Lighthouse · 0.8 km off the route
Calais Lighthouse
Lighthouse in Pas-de-Calais, France.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: Ottaviani Serge, Public domainCalais to the Vosges and the Black Forest
Across the old battlefields to Verdun, down to Gerardmer and along the Route des Cretes ridge, over the Rhine for the Feldberg, Triberg and the B500 ridge road to Baden-Baden, then back through northern Alsace and the Ardennes.
- Distance
- 1,016 miles (1,635 km)
- Type
- Loop
- Where
- Vosges and Black Forest
At 150 to 300 miles a day, this is 4 to 7 days of riding. Set your own daily distance and add rest days.
Plotted by us, not yet ridden
Starts at Calais ferry port
Book this tripCrossing Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, P&O Ferries, DFDSBeds from Calais, and each nightCover insurance and breakdownSee it all
Click a dot for details. White dots are the stops, each with a bed search. Yellow dots are places to see.
Main roads
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From the map
- Longest gap between fuel
- 44 miles
- Fuel stations near the line
- 199
- Curvature
- 115 ° a mile
- Campsites within 2 km
- 197
- The longest stretch with no fuel station within 1 km of the line runs from mile 359 to mile 403. Check it against your range with the fuel range calculator.
- The twistiest 20 miles run from mile 380 to mile 400, at 396 degrees of turning a mile.
- Passes: Col d'Hahnenbrunnen (1,186 m, mile 378), Col du Haag (1,233 m, mile 384), Col du Grand Ballon (1,343 m, mile 385), Kreuzweg (1,079 m, mile 434), Feldbergpass (1,231 m, mile 455), Thurnerpass (1,035 m, mile 472), Passhöhe Escheck (1,054 m, mile 485).
- Countries: France.
- 64 motorcycle shops are within 3 km of the line.
- More routes from this port.
Measured on the route line from OpenStreetMap data, which can be missing or out of date. Curvature is degrees of turning a mile, measured every 100 metres. On our routes they run from 6 on the E19 to 701 on the SP638.
Before you go
- Parts of the Vosges ridge close in winter. Check before you go.
- Some Black Forest roads have weekend motorcycle restrictions and frequent speed checks. Look for the signs.
- The line keeps off motorways and toll roads by design.
On the way
- Calais
- Saint-Omer
- Cambrai
- Hirson
- Sedan
- Verdun
- Saint-Mihiel
- Epinal
- Gerardmer
- Col de la Schlucht
- Le Markstein
- Grand Ballon
- Cernay
- Neuenburg am Rhein
- Badenweiler
- Todtnau
- Feldberg
- Titisee
- Furtwangen
- Triberg
- Alexanderschanze
- Ruhestein
- Mummelsee
- Baden-Baden
- Wissembourg
- Bitche
- Bouillon
- Charleville-Mezieres
- Maubeuge
- Valenciennes
- Saint-Omer
- Calais
Split it into days
Pick the miles you like to ride in a day. Each day ends at the named place on the route nearest that distance, and you get a GPX file for each day.
This is your pace, not our estimate of how long the riding takes. Day lengths vary because each day ends at a named place.
Ready to ride it?
Plan it with dates in the tour plannerBook this trip
1Getting there
This route starts where the boat or train lands at Calais. Book the bike as a motorcycle, not a car.
- Eurotunnel Le ShuttleFolkestone to Calais by train, you stay with the bike
- P&O FerriesDover to Calais
- DFDSDover to Calais
- Irish FerriesDover to Calais
2Places to stay
- Find a bed in CalaisWhere the loop starts and ends
Split the route into days above and each day gets its own bed search for where it ends.
Back to the days3Cover
Check your bike insurance covers riding abroad, get travel insurance that covers motorcycling at your engine size, and breakdown cover that recovers a motorcycle in every country on the route.
What to check before you buy coverThe country on this route
What GOV.UK says riders need for it, checked 05/11/2026. Rules change, so read the official page before you go.
France
- Money
- Euro
- Ride on the
- Right
- Riding into central Paris, Lyon, Grenoble or another low emission zone? You need a Crit'Air sticker. Buy it only from the official site (official site)
- Some mountain areas require winter tyres or chains from 1 November to 31 March: check which vehicles and areas it covers (official site)
- The drink-drive limit is a third lower than in England and Wales, with regular roadside checks
- GOV.UK travel adviceSafety, road travel and local laws
- Entry requirementsPassport and visa rules
- Riding in FranceOur routes, passes and fuel gaps there
On every trip abroad: your licence, insurance that covers riding abroad, the V5C and travel insurance with medical cover. The tour planner turns all of this into a checklist each rider in your group can tick off.
Places to see on the way
Castles, passes, viewpoints and more within easy reach of the line, in the order you reach them. Yellow dots on the map.
Museum · 1.0 km off the route
La Coupole
WWII Nazi-built bunker complex in France.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: IGN, Public domain
Museum · 1 km off the route
Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Arras
Musée de France.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 4.0.JPG){kind=link}
Castle · 0.3 km off the route
Château de Sedan
Castle.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: M.Minderhoud, CC BY-SA 3.0
Castle · 0.8 km off the route
Château de Commercy
Château.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: Camster2, cropped by Sir Gawain, CC BY-SA 3.0
Pass · 0.3 km off the route
Col de la Schlucht
Mountain pass.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: Anthospace, CC BY-SA 4.0
Waterfall · On the route
Triberg Waterfalls
Waterfall in Black Forest, Germany.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: Unknown, Public domain
Abbey · On the route
Lichtenthal Abbey
Cistercian monastery in Germany.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: Rainer Lück 1RL.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Monastery · 0.3 km off the route
Orval Abbey
Monastery in Belgium.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: Danielbaise, CC BY-SA 4.0
Castle · On the route
Bouillon Castle
Castle in Wallonia.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: ErikH at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Place details from Wikidata. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each card.
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