Why this ride
78 km from Alfter to Alfter, about 2 h 00 of riding. It goes by way of Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at, Köln-Praetorium and back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2 and Köln-Praetorium
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 78 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 00
- 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
Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2 → Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlus
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 17 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 26 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2
The Kottenforst sits on a terrace between the Rhine plain and the hills of the Vorgebirge, and its northern edge comes right up against the settlements of Alfter, Bornheim and Bonn. The ground here is clay and loess, wet in winter and hard in summer, and it has made good soil for farming around the woods. The pattern, though, of woodland surrounded by old hedgerows and farm tracks, is typical of the Rhineland.
Read the complete Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2 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 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Köln-Praetorium.
3. Köln-Praetorium
Under Cologne's town hall there is a Roman palace, and you can walk through it. The Praetorium was the residence of the governor of the province of Lower Germany, a large building complex on the edge of the Rhine that dates from the first century and grew over the next few hundred years. The city, called Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, was founded in the first century AD and named for Agrippina, the mother of the emperor Nero, who was born in a camp nearby. The remains of the palace were found during rebuilding after the Second World War, and the cellars and corridors are now open as an archaeological site.
Read the complete Köln-Praetorium write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 42 km into the recorded legs you reach Köln-Praetorium. 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 Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2.
5. Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2 to Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2 → Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at to Köln-Praetorium
Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at → Köln-Praetorium is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Köln-Praetorium to back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
Köln-Praetorium → back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at to Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2
back through Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at → Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 2 is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.