Rivers and Vineyards Cycling

• Wonderfully varied and off-the beaten track cycling: world-famous vineyards, cherry orchards, traffic-free riverside trails
• Rich historic interest: Gothic cathedrals, mediaeval castles, Renaissance squares and cosy winstubs
• Wonderful cuisine - including a Michelin-starred restaurant at Rouffach; superb French and German vintages
• Excellent 'stay put' day options include Strasbourg, Colmar and Freibourg
• Easy driving distance from the UK or take the new high speed TGV from Paris

This varied cycling holiday takes you along the wine route that runs north to south between the Vosges mountains and the Alsace plain, bordered on the east by the Rhine, with a foray across the river into Germany for two nights. Pedalling along traffic-free country lanes, through vineyards and orchards, you take in some of Alsace's most beautiful villages. There's Eguisheim, where wine making began, mediaeval Rouffach whose beautifully preserved centre is listed as a historical site, and half-timbered Turckheim where a night watchman still walks the streets. In Germany, vineyard cycling trails are replaced by quiet riverside tracks as you enjoy vistas along the mighty Rhine and discover the mediaeval walls of Breisach am Rhein, home to one of Germany's finest Gothic cathedrals.

Almost every village has its cave and there are wine tasting opportunities every day. Seven types of grape grow in Alsace and some villages have their own vintages that aren't produced anywhere else, like Kaefferkopf from the stork-nesting village of Ammerschwihr. Your two nights in Germany provide even more variety. The 'Tuscany of Germany', wines from the Silvaner, Muller Thurgau and Grauburgunder grapes are produced here. Rest days are particularly exciting - Colmar, Strasbourg and Freiburg can all be reached within an hour by train.

The places you stay in are special too. In Rouffach your hotel has a Michelin-starred restaurant (there are incidentally, more Michelin starred restaurants in Alsace than in anywhere else in France) and, in Breisach am Rhein, your hotel is adjacent to the cathedral and commands stunning views over the terraces of the Kaiserstuhl wine hills.