• City and Study Tours for Groups
• Active Holidays
• Wine Tours
• City breaks for individual travellers

At the moment, all tours are only available in German language.

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The wide expanses of the Saale meadows, colourful fields of wild flowers, dark-green forests and an unspoilt river flanked by castles and forts… what better place to let your gaze wander and your thoughts take flight! It is little wonder that two of Germany’s greatest writers and thinkers, Goethe and Schiller, and the composer Georg Friedrich Handel drew inspiration from these landscapes.

The source of the Saale bubbles into the daylight iin the dense forest of the Fichtel Mountains in Bavaria. The river has a long journey ahead: it winds through narrow gorges, slows as it reaches huge reservoirs and continues gently through expansive meadow landscapes for a further 257 miles before flowing into the Elbe at Barby.

Saalfeld has been chosen as the starting point of your cycling tour due to its position at the beginning of the more leisurely section of the Saale River Cycle Route. The small town is particularly well-known for its gloriously colourful “fairy grottoes”. Your route along what is known as the central section of the Saale will soon see you arrive in Jena, a town famed for its university and strong links to the optical industry. As you pass through the so-called “Saale Canyon” you will come across all the charms of shell-bearing limestone hills, flowery steppe and verdant deciduous forest. The Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul – the four-towered symbol of Naumburg – will greet you even when you are still some distance away from the city. A detour to Freyburg will give you an insight into local winegrowing culture.

The cycle path will take you past the cathedral city of Merseburg and Bad Dürrenberg before arriving in Halle, the largest town on the Saale. The town features a wealth of places of interest and a noteworthy range of cultural offerings. Having left Halle, you will then pass through the “Naturpark Unteres Saaletal” and Bernburg before arriving at the confluence of the Elbe and the Saale. You will then follow the mighty flow of the Elbe to arrive at your destination, Magdeburg.

The Saale River Cycle Route has witnessed significant development over the last few years, and is now of excellent quality in terms of both its signage and surface quality. The majority of your route will take you along asphalted paths, agricultural tracks and the occasional quiet country road. The Saalfeld-Magdeburg section also offers families a wide variety of opportunities to make their cycle tour child-friendly. We only recommend the upper section of the Saale to experienced, fit cyclists due to the substantial height differences riders are required to overcome on a daily basis.