Rhine Route
Overview
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Distance 64 km
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Ascent 280 m
Intro
The Bodensee: the soul of Europe. The area around the shimmering silver-green «Swabian sea» is an ancient cultural landscape. Despite its lively lakeside scene, Thurgau remains a serene slice of countryside with castles and extensive orchards.
Description
On Lake Constance you feel like you have wings, but what you will have for sure is a tan. E-bike rentals are easy and available in many places. You’ll pedal effortlessly along the lake enjoying lots of sunshine. But not all is perfect on the bike path: you just passed a section closely following the water, and without warning a bypass takes you away, if only for a short while. Away from the paradise you imagined yourself in when you cruised through Europe’s largest freshwater delta.
Despite its channels, the Alpine Rhine is often considered to be a «wild torrent». Enormous quantities of sediments are constantly changing the area of the river mouth. This is how approximately two or three hectares of new land have been created every year for thousands of years. With lowland forests, wetland meadows and reeds the Rhine delta offers valuable living space to a wide variety of plants. Due to its ecological significance it is a wetland of international importance – and a fantastic section of this route for both walkers and bikers! The Saurer Museum in Arbon is also important, at least regionally. It is a delight for fans of vintage cars and for those interested in textile and embroidery machines of the first generation. The town began to boom in the 17th century with the production of linen. From the middle of the 19th century on, the Saurer factory’s positive impact on the local economy was significant, but the production of motors and embroidery machines was discontinued in 1987– a bitter end for the town on the Rhine.
Water, beaches, harbours, campgrounds, colourful flowers, ruddy shelducks, cormorants, laughing gulls, kingfishers, dunlins, sandpipers, and lots and lots of fruit – this is what you will find along the lake here, and sometimes even beautiful sunrises or sunsets. When the weekend is nice or during the summer holidays, there are plenty of visitors from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and elsewhere. And there is good reason: Nothing could be more pleasant than to pass through all the pretty towns in the Thurgau region, such as Egnach, Romanshorn, Uttwil, Kesswil, Güttingen, Münsterlingen and Kreuzlingen, the largest Swiss town on Lake Constance. The heart of Seeburgpark, the largest public nature park on Lake Constance, is Seeburg Castle, which has been under federal preservation protection since it was renovated in the 1980s. The castle is over 400 years old and currently houses a restaurant, a ballroom for events and offices of the University of Constance. Kreuzlingen and the neighbouring German town work closely on many community and technical projects.
An enjoyable tour includes the careful planning of the same. Please inform yourself in advance at the local information center about the route and weather conditions. Depending on the season and weather conditions, this route may be blocked or interrupted
| Start location |
St. Margrethen
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|---|---|
| Direction |
One way
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| Ascent |
280 m
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| Descent |
280 m
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| Distance |
64 km
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| Distance on tarred ways |
59 km
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| Distance on natural surface |
5 km
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| Physical requirements |
Difficult
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| Theme |
Along Water
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| More information | https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/veloland/etappe2.05... |
Quick Facts
Route number
