Rhinau: Discover the Rhine floodplains and cultural heritage

Rhinau combines nature experiences in the Réserve Naturelle Nationale de l’île de Rhinau with cycling activities and historic buildings. A weekly market adds to the town’s character. If you are planning a trip to Rhinau, these different themes can help shape your choice: Would you like to focus mainly on the Rhine floodplain landscape, take a digital tour or discover historic landmarks? The places and activities below offer specific ideas, without any one theme defining the destination’s character.

Nature, digital tours and cycling routes

The Réserve Naturelle Nationale de l’île de Rhinau encompasses alluvial forests, wet meadows, reed beds, ponds and waterways. These habitats are home to exceptional biological diversity. Forests, wetlands and bodies of water are all defining features of the natural surroundings.

On a guided visit, visitors can explore a Rhine floodplain forest that can still be inundated by flooding from the Rhine. If you would like to include this tour in your travel plans, check dates and availability in advance.

Another way to explore the nature reserve is the digital treasure hunt Les trésors du Rhin – A pied dans l’île du Rhinau. It takes visitors to 25 points of interest and guides participants through the Rhine floodplain forest using geolocation. As it may operate seasonally, check before your trip whether it is available on your chosen date.

There are several routes to choose from for a two-wheeled outing. The digital cycling tour Les trésors du Rhin – à vélo dans l’île de Rhinau includes the 20-kilometre Petit Foxy loop, which takes two hours. The 35-kilometre Circuit vélo Au fil de l’eau et des villages starts in Rhinau and follows the Brunnwasser to Daubensand. The two options therefore differ in both length and route format: a loop with a stated duration, compared with a route from Rhinau to Daubensand.

Historic buildings and their stories

The Colonne de la Vierge is a tall sandstone column on a pedestal. Its structure includes two reliefs and two inscriptions, and it is topped by a gilded cast-iron statue of the Virgin Mary. The Rhinau parish erected the column in 1862, after the Rhine flooded heavily in 1861. It has stood at its present location near the ferry since 1971. These dates link its origins to its later move to its current site.

The Eglise St Michel also reflects different periods in the town’s history. After suffering severe damage during the 1944 bombings, the church was rebuilt from 1955 to 1959. To the right of the present church building is the choir of the former church, made of pink sandstone and consecrated in 1540. The dates highlight the difference in time between the historic choir and the church’s reconstruction.

Terroir market on Saturday mornings

The Rhinau terroir market takes place weekly on Saturday mornings. Around fifteen traders and producers bring together wine, honey and garlic. There is also a butcher, a mobile bookshop, a soap maker and activities for children. The range of products and accompanying activities may change, so bear this in mind when planning. The market, nature and historic buildings offer different focal points for a stay in Rhinau, giving you specific themes around which to plan your trip.

Discover more destinations: Traenheim, Reichshoffen, Ranrupt, Entzheim, Hinsbourg, Saales, La Petite-Pierre, Heidolsheim.

For the broader travel overview: Bas-Rhin.