Cycling tours that follow the course of a river are not only visually spectacular, they also provide an evocative soundtrack to your experience. All the wonderful dykes and meadowbanks that you traverse seem all the more beautiful with the sound of water flowing in the background.

When the gentle murmur swells into a powerful roar or a ship's horn blasts through the air, you could almost be a skipper on the water, steering the course.

Routes along the Elbe, Weser, Oder, Rhine and Moselle rivers are especially popular. One reason for this is the predominance of flat sections along the water that are suitable for cyclists of all abilities. If you follow one of these major rivers through the country on a multi-day tour, you can see how it changes constantly in parallel with the landscape. The Weser-Radweg (Weser Route), for example, starts off with gently rolling hills but quickly moves on to rich fenland and moors. In contrast, the Elberadweg (Elbe Route) begins near the mudflats by the river's estuary and reaches its highpoint in the breathtaking rock formations of the Elbe sandstone massif. The Main-Radweg (Main Route), meanwhile, snakes its way through vineyards and woodland and leads you to one picture-postcard town after another - a recurring theme in Germany's riverside scenery.