Going northwards on the left bank of the Rhine, the route passes through Speyer. That town's famous cathedral, one of the most important Romanesque buildings and a UNESCO World Heritage site, provides a charming reason for an extended break. Beyond the town of Worms, famous for the saga of the Nibelungs, the cyclist has two choices: either riding through the lovely vineyards further inland or staying close to the romantic river. In Mainz, the home of Johannes Gutenberg, the Gutenberg Museum, the cathedral and the picturesque old quarter are all good reasons to break your journey for a while.

The most famous stretch along the route is the section between Bingen and Koblenz, known as the romantic Upper Middle Rhine (a UNESCO World heritage region). Around 40 castles and palaces line the gorge that the river has carved into the Rhenish Slate Mountains. To the west of the Rhine, small medieval towns like Bacharach and Oberwesel are great places to stop for refreshments and for a stroll through their historical lanes and alleys. It's not far now to the narrowest point of the Rhine valley where the legendary Loreley rock is situated. At the Deutsches Eck (German Corner) in Koblenz the Rhine is joined by the Moselle. On the last section of the route the ARP Museum in Remagen provides some more high-calibre art.