Cross-border bike tour "Sweet Treats" (PAMINA)

Our tips for 3-day tours :

Baden stage "Castles & Chocolate" (148 km):

The starting point of the tour is the baroque castle in the fan-shaped city of Karlsruhe. Here we cycle along Ettlinger Straße in the direction of the main railway station. On the south side of the main station, we turn east onto the "Stromberg - Murrtal - Radweg" to Durlach, where we join our original overall tour and follow the route as described below. We cycle to the castles in Bruchsal, Bad Schönborn, Gochsheim (with sugar baker's museum) and Ettlingen. If you like, you can cycle on to the Favorit Castle in Rastatt. In Ettlingen we leave the overall tour and follow the "Baden Wine Cycle Path" to Wolfartsweier and from there we return to Karlsruhe via the "Black Forest Cycle Path".

Baden-Palatinate-Alsace stage "Chocolate & Wine" (168km):

The starting point of the tour is the Schlossplatz in Karlsruhe. From here we follow the original route (in reverse direction) to Wörth across the Rhine into the Palatinate. In Wörth, we follow the overall tour (in reverse direction) as described and ride past Jockgrim, Leimersheim, Germersheim, Bellheim and Herxheim to Kandel. From Kandel the "Petronella - Rhein -Radweg" leads to Minfeld and from here we cycle to Freckenfeld. In Freckenfeld we leave the overall tour and rejoin the "Petronella Rhine Cycle Path" to Bad Bergzabern. Here we continue on the "Radweg Deutsche Weinstraße" to Schweigen-Rechtenbach and from there on the "Kraut & Rüben-Radweg" to Schweighofen. Now we cycle via Windhof to Wissembourg (France). From here we continue on the original route of the overall tour, the "German-French PAMINA Cycle Path Lautertal" to Lauterbourg. In Lauterbourg we leave the overall tour and instead cycle along the Route du Rhin and take the ferry at Neuburg and cross the Rhine. We cycle along the "EuroVelo 15-Rhine Cycle Route" to Maxau and from there we return to Karlsruhe, the starting point of this tour. Gourmet tip: Herxheim chocolate kisses and Alsatian Kouglof (Gugelhupf) are worth every bike kilometre.

Baden-Alsace stage "Kouglof & Kaffeehaus" (139 km):

The starting point of the tour is Marktstraße in Ettlingen. From here we cycle on the original overall tour as described in more detail below on the "Badischer Weinradweg" to Rastatt-Rauental and via the "Veloroute Rhein" southwards towards Greffern. At Greffern (Germany) we take the ferry across the Rhine to Drusenheim (France). From here we continue along the original route to Mothern in Alsace. Here we leave the overall tour and cycle along the Rhine, take the ferry at Neuburg and cross the Rhine. Via Rheinstetten's districts Neuburgweier, Mörsch and Silberstreifen, the tour leads back to Ettlingen.

Route description of the entire route from/to Karlsruhe: 

The tour starts at the tourist information office directly at the Karlsruhe market square. Here, in addition to the many tips, you will also receive an indulgence safari backpack for the tour's sweet treats. The tour leads via the market square past the pyramid into Karl-Friedrich-Straße/Ettlinger Straße to the Albtal railway station. Here we follow the "NaturRadTour" in the direction of Dammerstock, through the Oberwald forest to Durlach. In Durlach, after Durlacherallee, we continue on Pfinztalstraße, past the town hall and Karlsburg castle to Hengstplatz. Here, after about 100 m, turn right onto Blumentorstraße. We turn left at the next junction onto Alte Weingartner Straße, which we then follow for 1.5 km.  After crossing the Pfinz relief canal, we turn slightly left and follow the signs "Richtung Weingarten/Bruchsal" to Weingarten.

In Weingarten we take the "Öko Regio Tour" to Bruchsal (Untergrombach district). There we turn left via the Bruchsal district of Büchenau on the Bruchsal Ring Route into the centre of Bruchsal. From Bruchsal to Ubstadt-Weiher we follow the "Schlössertour" and then cycle on the "Kraichradweg" to Kronau. Once in Kronau, we take the "Kraichgau Hohenlohe Cycle Path" to Odenheim. Following the "feel-good tour", the tour leads through the hilly country typical of the Kraichgau. Passing the Pfannwaldsee and the Galgenhohle, through the picturesque village of Kraichtal-Oberöwisheim (Holzofenbäckerei Pfeifer), we reach the Kraichbachniederung. Here we now follow the "Kraichradweg" eastwards, which first leads through the village of Kraichtal-Münzesheim and then - along the railway tracks - to medieval Kraichtal-Gochsheim (Badisches Bäckereimuseum, Erstes Deutsches Zuckerbäckermuseum, Museum im Graf-Eberstein-Schloss). Leaving the imposing scenery of Gochsheim behind us, we continue on the "Kraichradweg" to Flehingen. From there we follow the "Panoramatour" to Bretten. The route continues on the "Panoramatour" to the Bretten districts of Rinklingen and Dürrenbüchig. Here we continue on the "Eco Regio Tour" via Wössingen to Walzbachtal.

Coming from Bahnhofstraße in Remchingen, we take the second exit at the roundabout and follow the path along Buchwald until it turns into Singener Straße in Mutschelbach. Then we turn right into Bergstraße and immediately left into Bockstraße. Here we follow the "Schwarzwald-Radweg" until we reach Wilhelm-Roether-Straße in Karlsbad-Langensteinbach. Turn right into this street. We continue to the roundabout and take the first exit into Weinbrennerstraße. We continue to the next roundabout and take the first exit into Ettlinger Straße. We follow Ettlinger Straße to the end. At the roundabout we take the first exit into Goethestraße. After the exit we turn right immediately. We follow the road along the woods and fields until it joins Hornisgrindestraße. We follow the road to the end, then turn right into Merkurstraße. At the junction with PforzheimerStraße we turn left into it. We follow PforzheimerStraße in the direction of Waldbronn. At the bend to Stuttgarter Straße, we turn right into Stuttgarter Straße and then left into Busenbacher Straße. At the Busenbacher Straße loop, we turn left before and immediately right again to ride along the forest to the intersection of Gisela-und-Hans-Ruland-Straße. Here we turn right to Bergstraße. Pass the Albtherme Waldbronn and follow Bergstraße to the next roundabout. Here we turn left into Talstraße and cycle through it until it ends in a forest path. We cycle along the forest path for a while and turn right at the first opportunity and continue to Bahnhofstraße. Here we turn left. We cycle downhill to the S-Bahn stop "Busenbach Bahnhof". Here we cross the tracks to continue along Pforzheimer Straße into the centre of Ettlingen. After the Watthaldenpark we turn left into Albstraße, along the beautiful Alb to the centre and the old town. We cycle along Albstraße until we reach the junction of Albstraße/Kronenstraße/Marktstraße. Then turn left over the town hall bridge, through the archway. From the market square in Ettlingen we follow the "Rheintal-Radweg/Ortenau-Weg", past Ettlingenweier, Oberweier and Sulzbach to Malsch.

Once in Malsch, we continue along the "Badischer Weinradweg" past Muggensturm to Rastatt-Rauental. In the centre of the village, we turn right onto Rastatter Straße and thus leave the "Badischer Weinradweg". We follow the road to the Rastatt railway station, cross underneath it and find ourselves on the beautiful Kulturplatz. We cross the square and turn left behind the Landratsamt, at the bike service station, towards the castle. If we have become hungry in the meantime, it is now worth taking a detour into the centre of Rastatt or a break in the castle park with a view of the baroque Favorit Castle. Otherwise, we turn left again at the street An der Ludwigsfeste and follow the street until we cross the Murg and a few metres later the Gewerbekanal. At Ritterstraße we turn right and immediately take the next street on the left. At Lützowerstraße we turn right and follow this street to the Stadtpark Rastatt. In the Stadtpark, we keep left and continue parallel to Kehler Straße. Shortly before crossing the railway tracks, we turn right into the forest, where we actually cross the railway tracks a few metres later. After a while we come to a subway on the left, but we do not take it, instead we turn right and immediately left again. We follow the road until Rastatt-Wintersdorf, where it becomes Salmstraße. As soon as the road turns right into the village, we keep slightly left and take Eisenbahnstraße. At the Dorfstraße we turn left, pass under the railway tracks and at the roundabout straight ahead along the cycle path parallel to the road. At the T-junction on the B500, we turn right towards the Iffezheim barrage. There we meet the "Veloroute Rhein", which we now follow south to Greffern. Here we cross the Rhine by ferry and continue our tour on the French side.

Arriving in France by ferry, we continue on the RD429. At the roundabout, we head towards Haguenau (sign IC 23) and take the cycle path between Rohrwiller and Oberhoffen/Moder. From Oberhoffen we follow the road to Kaltenhouse. In Kaltenhouse we go straight towards Haguenau and follow the sign IC 23 (cycle path). Once in Haguenau, we cycle along Boulevard Hanauer towards the station. Once at the station, we head towards Sarreguemines on the RD263. Then we continue in the direction of ZA Route de Bitche and we pass the Chocolaterie Stoffel. We follow the signs Hundshof and the sign IC 24/25 in the direction of Betschdorf (cycle paths, then forest road) and turn right into the parking road. We follow the sign Gros Chêne 2 (forest road Krummstein). Once at Gros Chêne, we continue towards Betschdorf and follow the sign IC 24/25, taking the forest road from Heuscheur. At the Carrefour parade, we continue towards Betschdorf and follow the sign IC 24. In Betschdorf, we turn right onto the cycle path. At the roundabout of the Betschdorf swimming pool, we turn left into Rue de l'Avenir and then right into Rue de l'Eglise. We then turn right into Rue Principale (Grand-Rue). Before entering the village of Rittershoffen, we continue straight ahead onto the farm track. Then we turn left into Rue de la Gare and continue into Rue des Romains. Here we continue straight ahead on the cycle path. In Hatten we turn right towards Seltz. At the roundabout, we continue towards Seltz (cycle path). At the industrial area in NIederroedern, we turn right. At the roundabout, we follow the direction of Seltz (cycle path). At the crossroads with the RD297, we go straight on in the direction of Kesseldorf (cycle path). At the main crossroads in Kesseldorf, we continue towards Beinheim on the RD87. Once in Beinheim, at the roundabout, we take the RD87 towards Roppenheim and turn left onto the Rue de la Sauer. At the roundabout, we take Rue des Pies, then Rue de Saint-Louis and Rue du Foyer. We cross the river, turn left and follow the "EuroVelo15" (EV15). We continue to Lauterbourg (cycle path and common route) and follow the "Lauterweg" on the German side. At Altenstadt we reach the French-German border and follow the cycle path towards Wissembourg centre (sign IC 51). At the roundabout we cycle in the direction of Centre-Ville (Rue du Général Leclerc, then Rue Eseler, Place du Marché aux Choux, right on Rue de l'Ange, right on Quai des Frères, left on Rue des Dominicains, then right on Rue Bannacker in the direction of Lycée Stanislas) until we reach the village of Windhof in Germany.

From Windhof we cycle along the L546 via Schweighofen to Kapsweyer and follow the "Kraut- und Rüben-Radweg". First we head east via Schaidt to Kandel. We continue on the "Kraut- und Rüben-Radweg" from Kandel northwards via Hayna, Herxheim to Offenbach, where we follow the "Kraut- und Rüben-Radweg" eastwards again via Ottersheim. In Bellheim we turn onto the "Queichtal-Radweg" and follow it to Germersheim. In Germersheim we turn right onto the "Rheinradweg" (EuroVelo 15), which leads us directly along the Rhine southwards to Leimersheim. Behind Leimersheim we turn right onto the cycle path "Vom Riesling zum Zander". We follow this via Neupotz to Rheinzabern. In Rheinzabern we cycle along the main road until we leave the town. There we continue on the cycle path to Jockgrim. We cycle on the main road through the town to the entrance to the Jockgrim bathing lake. Then follow the cycle path along the L540 to Wörth. In Wörth we turn left into Ottostraße, then right into Hartmannstraße. Then we turn right into Rupprechtstraße, then right again into Friedhofstraße and finally left into Forlacher Straße. Here we meet the "Rheinradweg" again, which we follow through Wörth to the Rhine bridge. From there we cross the bridge to Karlsruhe to our starting point.