If you're visiting Alsace, you'll undoubtedly want to take a trip along the famous Alsace Wine Route. A great idea, but do you know that you can cycle it? The Véloroute du Vignoble (Eurovélo 5) follows the Alsace Wine Route, which stretches from Thann (southern Alsace) to Marlenheim (further north, not far from Strasbourg). In this blog post, I give you all my tips for organizing your tour!
Why cycle the Alsace Wine Route?
Cycling along the Wine Route is a different way to discover the vineyards: no noise, no pollution, your nose in the wind, the scent of sun-drenched earth and vines (or rain, depending on the weather, but remember that it’s usually hot in Alsace in summer!). So many advantages! What’s more, you can easily take a break anywhere, which is not the case in the car!
The cycle route passes through beautiful countryside and charming villages. It is hilly, which may put some people off. However, you don’t need to be a great sportsman to ride a bike: if you do a minimum of sport regularly, it will pass by itself. Another increasingly popular option is the electric bicycle. The electric bike makes the route really accessible to everyone.
Cycle paths, pavements and choice of bike
The Véloroute du Vignoble has few real cycle paths reserved exclusively for bikes. Instead, it’s a mixture of restricted lanes (for cyclists and local residents, i.e. mainly the agricultural machinery used by winegrowers on their way to work in the vineyards) and roads (open to all). Road sections remain fairly small, so cycling in the region is still very pleasant!
Since you’ll be riding exclusively on asphalt, the choice of bike is yours: you can opt for a road bike if you’re in the sporty mode, or a mountain bike (perfect for cycle touring). However, I wouldn’t recommend a mountain bike, as it’s not really suited to this type of itinerary.
How many days does the Alsace vineyard cycle route (Eurovélo 5) take?
There are several options for discovering Eurovélo 5. As for me, it’s an itinerary I’ve ridden many times before, but never tire of! It’s clearly the most beautiful in Alsace, let’s face it.
If you’ve only got a day or so to spare, or you’re not really used to cycling
You can also opt for just one section of Eurovélo 5. In that case, I’d advise you to choose one of the (many!) existing loop rides, which you can do for a full or even half-day. You’ll be able to choose a ride that’s longer or shorter, more or less sporty, suitable for children, etc…
In Alsace, we’re lucky enough to have a number of cycle routes and tracks, making it easy for you to create lovely loops for great days out on the Alsace Wine Route! I propose several different circuits, allowing you to discover different parts of the Wine Route:
- Easy bike tour around Kaysersberg (20km)
- Cycling tour around Sélestat (47km)
- Couronne d’Or vineyard tour (33km)
- Forest and vineyard walks around Guebwiller (25km)
- Sports circuit around Rouffach (34km)
- Circuit between Vallée de Villé and Route des Vins (32km)
If you have a few days to spare and would like to go roaming
In this case, I recommend choosing the section of Eurovélo 5 between Colmar and Strasbourg. You can easily reach Marlenheim (the official start of the Route des Vins) along the Bruche canal from Strasbourg, and when you arrive in Colmar, you can easily take a train back to Strasbourg with your bike. In my opinion, this is the most beautiful part of the Véloroute du vignoble! Allow at least 3 days for this, so you’ll be able to enjoy a fairly leisurely day’s cycling, but there’s plenty to see along the way, and it would be a shame not to plan several cultural and gourmet stops.
You’ll be able to explore picture-postcard landscapes and visit some superb villages at the same time (and enjoy wine tastings– in moderation, of course!). Examples include Rosheim, Obernai, Barr, Mittelbergheim, Itterswiller, Scherwiller, Châtenois, Bergheim, Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Colmar… For more information, please read the detailed article I wrote on my other blog about the Alsace Wine Route by bike between Strasbourg and Colmar (in French only).
If you’re into sports
Are you a road cyclist who wants to cycle the Wine Route? You can easily do the entire Véloroute du Vignoble:
- or over a day if you are well trained and wish to pedal exclusively
- or two days of riding, but also take the time to make a few tourist and gourmet stops.
I’ve already taken this second option with friends for a weekend: it’s easy to get to Thann by train with your bike, then we did the first day between Thann and Colmar (with a night in Ingersheim), and the second day from Ingersheim to Strasbourg. All in all, a great weekend of sport and sightseeing!
Here are my tracks on Komoot. I’ve added a few detours that I thought were relevant to the official Véloroute du Vignoble itinerary, such as passing through Kaysersberg, Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé, which are not on the Eurovélo 5 route. This adds a bit of distance and elevation gain, but it’s well worth it! Be careful on the second day: on the Komoot map, this is my home town, not Strasbourg. Once in Soultz-les-Bains, just take the Véloroute du Canal de la Bruche back to Strasbourg.
Bike rental, electric bike rental or turnkey tour
If you want to cycle the Wine Route, there are three options: bring your own bike, rent one on site or book a turnkey cycling holiday. Here are a few good addresses:
- To book a turnkey holiday, I recommendLe Vélo Voyageur and A bicyclette.
- For bike and VAE rentals, visit Alsace Cyclo Tour in Eguisheim or Spot4Bike in Barr.
