Why this ride
78 km from Altstadt Nord to Altstadt Nord, about 1 h 49 of riding. The stops in between: Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at, Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 and back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cologne Cathedral and Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 78 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 49
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Cologne Cathedral → Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 18 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 17 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cologne Cathedral
Six hundred and thirty-two years. That is how long it took to finish Cologne Cathedral, from the laying of the foundation stone in 1248 to the completion of the spires in 1880, and when you stand at its foot by the main station it feels as though the building is still growing. The twin towers climb to around 157 metres, black with soot and weather, and for a few years after completion they made it the tallest building in the world.
Read the complete Cologne Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cologne Cathedral is where the day begins. Next is Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at.
2. Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
Clemens August of Bavaria, prince-elector and archbishop of Cologne in the eighteenth century, loved two things above all: hunting with falcons and building in the latest style. At Brühl, just south of Cologne, he created two of the finest rococo buildings in Germany. Augustusburg Palace, his summer residence, has a staircase designed by Balthasar Neumann that is one of the masterpieces of the period, a whirl of marble, stucco and frescoes, and a formal French garden that stretches toward the forest. Falkenlust, a smaller hunting lodge at the end of a long avenue, was built for falconry, with a delightful interior decorated with tiles and lacquerwork. The two castles were listed by UNESCO in 1984.
Read the complete Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at comes up about 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5.
3. Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5
Between Bonn and the Eifel lies the Kottenforst, a broad, flat forest of oak, beech and hornbeam on the plateau of the Ville, once a hunting ground of the Electors of Cologne, who laid out long straight rides through the trees for their stag hunts. Hidden in the woods are the faint outlines of Roman camps, earthworks left by soldiers who trained or camped here when Bonn, then called Bonna, was the base of a Roman legion on the Rhine frontier. The site at Domhecken, in the northern part of the forest, is one of the components of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Lower German Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021. Like many such sites, it is subtle, a low bank and ditch among the trees, but it adds a layer of history to a walk or a ride through the forest.
Read the complete Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 40 km into the recorded legs you reach Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5. Next is back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at.
4. back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at, late in the day. Next is Cologne Cathedral.
5. Cologne Cathedral
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cologne Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Cologne Cathedral. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Cologne Cathedral to Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
Cologne Cathedral → Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at to Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5
Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at → Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 to back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 5 → back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at to Cologne Cathedral
back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at → Cologne Cathedral is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.