European Castles self guided motorcycle holiday

Today you’ll visit your first château on this tour. Château de Bligny is located only a short ride from your hotel. This magnificent property was built by the Marquis de Dampierre. You can visit the house, which, along with its land, has a great historical, architectural and wine-making heritage. Each guided tour includes a presentation as well as a Champagne tasting session.

You can also buy a bottle or two if you can spare some space in your top box. Please note the château offers guided tours only. Tours in French and English (admission charge) at 11.00 am – 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm. Therefore please check the time table and availability in advance.

If you wish to extend your day ride, then you can continue to Troyes. It is the ancient capital of the Champagne region, famous for its vineyards and fine champagne. With its narrow, cobbled streets and medieval half-timbered buildings, it is a picturesque town with a traditional French atmosphere.

Today you will continue with the European castles self-guided motorcycle-tour and head towards Interlaken in Switzerland. You’ll ride through the French countryside along some beautiful highways and byways. As you approach the Doubs Nature Park, you can stop for lunch in Goumois. It is a small border town on the river Doubs. The restaurant has a lovely terrace overlooking the river and the bridge over it.

Continuing your ride through the rolling hills, green pastures, dense forests and eventually mountains, you’ll arrive at your comfortable hotel in Interlaken. It is a fantastic base for seeing some of the best of Switzerland’s magnificent scenery while enjoying the comforts of a modern and yet traditional lakeside town.

You’ll be surrounded by tourist attractions and spoiled for choice. There are countless boat tours on Lakes Thun and Brienz. You can also opt for some thrilling train journeys and funicular rides to the spectacular surrounding mountain peaks.

Today the choice is yours. You might opt to follow our suggested itinerary and visit the magnificent Oberhofen Castle. Or you are free to create your own agenda.

Dating from the fifteenth century, Oberhofen Castle is one of the most beautiful castles in the Alpine region. It is furnished with period antique furniture, personal artefacts and carpets. It is also decorated with the most impressive paintings and murals. The castle is set in one of the most magnificent gardens in Europe.

To extend your day trip, you can continue your ride around the lake Thun and head towards Lauterbrunnen. Here you can visit Trümmelbach waterfalls that tumble and cascade down inside the mountain.

Another option here is to take a cable car to Schilthorn – featured in the James Bond movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret”. It overlooks the entire valley and offers the most stunning views of the three highest peaks – Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. It is also a great place to have lunch at the famous Piz Gloria revolving restaurant.

From Switzerland, the European castles self-guided motorcycle-tour continues. Your day will start with a bit of a challenge. You’ll ride the famous Grimsel and Furka pass. Both passes are phenomenal feats of road engineering and offer stunning views of the Rhone Glacier.

Furka pass provides a unique opportunity to explore the glacier up close. The hundred-ish meter long tunnel will take you inside the mountain of blue ice. If you remember, when you get to Furka pass, have a look downhill over the car park barrier. There is a colony of jolly marmots forever disciplining the youngsters or sorting out their family disputes.

Continuing, you’ll eventually cross into Austria. And from here, via the beautiful Lechtal valley, you’ll arrive at your hotel in Bavaria. Your hotel is located only a short distance from the town centre. During your stay here, feel free to explore some of its many shops, bars and restaurants.

Today is about the halfway point of your European castles self-guided motorcycle-tour. You’ll have a choice of three magnificent castles to visit. They are all different in terms of structure, style and decoration, as well as the stories behind them.

Neuschwanstein Castle was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, also known as the “Fairytale King”. Due to its spiralling cost, the project nearly bankrupted the country, and the castle still has not been completed.

Hohenschwangau Castle is just next door. It was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and was built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria. The royal apartments, the gardens, and the castle’s kitchen have been preserved and are open to visitors.
There is a dedicated motorcycle parking space near the castle. But the visit involves quite a bit of walking, especially if you decide to visit Marienbrücke (Marien Bridge). It is definitely worth an effort.

Linderhof Palace was modelled on Versailles, and it is the most opulently decorated out of all King’s castles. Surrounding the palace are baroque gardens, terraces and cascades designed in the Italian Renaissance and English Royal style.

According to many of our clients, today’s journey is one of our most understated but enjoyable rides. There is only one short section of motorway. It is just to avoid a bigger town. The rest of the route is a relaxing cruise through the endless countryside, green pastures and thick woodlands.

Today’s ride’s main highlight is that there are no tourist attractions, must-do roads or roller coaster mountain passes. It is just a nice relaxing ride through lovely scenery with plenty of nice coffee breaks.

The mileage is not that great either, so you will have plenty of time to enjoy the ride and stop as often as you wish. On this route, the best places to have lunch are the bakeries. They usually offer a fantastic assortment of midday meals, salads, snacks and drinks.

Before, we thought we’d seen some impressive castles. We live in the UK. There are magnificent castles pretty much everywhere. But when we visited, we realised that Hohenzollern Castle was in another league.

Swabian counts and princes, the kings of Prussia and even the German emperors have their roots here at Hohenzollern Castle. The castle is still privately owned, but most of it is open to the public. So you never know who you might bump into.

While in the Black Forest, you can also visit Lake Titisee, Lake Mummelsee, Triberg and ride the fantastic B500. All attractions mentioned above can be fitted into one day ride. At Lake Titisee, try to park at the train station car park. It is close to the town centre and has allocated motorcycle bays and a changing room with lockers for helmets and surplus biking gear.

The cuckoo clock in Triberg is the biggest in the world. It chimes twice an hour, and each time the call comes from pipes 13 feet long. Lake Mummelsee is the most idyllic lunch place ever.

Another good day of biking is ahead of you on this great European castles self-guided motorcycle-tour. Today you’ll ride some great country roads surrounded by rolling hills, green fields and forests. It is a nice relaxing day that will give you plenty of time to take it easy and enjoy your journey towards Luxembourg.

The initial part of your journey will include a section of the famous B500 – Schwazwaldhochstrasse. This road has perfect tarmac and sweeps through the hilly forested landscape allowing breathtaking views. Lake Mummelsee is one of the most tranquil and beautiful places in the Black Forest. We recommend the restaurant directly on the waterfront offering a wide range of snacks and meals using local produce.

The rest of the journey will be a combination of nice country routes, faster dual carriageways and some motorways. Your hotel in Vianden will welcome you with a comfortable room and a delicious evening meal. It also has a well-visited bear garden.

Vianden Castle is one of the largest and most beautiful residences of the Romanesque and Gothic periods in Europe. The castle is impressively perched on the mountainside high above the town. If you feel energetic, you can walk to the castle or, alternatively, take a ride in a cable car. From the castle, you can enjoy some of the most stunning views of the surrounding countryside. Vianden is a charming little town with quite a few restaurants and beer gardens. It is a fabulous place to explore and relax.

If you prefer to spend your free day riding, then a popular choice is a triangular route to Belgium and back. It will take you to Arlon in Belgium, where you can stop for a drink and a little walkabout.

From there you will continue to Esch-sur-Sûre where you can have lunch by the river. Following more superb scenic biking roads across the countryside, you’ll return to your hotel just in time for the evening meal.

On your last day of the tour, you’ll travel through rolling hills and green pastures of Belgium countryside. At around midday, you’ll join the motorway that will take you to Calais to board your afternoon channel-tunnel crossing.

We hope you had a great European castles self-guided motorcycle-tour with RideWithUs. Until next time.