharmacy.

12. day Aschaffenburg departure

After breakfast your nice cycle holiday ends in Aschaffenburg. Departure is possible by German railway. We recommend our transfer service back to Bamberg (each Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, departure 9 a.m., duration about 3 hrs.)

Worth knowing about your bike trip Main Bamberg - Aschaffenburg Bummeltour

Please find more information about your bike trip below. If you have any further questions feel free to contact us by phone: 0049 - (0) 6421 - 886890.

Arrival by train

Bamberg is easily accessible from all major cities in Germany by train. We recommend to take a taxi from the station to get to our partner hotels in Bamberg. Current schedule information and price information can be found at: www.bahn.de.

Parking facilities at the hotel

In our partner hotels in the center of Bamberg usually there is no parking. Here you can park for about 8.00 EUR per day in public car parks. Detailed information on parking at the hotel booked for you, you will receive together with the travel documents two weeks prior to departure.

Condition of cycle paths

As Germany's first bike route the Main bike trail got awarded with five stars by ADFC in 2008. Important criteria for this award were the almost universal asphalting and the nearly traffic-free routes. The specially signposted cycle track runs mostly every time directly at the Main riverside and is without significant gradients.

Available rental bikes

If you choose to rent a velociped-rental bike for the tour, we take it to your first hotel and bring pick it up at your destination. You can choose between woman’s and men's bicycles either with 7-speed gear shift and coaster brake or 21-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. Velociped rental bikes

Transfer back to the starting point of the journey

Wednesday, Saturdays and Sundays at 9am there is the possibility to transfer back to Bamberg with a small bus (with bike trailer). Arrival at 12.00pm. The driver comes to pick you up at your hotel and has much room for you, your luggage and where required your own bicycle. The bus takes you back to your first hotel, thus ensuring a perfect return service without transfer and the hassle of hauling luggage.

Extra costs which are not included in the tour price

A possibly applicable tourism tax is not included the the tour price and has to be paid locally.

7 day hotline service

Just in case the bike chain breaks, flooding makes it impossible to continue your tour or any
other nasty surprise: You can reach us seven days a week and we will do anything to help
you as fast as possible.

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.

Corona travel information:
Before booking your trip, please inform yourself about the measures in place to contain the Corona pandemic.

Information on current decisions of the German Federal Government can be found here:
https://www.bundesregierung.de/corona-these-rules-and-restrictions-apply

Current information on entry requirements to Germany can be found here:
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/coronavirus

You can also find more information on our website at:
Corona virus and holiday planning

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.

Bamberg

As visitors wander through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bamberg, they are particularly enchanted by the city's many different facets. In the hill city Bamberg portrays itself as the Franconian Rome, the island city with Little Venice is its lively heart, the market gardeners' district a part of town steeped in tradition. Bamberg, this means beer from nine breweries within the city, supped in traditional brewery pubs, this means shopping in modern shops and a historical atmosphere. And in the Old Town everything is very close together: Explore the imperial cathedral just a few minutes from your hotel or holiday apartment!

Bamberg

Maria Limbach Pilgrimage Church

The Limbach pilgrimage church is an impressive testimony to Balthasar Neumann's art of creating great architecture with little effort. Above all, the light and playful design as a double-shell room with a gallery entrance characterizes Neumann's last church construction and shows him as a splendid example of late Baroque. While the exterior façade seems to have calmed down in classicist style, the interior is full of cheerful rococo stucco and sumptuous furnishings.

Maria Limbach Pilgrimage Church

Haßfurt

The large treasure of architectural monuments: the historic, newly renovated town hall, the two-towered parish church, the chapel, the two gate towers that delimit the old town, the town hall, which is of supraregional importance as a venue for conferences, concerts and cultural events enjoy, and the main promenade.

Hassfurt

Schweinfurt

Schweinfurt - Industry and Art: With this motorway sign visitors have been welcomed for quite a few years to a city which was known for many decades in Germany and far beyond as the Ball Bearing City. Schweinfurt is still an industrially characterized city. Yet since the beginning of the 1990s the former Free Imperial City has eminently changed, and has long since rediscovered points of its history which were somewhat forgotten over a longer period. Today Schweinfurt is no longer merely an industrial city, but rather a city in which art, culture, remarkable architecture, science and tradition can be experienced.

Schweinfurt

Volkach

The small, historic city on the Main is an important wine and tourist resort in the Franconian wine-growing region. Volkach and the Mainschleife is unique in Germany because only here the Main has formed this loop. The Mainschleife is also the wine, fruit and asparagus region in the Franconian wine country. Winemakers and wine festivals invite wine tasting everywhere. In autumn, the grape harvest is on. From a culinary point of view, there is a distinctive cuisine. Typical Franconian dishes or exclusive asparagus and fish dishes with the matching wines are on the menu.

Volkach

Dettelbach

Situated in the Main valley, very close to the river, Dettelbach presents itself with its medieval town-wall that is still in very good condition with its two large sally gates and many small towers surrounding the historic town centre. The narrow streets and old half-timbered houses invite the visitor for a walk through the Middle-Ages. 

Dettelbach

Kitzingen

In the middle of the Franconian wine country lies Kitzingen, the historic wine trading town on the Main. Accommodations with a bourgeois atmosphere, historical sights, numerous recreational and recreational opportunities and the idyllic location on the Main offer rest and enjoyment. The center of the historic old town is the market square, framed by Franconian half-timbered houses, imposing town houses and the Renaissance town hall. Architectural highlights are the city church of Petrini with its mighty portal of the Franconian Baroque, the late Gothic church of St. John with its impressive exterior sculptures and the famous cross chapel of Balthasar Neumann. Kitzingen is not only a wine-trading town, but also carnival-friendly. So it is not surprising that the German Carnival Museum, the official museum of the Federal German Carnival, can be found in Kitzingen. While strolling through the picturesque old town, there is more to discover. In any case, you should also allow time for a walk along the Main Promenade.

Kitzingen

Würzburg

‘If I could choose my place of birth, I would consider Würzburg’, wrote author Hermann Hesse, and it’s not difficult to see why. This scenic town straddles the Main River and is renowned for its art, architecture and delicate wines.

Founded in the 10th century, Würzburg served as the home of powerful prince-bishops for many centuries. It is renowned for the Residence, regarded as one of the finest palaces in Europe and a high point of Baroque art (also UNESCO cultural world heritage). Würzburg is also home to one of the oldest churches in Germany, built in the 8th century on top of a former pagan shrine. One of its most famous structures, Festung Marienberg, is a fortress which now surrounds the church.

Würzburg

Würzburg Residence

The Residence Palace is one of Europe’s most renowned Baroque castles and has been registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1981. The castle was built by Balthasar Neumann and includes a much acclaimed staircase with awe inspiring frescos by the Venetian artist Tiepolo.

Würzburg Residence

Veitshöchheim Palace and Court Garden

The summer palace of the Würzburg Prince-Bishops, built in 1680/82, was enlarged in 1753 by Balthasar Neumann.  The rooms furnished in 1810 for Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany with their rare paper wall-coverings are a highlight of the interior. 

The famous Rococo garden, a magnificent creation with lakes and waterworks, dates from the reign of Prince-Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim (1755-1779). It is populated by over 200 sandstone sculptures of gods, animals and allegorical figures by the court sculptors Ferdinand Tietz and Johann Peter Wagner.

From 1702 a flower garden was created which formed roughly a square around the "Summer Residence", the present palace. It was entered from the Dorfstrasse and on this side was designed around the main entrance and drive as the front garden of the palace. On the north side was a kitchen garden with a carp pond and on the south side a long garden full of trees, where pheasants and deer were kept.

Veitshöchheim Palace and Court Garden

Lohr

In Lohr locals will tell you references of the Snow White tale. The “Gate of Spessart” which is thought to have been the opening to the escape route for Snow White as she vanished “on seven hills”, the Mountain Trail (Wieser Strabe). The journey through the seven Spessart Mountains from Lohr would have taken her to the kingdom of the Seven Dwarfs.

Lohr - Town of Snow White

Wertheim

The town of Wertheim-am-Main is located along the banks of the Main River, where it meets the River Tauber. With a population of just over 24,000 inhabitants, Wertheim is a picturesque, medieval German city that is perfectly suited to arriving river cruise passengers.

First mentioned in 779, Wertheim underwent several name changes throughout the intervening centuries before officially receiving township status in 1976.

Wertheim

Wertheim Castle

Once the domicile of the Counts of Wertheim the fortress (extension during 15th to 17th century) is one of the most picturesque ruins in Germany with a deep moat and impressive bulwark. In 1618 the castle was partly destroyed by an explosion; during the Thirty Years' War in 1634 and 1647 it was under heavy fire. Today the castle is owned by the Community of Wertheim growing into a more and more attractive setting for cultural events.

Wertheim Castle

Miltenberg

Documented for the first time in 1237, the city looks back on a lively past. Viniculture, wine trade, river traffic and fishery, as well as wood and stone industries were the most important growth engines of trade and craft. The favourable location at the old trading artery Nuremberg – Frankfurt and the staple right very early led Miltenberg into economic flowering periods. During the early 19th century the city suffered the loss of being the top quality location of the Electoral State of Mainz and as a result found itself unfortunately situated on the brink of the Kingdom of Bavaria. The major phases of urban development were history and hence the medieval townscape was preserved to this day.

Miltenberg

Aschaffenburg

Whatever the season Aschaffenburg is always worth a visit, whether for the magnolia blossom in spring, for Pompeiianum Palace in summer, for Bavaria's oldest English landscaped park in autumn, or for the works of Cranach, Grünewald, Kirchner and Schad in winter. And with Aschaffenburg being a compact town, you can discover its many sights on foot.

The route from Johannisburg Palace to the town hall is a labyrinth of narrow alleys, where traditional bars and quaint restaurants occupy pretty little half-timbered buildings.

Aschaffenburg

Johannisburg Palace, Aschaffenburg

The Johannisburg  palace, made of red sandstone, is one of the most significant and beautiful Renaissance buildings in Germany. Its unique features include the chapel (complete with Renaissance altar, pulpit and portal sculptures by Hans Juncker), the royal living quarters, the world's largest collection of architectural models made from cork, the state gallery with paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Palace Museum of Aschaffenburg that houses works by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Christian Schad.

Johannisburg Palace, Aschaffenburg