Main: sportive, Bamberg – Aschaffenburg

The sportsman’s tour

The Main bike trail from Bamberg to Aschaffenburg.

Let the Main River take you on a 7 days dynamic trip! Follow the river on daily stages of about 68km on its most beautiful part between Bamberg (UNESCO world cultural heritage) and the sandstone castle Johannisburg in Aschaffenburg.

1. day Bamberg arrival

Once you've arrived, take the time to discover the old city, with its breweries and churches. We recommend seeing the Kaiserdom with its world-famous sculptures, such as the Bamberg knight and Heinrich II's sarcophagus.

2. day Bamberg - Schweinfurt 61 km

Follow the Regnitz for a short moment until you reach 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. Enjoy a sunny day in Haßfurt where another historical Old-town will impress you. 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!

3. day Schweinfurt - Kitzingen 60 km

In the morning, 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! Leaving Volkach behind, you will follow the Main-channel before catching up to the Main River again in Schwarzach. As the well-paved bike trail stays even, you will reach Kitzingen without pressure and still have enough time to enjoy the town in the afternoon.

4. day Kitzingen - Karlstadt 66 km

The town hall of Ochsenfurt is a nice sight on your way to Würzburg. Take your time for an extended break here. In Würzburg, the market place, the town hall, the old bridge crossing the Main offering an impressive view over the fortress, Balthasar Neumann’s pilgrimage church, the Rococo-style face of the Falkenhaus and Tilman Riemenschneider’s sandstone figures of Adam and Eve on the Chapel of Our Lady, will dazzle you. Continue then via Veitshöchheim and its prince-bishops’ summer residence with the French rococo garden to Karlstadt and its stunning town centre.

5. day Karlstadt - Wertheim 73 km

The characteristic wine-growing landscape fades into forests providing shade on the bike trails. Even paths take you to Gemünden, town of the three rivers. The wooded hills seem to cuddle up closer, forcing the Main to wind its way through. You will reach Marktheidenfeld via Rothenfels, where the castle seems to watch over the valley attentively. In Wertheim it is worth to walk around the charming Old-town past the historical half-timbered houses and through the romantic narrow streets.

6. day Wertheim - Aschaffenburg 77 km

Miltenberg presents itself with pride: Let the half-timbered style and the market place amaze you. On even bike trails, you will quickly reach the sandstone-built Johannisburg castle of Aschaffenburg today after passing the Spessart and the Odenwald.

7. 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 Bamberg - Aschaffenburg trip

Please find more information about the Main 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 (2023). Detailed information on parking at the hotel booked for you, you will receive together with the detailed 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.You simply specify your wishes at time of booking. Velociped 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 cost which are not included in the price

A possibly applicable city tax is not part of the travel price and therefore has to be paid at the hotel 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

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.

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

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

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

Karlstadt

Embark on an exciting journey of discovery through Karlstadt. In the old town surrounded by old walls, towers and gates, there are many traces to discover. At every turn you will find testimonies of history and impressive art treasures.

Karlstadt

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.

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.

Aschaffenburg

Schloss Johannisburg, Aschaffenburg

Das Schloss aus rotem Buntsandstein gehört zu den bedeutendsten und schönsten Renaissancebauten Deutschlands. Einmalig sind die Schlosskirche mit Renaissancealtar, Kanzel und Portalskulpturen von Hans Juncker, die fürstlichen Wohnräume, die weltweit größte Sammlung aus Kork angefertigter Architekturmodelle, die Staatsgemäldegalerie mit Werken von Lucas Cranach d. Ä. und das Schlossmuseum der Stadt Aschaffenburg mit Werken von Ernst Ludwig Kirchner und Christian Schad.

Schloss Johannisburg, Aschaffenburg