Bamberg and Coburg – bike tour to the most beautiful cities in Franconia

We cycle in two days from Nuremberg via Bamberg to Coburg.

After a break of almost 4 years we are doing a longer bike tour again. The effects of Corona have taken us away from bike tours and more towards hiking, but now we want to try whether cycling is still the same as it used to be. After all, we now belong to the 60+ generation, we don’t have e-bikes 😱 and we also have our luggage with us. And the tour is almost 120 km long in total!

The bike tour starts at our place of residence in Nuremberg and first goes along the eastern edge of the city. At a first stop at the airport lookout, we get the wanderlust as we watch the planes take off. Then the bike path plunges into the forest, from which we only come out again at the level of Erlangen. Here we now have to climb the steepest climb of the tour up to the height of the Marloffstein pass with the water tower visible from afar. Once at the top, we are rewarded with a fantastic view of Franconian Switzerland. We also see the Walberla, the holy mountain of the Franconians, where we already did a nice hike in spring https://youtu.be/bXjM2IYwBkg.

Not only the great view from the height of Marloffstein was worth the effort, as a reward a long descent awaits us. Then we continue through some villages at the foothills of Franconian Switzerland. At Forchheim we come across the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, which we then follow to Bamberg. The Rhine-Main-Danube Canal connects the river system of the Rhine with that of the Danube, allowing one to sail from the North Sea to the Black Sea. Here in Middle Franconia, the difference in height between the Rhine and the Danube is the smallest, so that a connection was the obvious choice here.

In the late afternoon we reach Bamberg, the destination of the first day. The historic old town, one of the largest intact old town ensembles in Europe, was not destroyed in World War II, in contrast to Nuremberg. The winding streets, the imperial cathedral, the residence and the old half-timbered houses of the fishermen along the Regnitz, the so-called Little Venice. take us back a few centuries. The highlight of Bamberg is the world-famous view of the old town hall, which is located on a small island in the river Regnitz. It is a beautiful building with its magnificent frescoes and impressive half-timbered annex towering over the river. We visit it in the evening in the light of the sunset and also the next morning, and we can hardly tear ourselves away from it

But no matter how beautiful Bamberg is, our real destination is Coburg! So we continue the next day, first along the river Main until we cross it at Breitengüßbach and then follow the river Itz. The route is scenic, green meadows and small avenues everywhere, interrupted by nice villages. In some places you also cycle directly on the banks of the Itz, which meanders through the valley here. Most of the time, however, the path runs a little further away near the main road.

Finally we reach Coburg, actually a small town, but with a rich history and many historic buildings. Above the city is the Veste Coburg, one of the largest castle complexes in Germany. On the Schlossplatz we see the Ehrenburg Castle, the residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg.
And on the market square we see the monument of Prince Albert, perhaps the city’s most famous son. He was the husband of Queen Victoria of England and thus founded the English royal house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which still reigns today and was renamed Windsor during World War I. Prince Albert is the great-great-great-grandfather of King Charles III.

And our personal conclusion of the tour is very positive. Even if we had an unusual amount of headwind, especially on the second day – we made it! It’s still possible without an e-bike 😊 and the next longer bike tour is already planned.

You can find the bike tours in Komoot:
From Nuremberg to Bamberg: https://www.komoot.de/tour/1196883358
From Bamberg to Coburg: https://www.komoot.de/tour/1196912681

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You can find the complete channel playlist for our activities in Nuremberg and the surrounding area here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlJEw93joUmoeQbw-lt5cD9PviUcA4Rg8

Tour in May 2023

#bamberg #coburg #bicycletour #bicycletrip #franconia

Chapter
00:00 Intro
00:42 Nuremberg and forest areas
02:02 Views of Franconian Switzerland
03:18 At the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal
05:00 Bamberg
08:34 Along the Main and Itz to Coburg
10:51 Coburg
13:41 Outro