Cycling between the Villé Valley and the Alsace Wine Route (32km)

My summary

Departure from the dynamic Villé

The “official” start of the route is Scherwiller, but I chose to start from Villé. It was an opportunity to discover this little town, which I’d only heard of by name, and which really surprised me: for one thing, it’s small but very pretty, and it also has a lot of shops. It’s easy to see that there’s a real sense of local life here. I had lunch on the terrace of the Chez Wendling restaurant after cycling this circuit, and it’s a good address in Villé that I’d recommend to you! Don’t miss the Villé church and its bourgeois cemetery.

Panoramic view from Saint-Gilles church

Leaving Villé, the route starts out on small roads which are not very busy, but where cars drive quite fast, so you need to be a little careful on your bike. We start with the uphill part of the route, so that’s that 😉

We pass through Triembach-au-val and then Hohwarth, where I recommend a short detour to the church of Saint-Gilles. The climb is steep but short, and the panorama at the finish is well worth the effort: a magnificent view of the Vallée de Villé awaits you!

Distillery country

Hohwarth is also home to the first distillery to be seen along the way. Why distilleries? Because the Villé valley has orchards thanks to its favourable climate! It is therefore famous for its eaux-de-vie and liqueurs. Although there aren’t as many distillers as there used to be, and there are still several distilleries in the region!

The Meyer distillery is one of them, producing eaux-de-vie, liqueurs and, yes, even Alsatian whisky! Production takes place in Howarth (where you’ll find a store), but the distillery museum is in Châtenois. This is the Maison du Distillateur, which I’ve already mentioned in another blog post about visiting distilleries in Alsace. If you’d rather see how it’s made, visit the Nusbaumer distillery in Steige.

Passage on the Wine Route

The route then descends towards the Route des Vins, which you’ll find again at Blienschwiller , before passing through Dambach-la-Ville, Dieffenthal (where you can admire the Rocher des Celtes by taking another short detour upwards) and then Scherwiller. I may have walked this stretch of the Route des Vins dozens of times, but I love it! Take the time to discover the charming villages along the way. It can also be an opportunity to visit a winemaker along the way (I recommend Céline Metz in Blienschwiller and Achillée in Scherwiller), while remaining reasonable about the tasting, of course!

Route du Sel

After Scherwiller, you leave the Route des Vins for the Véloroute de la Vallée de Villé, which links Sélestat to Villé via the old Route du Sel that ran from Lorraine to Germany. This is a very pleasant road, with a whole section of cycle path running through the middle of the forest.

Just before leaving the Wine Route, don’t miss the two beautiful châteaux overlooking the vineyards: Ramstein and Ortenbourg are particularly visible from this part of the road, and are superb. If you feel like it, you can always put the bikes down and go for a walk, which will give you a good climb 😉 There are some great hiking trails in the area!

Thanvillé Castle

Then it’s on to Thanvillé, with its magnificent 11th-century château and gardens. Château de Thanvillé is privately owned and hosts weddings and other events, but an association also organizes tours of the château and its gardens: a great initiative!

The little roads of the Val de Villé

The route then ends quietly, passing through pretty little roads winding through the valley and peaceful villages like Neuve-Eglise (not so peaceful during the Décibulles music festival!).

Where to rent a bike?

Bicycles can be rented at:

• Intersport in Villé (mountain bikes only)
• Spot4bikes in Barr (Bikes, VAE and mountain bikes)