The Saarland surprises visitors with its extraordinary cultural diversity and is one of Germany’s top regions for cuisine. Saarland cuisine reflects its eventful history – shaped by French and German influences that blend to create a unique culinary culture. The perfect setting for a short break.
Cultural and culinary highlights
A cultural highlight is the Völklinger Hütte – the world’s only surviving ironworks from the heyday of the steel industry and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Where chimneys once belched smoke, the site now offers a wide range of attractions, from high-calibre exhibitions and contemporary art to concerts. Those wishing to delve into the past can climb the Celtic ring wall at Otzenhausen in the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park, visit the Roman Villa Borg in Perl, or explore the historical sites in the Bliesbruck-Reinheim Cultural Park. In between, it’s worth taking a culinary break – whether it’s hearty regional fare or French-inspired cuisine.
A landscape brimming with natural wonders
The Saarland also captivates visitors with its natural landscape. In the Bliesgau UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the south, rare animal and plant species find a protected haven, whilst in the north the Saar Loop – nestled within the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park – delights visitors with its spectacular panorama. In the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park, history, culture and unspoilt nature come together to create a unique experience.
Saarland: a cycling stronghold
The cycling scene in the Saarland also has a long tradition – not least due to its proximity to, and at times its affiliation with, the cycling culture of its French neighbours. The Tour de France has visited the Saarland on several occasions, with the state capital, Saarbrücken, hosting a stage in 2002. Cycling in the Saarland is correspondingly vibrant within clubs and groups. The Trofeo Saarland is regarded as the most important international cycle race for young cyclists.
The ‘Saarland Pig’
Exciting new cycling ideas are also coming from the community – for example, the ‘Saarlandschwein’: This road cycling tour open to all, launched by the Überherrn Cycling Club, covers around 300 kilometres along the Saarland border, climbing a total of 3,600 metres in elevation. The best cyclists to complete the Saarland loop can then have their names immortalised in the Hall of Fame on a website. Once a year, you can also take part in the big Saarlandschwein Ride-Out alongside like-minded cyclists.
Saarland Gravel Bike Tour
The new Gravelbike Saarland Tour is now taking up a similar idea for the still fledgling, rapidly growing gravel bike community: The route covers around 375 kilometres and around 6,800 metres of elevation gain as it circles the federal state, but doesn’t pay much heed to the surface; instead, it takes in countless sights, natural beauty spots and attractive cycle routes along the way, whether they run along the tarmac of well-maintained cycle paths, secluded country roads or gravel tracks. You can join the route anywhere, but the Franco-German Garden in the state capital, Saarbrücken, makes for a lovely starting and finishing point, for example.
Tour Information for Saarland
The Saarland is ideal for road cycling and gravel bike tours; the low mountain range landscape is exceptionally wooded and, alongside the best-known rivers such as the Saar, Moselle and Blies, is criss-crossed by many other rivers; although the highest peaks, such as the Dollberg and the Schimmelkopf, are only just under 700 metres high, you can still clock up plenty of elevation gain as you constantly ascend and descend between valleys and hilltops.
Selected tour suggestions:
https://www.quaeldich.de/regionen/saarland/paesse/
and also on the Komoot route-planning platform.
Saarland Gravel Bike Tour
The long route, covering 375 kilometres, can be split up as you wish. Here is a suggestion for a four-day tour with tips on where to stay:
Stage 1: Saarbrücken – Siersburg
approx. 80 km; overnight stay: Siersburg campsite
Stage 2: Siersburg – the Saar Loop
approx. 70 km; overnight stay: Saarschleifenlodge
Stage 3: Saarschleife – Nonnweiler
approx. 55 km; overnight stay: ‘Keltenlager’ trekking camp or Landhaus Spanier
Stage 4: Celtic Camp – Lake Bostal
45 km: Overnight stay: Victor’s Seehotel Weingärtner
From Bostalsee or Türkismühle, there is a rail link and the option of returning by train.
Cycling events in the Saarland
- Saarvertikal
- Überherrn Gravel Fondo/
- Saarland pig
- Saarschleife Cycle Marathon
- Bexbach MTB Tour
- Losheim Summit Climbers CTF
- Panoramic tour of the biosphere—
- Reserve, St. Ingbert
- Freisen’s Green Hell, CTF
- Saarland Trophy
All dates and details: sportholiday.saarland
Thomas Musch
Publisher