Nice place on Rhine within 40-70km of Frankfurt Airport?

Posted by Hank (City of Seattle) on 11/19/22 03:31 PM

Hallo!

I fly into Frankfurt from the USA at 11:20am on a Monday morning in late July. I will ride my bicycle away from the airport.

The route down the Main river to the Rhine looks like a safe bet for cycling, most of it protected bicycle trails right out of the airport.

I'll have enough time for 40-70km on a long summer day, and want to get somewhere pretty, comfortable, and not too busy to sleep.

It needs to be at or close (10-20km) to a decent transit hub. Doesn't necessarily need the fastest trains because I will have a bike with me. The next morning I will probably ride a train west. I want to get to the Atlantic coast of France fairly quickly so I can ride north through Belgium to Amsterdam to meet my family when they arrive two weeks later.

Any ideas? Thank you!

Posted by balso

Paris

11/19/22 03:47 PM

7304 posts

Mainz could be a good bet for that first night! It is a sizeable city, but it makes for an enjoyable place to visit.
I was thinking Worms, too, but that's right at the 70km mark so maybe a bit far?

Regarding your trip to the Atlantic coast of France : do check bike transport rules on the French trains you intend to take; they change often! In most cases you need to disassemble the bike (remove front wheel is usually enough) and use a bike bag to take a TGV. Non-TGV trains are scarce on long-distance routes.

Posted by Lee

Lakewood, Colorado

11/19/22 03:54 PM

19274 posts

Hopefully, Jo will suggest a place, 'cause she probably knows the Frankfurt/Rhein area as well as anyone on this board. In lieu of her suggestion, I know that Rüdesheim, on the right bank, is a popular place, and it's just under 60 km (cycling distance, according to Google Maps). Google maps says the time should be about 3 hours. I think she also likes Eltville, which is just over 40 km, same side. From those towns, trains go down the Rhein to Köln (Cologne) and on to Belgium.

Or you could go to Koblenz by train and from there up the Mosel via Trier to France (Schengen, then Metz).

If you went to Ingelheim am Rhein (50 km), you would be on the same side of the Rhein as the rail hub at Bingen (Hbf), from where you could go south through Saarbrücken to France.

Posted by Hank OP

City of Seattle

11/19/22 04:24 PM

1951 posts

Balso thanks. I am familiar with bike on train rules in France, probably a dozen bike on train trips in France in the past 3 or 4 years. What's interesting is how much the rules have loosened up lately as trains have changed and/or retrofitted, and how the environmental movement has pushed making more space for people to bring bicycles. Some high speed trains now have space to hang a couple fully assembled bicycles, reservation required, often a 10 euro fee.

In fact I think it might be that the Thalys is the last high speed train in France that doesn't take at least some fully assembled bicycles.

Lee those are all good ideas thank you. It's been 10 years since I've rode a bicycle down the Romantic Rhine through the castle-y part. Maybe I should think about riding two days down to Koblenz. Pretty easy train connection from there to a lot of places.

I rode the Mosel down to Koblenz just this past September, so might bypass that routing.

Posted by Russ

Paradise

11/19/22 04:49 PM

7072 posts

viamichelin shows a biking distance of 59 km from FRA airport to Bingen on a route that passes through both Mainz and Ingelheim. So if I had your apparent urge to bike that distance, I'd head to Bingen, which, since you want to stay on the Rhine, is actually positioned on the riverbank (unlike Ingelheim) and provides a developed waterfront promenade and some true Rhine scenery. The Nahe River (popular for biking also) meets the Rhine in Bingen, where you'll find a good assortment of places to eat/drink/sleep.

https://i2.wp.com/georg-dahlhoff.de/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/200810180545.jpeg
https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/07/5b/3e/2b/zollamt-restaurant.jpg
https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/06/1a/df/01/nh-bingen.jpg

The NH Bingen hotel in the final photo above offers some rooms with a river view.

The next day, as Lee suggests, a train from Bingen will get you to the French/German border town of Saarbrücken in about 2 hours (one change in Bad Kreuznach.)