The Moselle is four hours from Calais, there are no tolls, and this is the one page where our generator already works end to end.
Germany is the most underrated short break on the continent for British drivers: four hours from Calais you are among vineyards, river bends and more castles per mile than anywhere in Europe, and the autobahns are free. Better still, our map already covers this entire corridor, so the generator below draws you a real back-road route right now, all the way to your destination.
From Calais it is about 250 miles (400 km) to Cochem on the Moselle, a comfortable 4 hours via Brussels and Liège, and much the same to Monschau in the Eifel or Boppard on the Rhine. There are no tolls or vignettes for cars. The trick: leave the motorway at the border country and let the B-roads along the rivers become the destination.
Pick a destination, enter your continental starting point (Calais works perfectly) and Touren.app draws the scenic route there immediately, on back roads instead of motorway. This is exactly what Switzerland, Italy and Austria will get next.
Free, no account. Open the route on our map, in Google Maps, or as GPX.
Bavaria, the deep Black Forest and the Alpine rim are not on our map yet. Leave your email address and we will send you exactly one message when you can generate routes there too.
Noted. You will get one message when southern Germany is on the map.
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Three rivers, three characters, all toll-free and all already fully covered by our map.
Via Brussels and Aachen you reach Monschau in about three and a half hours: half-timbered lanes, high moorland and crater lakes beyond. This is the corridor for a long weekend; our Eifel drives start practically at the Belgian border.
A quick motorway run to the Koblenz area, then every riverside kilometre earns its keep: Burg Eltz around the corner, the Bremm loop, vine terraces mirrored in the water. You are driving to one long viewpoint.
Between Koblenz and Bingen lies Europe’s densest string of castles along one river, with the Lorelei as the hinge. The B9 and the little car ferries make the journey itself the route; loop back over the Moselle for the full weekend.
No detours required: all four sit on or right beside the corridors.
A half-timbered town folded into a valley that looks too narrow for it. Park at the top and walk down; the castle gives the best overview. The natural first stop of any Eifel weekend.
The fairytale castle that was never destroyed, in the same family for 850 years. The woodland walk from the car park is part of the experience; go early, the photo spot is no secret.
The Moselle’s little capital, its castle high above the vines: base yourself here for our Moselle loops and the Bremm bend, and taste the riesling you have been driving past.
The Rhine’s most famous rock, with the plateau overlooking the bend where river, railway and barges squeeze together. Take the little ferry across; it has been the best hundred metres of the trip for generations.
Off a Friday crossing you can dine in Cochem or Boppard the same evening. Two nights give you a full river day plus a castle morning; the Eifel even works as an ambitious day-trip-and-overnight.
Driving on to Switzerland, Austria or Italy? Break the boring first day at the Moselle or Rhine and rejoin the A61 next morning: the holiday starts a day early and costs no extra miles worth mentioning.
German motorways are free for cars. Only for city low-emission zones (Cologne, Bonn and dozens more) do you need the green Umweltplakette, a few euros online or at inspection stations; the river corridors themselves need nothing.
Autobahn services charge a premium: fill up in towns. Keep a little cash for the small Rhine and Moselle ferries and the odd village car park; most other things take cards happily.
Where there is no limit, 130 km/h is the advisory speed, and lane discipline is taken seriously: keep right, overtake left, and expect very fast traffic in the left lane. On the river B-roads 70 to 100 is the rhythm, which is exactly the point.
From late August into October the Moselle villages take turns hosting wine festivals: wonderful to catch, busier to book. Reserve ahead in those weeks or use the quiet Eifel next door.
About 250 miles to Cochem, a comfortable 4 hours via Brussels and Liège. The Eifel at Monschau is closer still at around 210 miles, which makes even a long weekend realistic.
No, motorways are free for cars and motorhomes up to 3.5 tonnes. The only paperwork worth knowing is the green city sticker if you plan to drive into a larger city.
Yes, this corridor is fully on our map: pick Cochem, Monschau or Boppard above, enter your continental start, and you get a scenic back-road route immediately, exportable to Google Maps or GPX.
For a first visit: the Moselle, it is the most complete package of road, wine and castles. Choose the Eifel for quiet green driving, the Rhine for castle density and the ferries.
Arguably Europe’s best: Stellplätze everywhere, often right on the rivers for a few euros. Mind your mirrors in narrow wine villages and check heights at old town gates.
May and June for fresh green and quiet roads; September and early October for the harvest and golden slopes. July and August are fine but busy; festival weeks need booking ahead.