Route Limburg Zen-Sational

Bike Paradise Limburg: 3 Countries tour – Limburg – Flanders –The  Walloon   

Bike – Boat – Holiday – Rivercruise with Hotel Yacht Miro

Every day another beautiful historical scenery!!

Beautiful old cities: Maastricht – Liège – Esneux – Kanne – Rekem – Maasmechelen – Maaseik – Thorn – Maastricht.

Individual tour or group Holiday.

With the beautifully restored luxury Hotel – Yacht Mirό you start a wonderful varied Bike- and Boat-Holiday through the Maas Valley – the Valley of the River Ourthe and the four Limburg regions the Haspengouw -  De Hoge Kempen - De Oude Mijnstreek and the Maasland.
Limburg is an ultimate biking and  Walking paradise with more than 2.000 kilometres of car-free of superior quality bicycle tracks, with excellent signposts and with an outstanding gastronomy. It is famous for its numerous Limburg and Belgian types of beer.

The tour starts in Maastricht, the cultural capital of Limburg, very close to the Congress centre, where the European treaties of Maastricht have been made.

 ‘In Maastricht Italy begins’, is what people in  Limburg say, ‘because here the sun shines twice as much as in the rest of the Low Countries’. As far as monuments are concerned, Maastricht is second to one and it is the most southern city in the Netherlands. Without a shadow of a doubt it is the most Burgundian city in the Euregion with a beautiful old city centre, with great folklore, cosy outdoor cafés and many museums.

Our Bike-Boat-Holiday leads us through splendid old cities and villages, through wonderfully varied sceneries. Like the Valley of the River Ourthe, the Haspengouw, the Limburg Hoge Kempen, the Old Mijnstreek and the Border Maasland. The biking is done on adventurous, flat and slightly rolling first class and almost completely car-free bicycle tracks and on excellently signposted bike and walking routes. And all this in a wonderful and beautiful historical Limburg scenery and bedded in between the Netherlands, Germany and France.

During a wonderful sailing trip through the beautiful Maas valley you discover Visé, Monsin and the historical city of Liège, the fiery city which is also called ‘Little Paris on the Meuse’. A city full of history, parcs and museums, with an impressive industrial heritage, many folkloristic festivals and the world- famous Sunday-market La Batte.

Through the romantic (and French speaking) valley of the Ourthe the bike tour leads you further to the small towns of Tillf and Esneux, famous for its monastery-beer, cheese and other delicacies.

We continue our holiday by sailing to Kanne in Flanders with its impressive Castle Neerkanne, which was built in Louis XIV-style, and with its famous Fortress Eben Emael with its rich history. It is also absolutely worth the effort to visit the nearby marl caves.

Biking through the Haspengouw, the fruit garden of Belgium, we pay a visit to the impressive and beauti-fully restored Castle Alden Bieze. After this we continue our tour to the small town of Rekem, that is located at the border on the junction of the Hoge Kempen and Maasland. We ride through the National park Hoge Kempen and through a wonderful natural wood- and heather landscape with endless panoramic views and populated by roes , deer’s  and wild boars.

Then we arrive at the former little mining town Maasmechelen. With its beautiful garden villages and the delightful  Maasmechelen Village it is perfect for a splendid shopping tour.

The tour is continued by boat across the small picturesque canals. It follows the route to the North East through Born and Berg to the old town of Maaseik, famous for its Belgian beer, its Belgian chocolate and outstanding Belgian gastronomy. Here you are treated to very picturesque panoramic views, with beautiful old farmhouses on the splendidly overgrown river banks.

On our way to the medieval white town of Thorn we pass through many sights, that are absolutely worth a visit.

The museum town of Thorn offers you an unprecedented historical perspective. In the old centre of the fortress your attention is immediately attracted by the old cathedral. For hundreds of years the old monastery city of  Thorn has been an independent mini-state with an own currency and a small army. It was inhabited by the daughters of the highest nobility from the whole of Europe. The female sovereign abbot had a permanant seat in the German ‘Reichstag’.

On our way to Born we sail across the beautiful Maas lakes and through the gorgeous Lake District in Limburg. We continue our tour by bike and we return to the historical city of Maastricht through the wonderful natural scenery of Limburg.

During this wonderful holiday the Salon Yacht Miró is your luxury hotel that accompanies you and provides you with a comfortable home, so that you do not have to pack your suitcases every day.

Without any problem whatsoever you enjoy your ride by bike or your walk, until you meet the boat again at the agreed time. Of course you can skip a day of biking if you want to. Maybe you prefer to sleep late, to enjoy a sailing trip on the boat, reading a good book. Or maybe you prefer to have a lazy day in a comfortable chair on deck. This is the real holiday feeling: just do what you like! And of course there is plenty of time for a walk, to visit a museum or to have a pleasant razzle in the city.

 On board there are excellent Bike & Walk maps and route descriptions available.

But of course, the best tips are given by the skipper, who knows the many routes like the back of his hand.
Besides he knows where you can find the most interesting sights and the best restaurants. On board there is a well provided bar with a beer tap that you can operate yourself.

Nursing

In the morning you enjoy a well prepared delicious Captains breakfast with all food that you can expect.
At the breakfast table you can put together the packed lunch for the afternoon.

Dinner is according to the best Belgian and Limburg traditions. It contains typical courses from the Limburg region. You have the choice to have dinner either on board or in the restaurants in the city.

Biking

First Class Aluminium lightweight new bikes of illustrious brands. Gazelle Chamonix with 8 gears, springy fore fork and saddle, roller breaks, extra low getting on, pedal less adjustable handlebars and a comfor-table gellsaddle. Complete with 2 large saddlebags, bicycle computer, bicycle helmet, anti-flat tires, a safety vest, a rain poncho and of course a little saddlebag with small repair materials.


Electro Bikes

It is possible to rent an Electrobike. Not a heavy vehicle, but a First Class Gazelle tour bike with an extra low getting on. 8 gears etc. with an electrical pedal support, a very simple operation. Just pedalling lightly and the electric motor in the front Wheel does the rest for you automatically. This great invention enables you to ride against a headwind and to climb any mountain or bridge very easily. The stored extra energy enables you to make biking tours of some 65 km per day without any problem! Loading the batteries is done automatically on board of the Mirό.

Data of the tour

Total length of the bike tour is ca. 180 km  . Total length of the boat tour ca. 175 km. Almost everywhere you ride on flat and in some cases lightly rolling bicycle tracks and local roads. Longer and shorter bike routes are surely possible.
Degree of difficulty I & 2. beautiful bike routes across the excellently signposted Bike route Intersections Network Limburg.
As far as quality is concerned, this is the best Bike route Network in Europe!

Also for (Nordic) Walkers there are many beautiful routes and possibilities with a lot of interesting field trips! (alternative: excursions).
 

In this tour is included: