The Venn bahn, cycling pleasure without limits

You might not think so, but a bike ride over the high peaks of the Belgian and Luxembourg Ardennes and the Eifel is really not just for die-hards. The Vennbahn, a former railway route, opens up this beautiful area for the average cyclist.

Family-friendly tour
The Vennbahn once formed the artery between the coal regions around Aachen and the smelters in Lorraine and Luxembourg. Many freight trains ran here between 1889 and 1980. After that the sleepers and rails disappeared, but not the transport. From 1990, the railway started its tourism career. The Vennbahn is about 125 kilometers and has an average slope of 2%. On some short stretches the slope is 3 to 10%. Thanks to the small gradient, the tour is family-friendly.

Wonderful anecdotes
You will also find wonderful stories and anecdotes about the history of this border region. Of course you can also enjoy a fascinating present, because you will be visiting three countries: Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. A route with historic places such as Aachen and Monschau, but also with impressive landscapes such as the High Fens. The Vennbahn is signposted in both directions. You can divide it into stages to make the most of all the tourist sites. For all practical information and border stories, visit www.vennbahn.eu .

Smuggling
A border region always guarantees smuggling stories. Likewise here. Between 1948 and 1953, for example, about 1,000 tons of coffee was smuggled from Belgium to Germany, where the black gold was three times as expensive. A real race ensued between the smugglers and the customs authorities. For example, smugglers used discarded armored cars from the Belgian army to drive smoothly over the bushes and hedges. Customs also armed themselves, in James Bond style. They had two fast Porsches equipped with folding steel brushes to sweep the crow's feet strewn by smugglers off the road. The romance, by the way, was far to be found. Given the post-war scarcity, smuggling was the only way for many to make a living.