Round trip 2 from Luxembourg

The route below may take 2 weeks or less, including additional overnight stays at selected places. There will be steep uphills and downhills, as well as quiet bike paths along beautiful rivers through Luxembourg, France, Germany and Belgium. It is exciting to notice the difference in atmosphere and food.

In Luxembourg City, Sofitel Le Grand Ducal can be recommended for overnight stay, giving a spectacular view of the city from the restaurant. Good bicycles can be rented from Vélo en Ville.

To have a train option near a cycling route is always an advantage, if anything unexpected should happen or the weather becomes really bad. There is a train line parallel to the present route between Troisvierges, Clervaux, Luxembourg and Metz, as well as between Sarreguemines and Trier, Trier and Nennig, and Trier and Kylltal.

Day 1. Luxembourg to Metz (79 km, map link)

Alzette in Luxembourg

The suggested route starts along Véloroute SaarLorLux. From the central bridge in Luxembourg City Grund, go south on the eastern side of the river Alzette, winding through the valley past old mills to Hesperange. Here follow the main road south (N 3, Route de Thionville) through Frisange to France. Going downhill from Evrange, turn left from the main road to Basse-Roetgen and Rodemack, which is a beautiful medieval village worth a visit.

Medieval village Rodemack

From Rodemack, the suggested route goes south along D57 (Route de Thionville) to Basse Parthe, and then southwest on D56 past a nuclear power plant to Cattenom. Here find the bicycle path going south along the west bank of the river Moselle to Thionville, where a lunch stop may be made, for example at Les Moulins Bleus.

Moselle at Argancy

From Thionville, continue south along the west bank of Moselle on the well marked bike path, which crosses the river and canal several times through the scenic river landscape towards Metz.

Metz is a beautiful city with a lot of accomodations and restaurants. Hotel La Citadelle Metz, on the eastern side of Moselle just south of the old city centre, can be recommended for dinner and overnight stay. An additional day in Metz may be a good idea, to visit the cathedral, the old city centre and the nice surroundings.

Day 2. Metz to Vic-sur-Seille (66 km, map link)

The suggested route goes south from the centre of Metz, along Avenue Robert Schuman and Rue Gambetta past the railway station (Place General de Gaulle), crossing the railway through Passage de l’Amphiteatre. Then turn right (southwest) along Rue aux Arenes, continuing south along Rue de Castelnau parallel to the railway.

At the end of Rue de Castelnau, turn right (south) along the road D913 (Avenue André Malraux) out of Metz. At the second crossing, turn left on D155B towards Peltre. Before reaching Peltre, turn right along an unpaved forest road going south (Route de Guerre, Voie Verte du Bois de l’Hopital, Grande Chazelle) ending after 7 km at the crossing of Rue de Bois and D67 (Rue Principale) in Pournoy-la-Grasse. (Alternatively, continue along D913 past Poully and Fleury, turn left along D113F, and left again to D67.)

Follow D67 to Cherisey, where a golf restaurant is conveniently placed for a lunch stop near the church. D67 continues east through a nice rural landscape to Pontoy, where the suggested route turns right (southeast) along Route de Beux over a hill to D71 going east to Beaux. Turn right along Rue de Luppy continuing as Rue de la Corvée southeast to Luppy. Continue on Rue de Tragny southeast to D75, going south and turning left along 75B to Tragny, Thimonville and Morville-sur-Nied. Turn right along D74 southwest to Bacourt and south to Tincry. Turn left along Route de Viviers southeast to D20, continuing east to Viviers.

From Viviers, the suggested route continues south along D70, turning left along a minor road (Rue du Nassau) to Laneuveville-en-Saulnois. Continue west along D77, and turn left along Rue des Roses and Rue Emile Gerard to find a bike path going southeast along the main road (D955). Where the bike path ends, the suggested route makes a detour along D21, Route de la Reine, D174B and Avenue Napoléon 1er, to avoid biking on the main road. After Chateau-Salins, the suggested route goes back to D955 until a right turn is made to a smaller road again at the crossing of D955 and D155P.

Lovely viewpoint

The road D155P is then followed into Vic-sur-Seille, where Hotel Chateau Mesny can be recommended for overnight stay. It is a small hotel, where guests are received with a friendliness which is unique even for Lorraine. Without a hotel restaurant, we were invited to a wonderful dinner together with the owners.

Day 3. Vic-sur-Seille to Lüneville (29 km, map link)

From Vic-sur-Seille, the suggested route goes south along Rue Edgar Gazin, turns left (east) on Rue de la Gare and right (south) on Rue Meynier. Then turn right (southwest) on Avenue du Gènèral de Gaulle (D155P) continuing south along D114A (Route d’Arracourt), and turn right (southwest) in the crossing with D914. After Arracourt, the suggested route follows D914 through a charming rural landscape all the way through Valhey and Einville-au-Jard to Lüneville (except for a short distance on the smaller roads Ancienne Route d’Enville and Rue de Vic).

Along the river Meurthe

Several accomodations and restaurants are found in Lüneville, where for example Restaurant Poivre & Sel may be visited for lunch, while Le Chateau d’Adomenil can be recommended for dinner and overnight stay. Chateau d’Adomenil is a really beautiful castle surrounded by a lovely park, where it makes sense to arrive early in the afternoon to get time to feel the atmosphere, enjoy being a guest and perhaps take some pictures. Staying an extra day, for a bike trip in the surroundings of Lüneville, may be a good idea.

Park at Chateau d'Adomenil

Day 4. Lüneville to Sarrebourg (63 km, map link)

The suggested route goes north on D914 (Rue de Résistance) out of Lüneville, turning right along D108 through Jolivet to Sionviller. Turn left (north) on D160 to Crion, and turn right (northeast) along D1208 to Canal de la Marne au Rhin at Hénamenil through a scenic rural landscape. Follow Véloroute 52 (V52) on the south side of the beautiful canal east to Lagarde, where a lunch stop may be made at Restaurant PK209 on the northern side of the canal.

Canal at Lagarde

After Lagarde, continue east on the south side of the canal along V52 to Étang de Réchicourt and the big Ecluse de Réchicourt de Chateau, where a stop should be made to read how etangs and canals were constructed. Then continue along the canal through the etangs to Gondrexange, where a bakery can be found if a stop is needed.

Étang at Gondrexange

From Gondrexange the suggested route continues east along the canal to the river Sarre; here turn north along Rue de la Forge continuing on Piste Cycleable Sarrebourg-Abresville to Imling. Cross the river and continue east on Rue de Pecheurs, Grand Rue, Rue du Chateau and Chemin d’Imling to Hotel ibis Styles Sarrebourg, which can be recommended for overnight stay and dinner in the partner restaurant Les Cédres.

Day 5. Sarrebourg to Saarbrücken (85 km, map link)

From Hotel ibis Styles, the suggested route goes north to Étang Levêque along Rue de la Piscine, follows the bicycle path along the Étang northeast under a highway, crosses Sarre, and goes northwest through Sarrebourg along Rue de Tanneurs. Here turn left to Rue de Lieutenant Bildstein, and right along D27 over the railway.

D27 (Rue du Verdun) is followed through Haut-Clocher and Langatte in a scenic open landscape, to the crossing with Canal des Houllieres de la Sarre (Saarkanal) and bicycle route EV5 (Saar Radweg). From here, the well paved and marked Saar Radweg follows the beautiful Saarkanal all the way to Saarbrücken, which is a long but relatively easy ride.

Sarre at Siltzheim

After passing Grand Étang de Mittersheim, a good lunch restaurant is found at Ecluse 16 in Altwiller. In the beautiful city of Saarbrücken, many accomodations and restaurants are found. Hotel Leidinger can be recommended for overnight stay.

Day 6. Saarbrücken to Nennig (71 km, map link)

From the centre of Saarbrücken, cross over to the west side of Saar, and bike northeast along Saar Radweg. The suggested route passes through Saarlouis, where good lunch cafés are found (for example Restaurant Kouzina).

Canal at Saarlouis

From Saarlouis, the suggested route continues along Saar Radweg to Mechern, where it turns west from Saar along the road L381 uphill towards Mondorf and Silwingen. At Silwingen, continue northwest from L381 along Mondorfer Strasse and Büdinger Strasse to find a bike path past a series of sculptures (Steine an der Grenze) in the open scenic landscape along the German-French border.

Near Lennenberg, turn right (north below autobahn) into Germany along Saarland Radweg past Büschdorf and Eft, going through Borg on Merschweiler Weg, Gartenfeldstrasse and Johannesstrasse. Turn left (northwest) past Tettingen-Bützdorf downhill on Bescher Strasse, and turn right along Römerstrasse to Nennig, where Hotel Schloss Berg can be recommended for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 7. Nennig to Trier (44 km, map link)

From Nennig, the suggested route goes west to Mosel near Remich, turning north along the beautiful Moselradweg on the German side. The landscape view is dominated by the wide river and the vineyards covering the Luxembourg hillsides.

Mosel at Nittel

A detour for lunch to Nittel can be recommended, turning right through a tunnel below the railway. Restaurant Sektscheune Zilliken and Weingut Apel can both be recommended, serving food in addition to local wine and juice.

Nearer Trier, the landscape is still beautiful but less dominated by vineyards. The Radweg continues on the right bank of Mosel, crossing over the river Saar on a large bridge near Konz. There are a lot of accomodations and restaurants in Trier. Hotel Park Plaza can be recommended for dinner and overnight stay.

Palace in Trier

To stay an extra day in Trier may be a good idea. Trier is a beautiful city, with historical buildings back to the time of the Roman empire.

Day 8. Trier to Biersdorf am See (60 km, map link)

Burg Ramstein near Kordel

The suggested route goes north from the centre of Trier, crosses Mosel on Kaiser Wilhelm Brücke, and continues east along Mosel to Ehranger strasse past Ehrang railway station, where Kyll Radweg starts (on Ramsteiner Weg, along the west side of the railway and river Kyll). Kyll Radweg is followed along the beautiful river valley northwest to Kordel and further north to Auw, where Altes Pfarrhaus is conveniently placed for a lunch stop.

Continue north along Kyll Radweg past Speicher, Phillipsheim, Hüttingen and Alback to Erdorf, where the suggested route crosses Kyll on Bonner Strasse and continues north along Kyll on the road K74, bending west away from the river. Continue west on K78, north on L32, and turn left at first crossing along a small road to Nattenheim. Here turn left (southwest) along Ritterdorfer Strasse (K74), continue west on L12 and L7 to Wiersdorf and north along K71 to Stausee Bitburg, which is a popular lake resort. Hotel Berghof may be recommended for overnight stay.

Rittersdorf

Day 9. Biersdorf am See to Sankt Vith (53 km, map link)

From Hotel Berghof, go south along Stausee Bitburg (Seeuferstrasse), continue east on Zur Rotley and Talstrasse, and north (uphill) along Niederweilerstrasse (K72) to Niederweiler and Oberweiler. The suggested route then goes northwest on L12 to Lambertsberg, and steeply downhill to Waxweiler (Trierer Strasse) and Manderscheid (Bahnhofstrasse), turning left to a nice bicycle path (Prüm Radweg) where Landgasthof Heilhauser Mühle is conveniently placed for a lunch stop.

Watermill in Waxweiler

Then continue north on Prüm Radweg past Lünebach to Pronsfeld, where the suggested route turns west on Alterweg (Eifel Ardennen Radweg) through an old railway tunnel and past Grosslangenfeld and Lommersweiler (fietsknooppunten 83-55-54) on a nice bicycle path along a previous railway (Vennbahn) to Sankt Vith (_54-46-47-84-49), where several restaurants are found. Hotel Pip Margraff can be recommended for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 10. Sankt Vith to Clervaux (44 km, map link)

There are two alternative routes between Sankt Vith and Clervaux: One over Ouren (see Round trip 1 from Luxembourg), another route over Troisvierges (described here).

From Sankt Vith, both routes goes along Vennbahn to Burg-Rauland (49-84-47-46-54-55-75-72). The route to Troisvierges continues along Vennbahn (L47) past Dürler, Lengeler and Goedange into Luxembourg.

Near Troisvierges

From the end of Vennbahn at the railway station in Troisvierges, the suggested route first crosses under the railway to the southern side, and then follows Rue Massen (Wëntger Gënzentour) along the river Woltz to Cinqfontaines, uphill to Sassel, and downhill along the road CR373 to the old railway station Maulusmühle. Then turn south along the road CR335 to Clervaux, where several good accomodations and restaurants are found. Le Clervaux Boutique & Design Hotel can be recommended for overnight stay.

Staying an extra day in Clervaux can be recommended, to make bike trips in the beautiful surroundings and to visit Clervaux Castle with its famous war museum,.

Day 11. Clervaux to Luxembourg (80 km, map link)

To use two days from Luxembourg to Clervaux was suggested in Round trip 1 from Luxembourg. The suggested route back is slightly shorter, but it includes two hills after Kautenbach and Goebelsmühle, so 80 km may be felt as a long ride. To take a train a part of the distance, or to stay overnight in Bourscheid, are easier options.

From Clervaux, go south along CR325 past Drauffelt to Enscherange, along CR326 (A Millefeld) to Wilwerwiltz, and along CR324 and CR323 to Lellingen. Then go south along Konstemer Stroos (bicycle path PV21) towards Kautenbach, turn northeast along CR322, south along CR348, and northwest along N27 to Goebelsmühle. Then turn left along CR348 uphill to Bourcscheid, where Hotel-Restaurant Saint-Fiacre is conveniently placed for lunch. Or continue downhill along CR348 to Ettelbrück, where many lunch restaurants are found.

View from the road

From Ettelbrück, go south along PC15 and the river Alzette past Schieren, Colmar-Berg, Cruchten, Essingen, Pettingen, Mersch and several other villages towards Luxembourg City. Cross the railway at Dommeldange, continue south along Raspert through Parc Laval, cross Alzette, and go through Porte d’Eich to Luxemburg City Grund.

Alzette