France, Luxembourg and Germany: Mosel River
| 2025 Dates: | September 13 – 21 |
| Land Cost: | $3400 |
| Single Supplement: | Inquire |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
| What’s Included: | 7 nights barge accommodation, daily breakfast, six dinners, group transfer from Luxembourg Airport/to Frankfurt Airport; English-speaking guide, bicycle rental, all scheduled entrance fees, support vehicle, and our famous t-shirt. |
Vineyards are spread across …
… the hillsides that line the Mosel and Saar valleys but our biking routes run near the river, giving us fantastic views wherever we look. Pretty medieval towns are set between the vineyards and the water, their houses tall to conserve space, their streets narrow but opening to hospitable squares. We spend seven nights aboard our barge, the Princesse Royal, which will travel the Mosel and Saar rivers along with us and spare us repeated packing and unpacking.
We’re in eastern France, with a quick foray into Luxembourg, before entering western Germany, and the towns we visit have a splendid sense of place. Their history is long, their wines are excellent and, naturally, so are their beers. We will fly into Luxembourg and out of Frankfurt, transferring first to Metz on the Mosel River, a convenient starting point. The following night finds us docked at Remich, in the southeastern corner of the Duchy of Luxembourg, known for its wine production. We continue to Saarburg, where a bell foundry is the likely source for church bells we hear from time to time.
Following the Mosel River, we come to Trier, a city of such ancient history that Roman occupation is thought by some to have been only an interruption to a continuum reaching back to founding by Assyrians. Trier is the oldest city in Germany, whether founded by Romans or Assyrians.
The Mosel is a twisting river, rimmed by the bicycle path we will follow from one delightful town to another. In Bernkastel-Kues many buildings are half-timbered and the fountain in the square sometimes flows with wine. Every day brings new vistas of castles, romantic ruins, and well-cared for vineyards but in the town of Traben-Trarbach we see Art Nouveau-style buildings – now a hundred or so years old, but like a fresh breath after all the ancient shops and houses we’ve admired.
Zell’s Schwarze Katz (“Black Cat”) wine may be known to you even before you come, as its fame is considerable. Here’s the place to see if that fame is deserved. The end to our journey is at Cochem, hemmed in by vineyards and the river, where an 11th-century castle, nearly destroyed by Louis XIV’s army, has been restored and rears above the town.
We will transfer from Cochem to the Frankfurt Airport, luggage perhaps heavier by a bottle or two. The satisfaction of biking in three beautiful countries, where the bicycle is an accepted means of transportation, of visiting a series of delightful towns tucked along the river, of enjoying good food and drink – all this will go home with us as well.
