Bike & Boat on the Rhine: Cologne - Mainz

Arrive independently in Cologne and board from 4:00 PM. Settle into your cabin and get acquainted with your floating hotel for the coming week. If you have time to spare, Cologne awaits right outside the door, with its mighty cathedral and old town alleys. Feel free to start the trip in classic Cologne fashion with a glass of Kölsch at one of the city's beer taverns. Then it's time to settle in on board – tomorrow the bike and the Rhine await.

Take the opportunity to take a walk through Cologne's old town before the first cycling stage begins. Then follow the Rhine south towards Bonn on an easy and flat stretch. At the Cologne suburb of Porz-Zündorf, you can make a stop at the Groov recreation area and the green river landscape of Rheinaue. The destination is Bonn, Beethoven's birthplace and West Germany's former capital. Here there are plenty of sights for those with energy left: Beethoven-Haus, Haus der Geschichte, Bundeskunsthalle, Rheinaue, and the historic Regierungsviertel with the Path of Democracy.

Continue south along the Rhine on yet another pleasant cycling day. Along the way you pass Königswinter, where Schloss Drachenburg overlooks the river from Drachenfels. If you want to cycle up, a substantial and steep detour awaits, but it is not part of the regular easy-cycling route. Today's destination is Andernach, one of Germany's oldest cities. The town is known, among other things, for the world's highest cold-water geyser, whose water fountain can reach about 60 meters in height. After cycling, you return to the ship for a comfortable evening on board.

Today's stage is the shortest of the trip, so there's plenty of time for both cycling and sightseeing. Follow the Rhine towards Koblenz, passing Schloss Engers in Neuwied, among other things. In Koblenz you reach Deutsches Eck, the famous point where the Moselle flows into the Rhine. High above the river lies the impressive Ehrenbreitstein fortress. A great way to get there is the cable car that soars over the Rhine – tickets can be purchased on board. The rest of the day can be devoted to Koblenz's old quarter, outdoor cafés, and the lively atmosphere along the river.

Now you roll straight into one of the trip's major highlights: the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. Here the river valley becomes narrower and steeper, with castles lining the heights. You pass, among others, Marksburg, the only medieval hilltop castle along the Middle Rhine that has never been destroyed, and continue through Boppard with the Kurfürstliche Burg. Today's destination is St. Goar with the ruins of the mighty Rheinfels Castle. On the other side of the Rhine lies St. Goarshausen and the castles Katz and Maus – cat and mouse, in short.

Continue through the postcard-pretty landscape of the Rhine Valley, past castles such as Reichenstein and Rheinstein. Soon awaits the day's most famous landmark: the Lorelei rock, which rises above one of the Rhine's narrowest and most legend-shrouded passages. The destination is the wine town of Rüdesheim, where half-timbered houses, wine taverns, and historic alleys give plenty of reason to linger. Feel free to take a walk through the old town or take the cable car up to the Niederwald Monument. From up there, the vineyards, Rüdesheim, and the Rhine spread out far below.

The last day of cycling follows the Rhine through yet another beautiful wine landscape. Along the way you pass Eltville am Rhein, known for wine, roses, and the historic Kurfürstliche Burg. After that you continue towards Mainz, where the trip's final stage concludes among cathedrals, squares, and half-timbered houses. Don't miss the mighty St. Martin's Cathedral and the old town's Augustinerstraße and Kirschgarten. Here the wine taverns are packed close together, so there are worse places to toast to just over 200 kilometers on the bike before the final dinner on board.

Wake up in Mainz and enjoy the trip's final breakfast on board. After a week, you have traveled from Cologne to Mainz and cycled about 209 kilometers through some of the Rhine Valley's most classic landscapes. Check-out and disembarkation take place by 9:00 AM at the latest. From here the journey continues independently, for example by train to Frankfurt Airport or onward through Germany. If you have time before the journey home, Mainz's historic center is well worth a few more hours.