Elbe Cycle Route left Elbe (west of the Elbe)

Short description

According to ADFC, the Elbe Cycle Route is one of the most popular cycling routes in Germany

Description

You can head downstream on the Elbe Cycle Route starting in Bohemia or with a detour to Prague, then along the Vltava River to its confluence with the Labe (Elbe). Depending on the chosen route, you will cover about 1300 km by bike to the mouth of the North Sea. For the Czech section, you can find the route here. In Germany, the approximately 860 km long cycling journey on the Elbe Cycle Route starts in the Saxon Switzerland, at the foot of the bizarre rock formations of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. Passing through Pirna and gentle hilly landscapes, you will reach the art and culture city of Dresden and then continue to Meißen and Torgau. The middle section of the Elbe Cycle Route leads through picturesque landscapes to remarkable World Heritage sites in Lutherstadt Wittenberg and Dessau-Roßlau until reaching the state capital of Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt with the first Gothic cathedral on German soil. Through extensive floodplain landscapes, you will continue to Tangermünde and Wittenberge. The approximately 330 km long northern section of the Elbe Cycle Route will reveal more fascinating insights into nature and take you through the metropolis of Hamburg to the mouth of the Elbe into the North Sea at Cuxhaven.

Due to the low gradient, the Elbe Cycle Route can be comfortably ridden upstream and downstream. Due to the prevailing northwest wind direction, we recommend planning the tour upstream. Only the upper section, the source of the Elbe, should be ridden downstream.

Route description

The following route description refers to the left bank section of the Elbe Cycle Route within Saxony-Anhalt. Starting in Schahmühle south of the city of Pretzsch, it passes by the Dübener Heide Nature Park and reaches Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Continuing through the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, it moves on to the Bauhaus city of Dessau, where the Elbe meets the Mulde River.

Past the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve and the confluence of the Saale River near Barby, Magdeburg follows with the famous cathedral, the Green Citadel, the last Hundertwasser house, and the Elbauenpark.

Following that, the Elbe Cycle Route leads to the Magdeburg Waterway Junction, where you cycle directly next to the Elbe under the imposing trough bridge.

Afterwards, the Elbe Cycle Route passes through the Altmark region with its rural charm and abundant nature, as well as the former imperial residence city of Tangermünde. Passing by the mouth of the Havel River and with a detour to the cathedral and island city of Havelberg, the route goes through the untouched nature of the Elbe River Landscape biosphere reserve and briefly enters the state of Brandenburg. The Elbe Cycle Route then passes through a section where the Elbe was the German-German border river for decades.

The tour ends in Schnackenburg, which is already located in Lower Saxony. Here, West and East met, and at both banks, the world came to an end. Ferries now operate and there is a new bridge. However, the river landscape remains undisturbed: many storks, swans, ducks, sand martins, sometimes even white-tailed eagles and cranes can be observed. Hitzacker and Lauenburg with their historic old town centers follow.

More information

www.elberadweg.de - Elbe Cycle Route in Germany

www.elberadweg.cz - Elbe Cycle Route in Czechia

Safety instructions