Why this ride
From Krefeld it runs 178 km to Krefeld; allow about 3 h 03 of riding. On the way it passes Neuss-Koenenlager, Dormagen, Cologne Cathedral and Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Krefeld-Gellep and Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 178 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 03
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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
Dormagen → Cologne Cathedral
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 25 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 25 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Krefeld-Gellep
Most people pass Krefeld-Gellep without a second thought, because the view is dominated by the harbour of Uerdingen, chemical works and Rhine barges. Yet this is one of the most important Roman and early medieval sites on the Lower Rhine. The Roman fort here was called Gelduba, and it belongs to the Lower German Limes, the frontier along the river that UNESCO recognised in 2021. Tacitus mentions Gelduba in his account of the Batavian revolt of 69 and 70 AD, when legions and rebels fought around the camp, and archaeologists have found traces of that violence in the ground.
Read the complete Krefeld-Gellep write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Krefeld-Gellep is where the day begins. Next is Neuss-Koenenlager.
2. Neuss-Koenenlager
On the southern edge of Neuss, in a residential area near the Rhine, lies one of the most important Roman military sites in Germany, though you would hardly know it from the surface. This was Novaesium, a legionary fortress that housed thousands of soldiers for much of the first century, and it is known as the Koenenlager after Constantin Koenen, the local archaeologist who excavated it systematically in the late nineteenth century. His work revealed the layout of an entire legionary camp, with headquarters, barracks, granaries and a hospital, and it became a model for Roman military archaeology. The site is part of the Lower German Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021.
Read the complete Neuss-Koenenlager write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Neuss-Koenenlager comes up 21 km in. Next is Dormagen.
3. Dormagen
Dormagen is not the sort of place that ends up on postcards, and it does not try to be. It is a working town of some sixty thousand on the left bank of the Rhine between Cologne and Düsseldorf, dominated on its northern side by a huge chemical park whose pipes and stacks glow at night. Yet the name itself comes from Roman times: Durnomagus was a fort on the Lower German Limes, the Rhine frontier that UNESCO listed in 2021, and a cavalry unit was stationed here to patrol the river and the road along it.
Read the complete Dormagen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
42 km in you reach Dormagen. Next is Cologne Cathedral.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at.
5. 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 sits at 84 km, about halfway. Next is back through Cologne Cathedral.
6. back through 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 through Cologne Cathedral comes up 104 km in. Next is back through Dormagen.
7. back through Dormagen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dormagen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
125 km in you reach back through Dormagen. Next is back through Neuss-Koenenlager.
8. back through Neuss-Koenenlager
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Neuss-Koenenlager write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Neuss-Koenenlager, late in the day. Next is Krefeld-Gellep.
9. Krefeld-Gellep
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Krefeld-Gellep write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 178 km.
Leg by leg
Krefeld-Gellep to Neuss-Koenenlager
Krefeld-Gellep → Neuss-Koenenlager is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Neuss-Koenenlager to Dormagen
Neuss-Koenenlager → Dormagen is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dormagen to Cologne Cathedral
Dormagen → Cologne Cathedral is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cologne Cathedral to Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at
Cologne Cathedral → Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at to back through Cologne Cathedral
Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at → back through Cologne Cathedral is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cologne Cathedral to back through Dormagen
back through Cologne Cathedral → back through Dormagen is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dormagen to back through Neuss-Koenenlager
back through Dormagen → back through Neuss-Koenenlager is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Neuss-Koenenlager to Krefeld-Gellep
back through Neuss-Koenenlager → Krefeld-Gellep is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.