Mainz 3 Bridges Tour

With the square at your back, first turn right toward Winterhafen and then left over the listed swing bridge from 1877, along Victor-Hugo-Ufer. With the Main river mouth in view, we cycle past the boathouse of the Mainz Rowing Club from 1878 with attached gastronomy and towards the first bridge: the railway bridge built in 1858, leading south of the Main over the Rhine.

FROM BRIDGE TO BRIDGE, OVER THE RHINE AND THE MAIN

Already from the narrow path running high parallel to the tracks, wonderful views open up: from the distinctive tower of St. Stephan's Church in the west, the view stretches over the city and the Rhine to the large Feldberg mountain in the east. At the end of the Main bridge, it's worth making a detour to the approximately 300 meters distant Mainspitze. Here, you are close to the confluence of the Main into the Rhine.

THE MAIN IS ONE OF THE RIGHT TRIBUTARIES OF THE RHINE

Those who want to continue the hike or bike tour on the 3-Bridges-Route without a break, turn left at the second junction. Through sports facilities and the festival grounds, a paved road leads to the second bridge over the Main to Mainz-Kostheim. Immediately at its end, pedestrians can go left down the stairs to the Main; cyclists are recommended to cross at the zebra crossing and then follow the sign for the European cycle route for underpass passage. Passing right under the bridge, it goes along the idyllic Main riverbank, just below St. Kilian's Church.

Kostheim belongs to the Rheingau wine-growing area and has about 100 hectares of vineyards. About eighty percent of the cultivation is Riesling wines. To get to know the wines of the region, a stop at the Kostheim wine tasting stand with seating and a babbling wine fountain, open on weekends and holidays, is recommended. At the Main riverbank, corner of Maaraustraße, the trip with the yellow bikes at the MVGMeinRad station "Weinprobierstand" can be interrupted for this purpose.

YOU HAVE TO CROSS (AT LEAST) 3 BRIDGES...

The playground directly opposite on the Main riverbank invites children to play, and various waterfowl can be observed there. The route continues across the next small bridge along Konrad-Schollmayer-Straße. On the combined bike and footpath of Franziska-Retzinger-Promenade, at the height of the Main's confluence into the Rhine, we turn away from the Main and cycle right, with a fantastic view of Mainz before our eyes, between the Maaraue outdoor pool and the Rhine.

ENJOYING THE RHINE WITH MAINZ IN SIGHT

The outdoor pool, opened in 1965 on the Maaraue in a landscape protection and recreation area, offers the largest water and open space areas of any Wiesbaden outdoor pool. It is also popular with Mainz residents because of its charming location at the Main river mouth. For those not planning to visit the pool, the directly adjacent leisure area offers a great opportunity to rest with many possibilities for fun and play.

Passing the Maaraue campsite, it quickly goes to the next bridge over the former raft harbor and then towards Kostheimer Reduit. The former Rhine barracks were built in 1832 with Bastion Schönborn to protect the ship bridge. Already made obsolete by railway construction in 1840, it lost its protective function in 1885 with the construction of the new fixed Rhine bridge. Today, the museum Castellum is located in the rooms of the former small fortress. The Bastion Schönborn, part of the large site, houses the raft museum. Founded by the society for local history, the exhibits are integrated into the gastronomy of the house.

At the MVGMeinRad station "Reduit" bikes can be parked again, and you can relax comfortably with one last look at Mainz in the beer garden directly on the Rhine or in chairs on the Rhine beach before crossing back over the Rhine via the Theodor-Heuss Bridge.

The Theodor-Heuss Bridge offers from above a view of the previously crossed railway bridge and the artificially created Rhine beach at the Rhine bank during the summer. Upon arriving in Mainz, go left down the bridge towards the Hilton Hotel and immediately in front of it back to the Rhine.

Passing the Rheingoldhalle and the MVGmeinRad station of the same name and the town hall, you can now cycle comfortably along the Stresemann-Ufer to the starting point of the round trip, the Malakoff-Terrasse.