Nature sets the tone in the Altmühl valley. However, the towns in southern Franconia offer a unique range of cultural attractions and the famous tasty Franconian cuisine provides high quality food at very moderate prices.

Starting point of our bicycle tours on the Altmühl cycle path is always Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It has one of the most enchanting historical town centres in Germany, creating a unique medieval atmosphere and therefore is one of the most important destinations for travellers with an interest in culture from all over the world. At the beginning of your trip the young Altmühl leisurly meanders through gentle meadows and mellowfloodplains over the Franconian lake district. The historical town centre of Gunzenhausen will enchant you with a mixture of Franconian timber framing and grand Baroque buildings. Even more culture awaits you on the first few kilometres of the Altmühl cycle path in form of  splendid castles in Spielberg and the perfect knight´s castle in Pappenheim, before nature takes over. It´s all about the combination at the Altmühl.

Behind Treuchtlingen the landscape changes abruptly. Here the river has shaped the soft limestone of the Franconian Jurrasic. The valley becomes narrower and not only nature fans will be delighted by the wild rock faces, towers and archways. 12 mighty dolomite rocks stand in line in a further bend of the river, which remind of the 12 apostles. Not much further the Solnhofen limestone doesn´t fail to amaze the experts. Distinguishing trademark are the small fossils that are trapped in the rocks. These magically attract hobby palaeontologists and the Altmühl cycle path offers many opportunities to take a little detour to the Solnhofen limestone. With a little luck everyone can discover some fossils in the designated excavation areas in the regional quarrys. The site became world famous when ten Archaeopteryx were found here. Two can be admired in the Solnhofen museum and a further one in the Willibalds castle which looks out over Eichstätt.

Eichstädt is deemed to be the perfect Baroque town. No other town has a similarly preserved baroque townscape as the university town at the Altmühl. The grand buildings still exude the splendour of past centuries. Never straying far from the winding river valley the journey continues from Eichstätt on well maintained family-friendly cycle paths further towards the Danube. Medieval townscapes in Beilngries and Riedenburg both enchant visitors with their narrow alleys and bold castles. One unchallenged highlight ist he monastery Weltenburg. In a bend of the Danube, completely secluded lies the famous monastery with an even more famous beer garden. Here culture, nature, beer and baroque are in perfect harmony.

If the Altmühl cycle path tour were an opera, the boat journey through the wild and romantic Danube river gap valley to the fortifications and gate towers of Kehlheim would be the impressive closing act of the production. But wait another highlight of the Altmühl cycle path is still to come: Regensburg, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. A walk through the best preserved German city  equals a journey through time, from the Roman occupation, through the middle ages up until today.

As you can see there are many things to discover on the Altmühl cycle path. We look forward to seeing you!