Germany is the easiest country in Europe to tour by motorcycle and one of the most underrated for the riding itself. There are no 2,700-metre passes, but there is an exceptional road network, a culture that takes motorcycling seriously, and four distinct riding regions: the Black Forest in the south-west, the Bavarian Alps along the Austrian border, the Mosel and Eifel in the west, and the Harz in the middle. The signature roads are the B500 Schwarzwaldhochstrasse, the 484 km German Alpine Road from Lake Constance to Berchtesgaden, and the Mosel valley. Motorcycles are also exempt from Germany's low emission zone rules, which removes a planning headache that France imposes.
How German riding divides up
The Bavarian Alps along the southern border are the highest ground, and the German Alpine Road links them from Lake Constance to the Königssee. The Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg is the classic weekend region: dense, forested, and criss-crossed with ridge roads. The west, meaning the Mosel valley, the Eifel and the Hunsrück, offers river riding and volcanic plateau. And the Harz in central Germany is a compact mountain block with a high road across the top of it.
What connects all of them is road quality and access. German federal roads — the B-numbered network — are consistently well surfaced, well signposted and maintained through winter. Fuel is everywhere, accommodation is straightforward, and the Autobahn network makes repositioning between regions quick in a way that is simply not true in Italy or France.
Top roads in Germany
| Road | Distance or scale | Character | From / to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deutsche Alpenstrasse | About 484 km (301 miles) | Germany's oldest holiday route, created 1927, lakes and Alpine passes | Lindau to Schönau am Königssee |
| Schwarzwaldhochstrasse (B500) | About 60 km (37 miles) | Ridge road at 800 to over 1,000 m through the northern Black Forest | Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt |
| Mosel valley (B53 / B49) | B53 about 80 km; valley roughly 200 km | Continuous river bends through vineyard villages | Trier to Koblenz |
| Rossfeld Panoramastrasse | 16 km (10 miles), gradients to 13% | Highest continuous road in Germany at 1,570 m, toll road, open year-round | Loop from Berchtesgaden |
| Harzhochstrasse (B242) | About 124 km (77 miles), high point 828 m | Curved high road across the Harz massif | Seesen to Mansfeld |
| Romantische Strasse | 413 km (257 miles) | Historic towns and castles, created 1950, touring rather than riding | Würzburg to Füssen |
Open the German Alpine Road in Google Maps — Lindau to Berchtesgaden via Garmisch, ready to send to your navigation.
The Bavarian Alps
The Deutsche Alpenstrasse runs roughly 484 km west to east from Lake Constance at Lindau to Schönau am Königssee in the Berchtesgaden region. It was created in 1927 from an idea by August Knorz and is Germany's oldest holiday route, with the modern alignment settling into place during the 1930s. It links a chain of lakes — Forggensee, Tegernsee, Schliersee, Königssee among them — and crosses several passes: the Oberjochpass at 1,178 m, the Sudelfeldpass at 1,123 m, the Achenpass at 941 m and the Masererpass at 793 m.
None of those numbers are Alpine in the Italian or French sense, and that is the point. The German Alpine Road is a route you ride for the alternation between lakeside straights, forest switchbacks and pass crossings, with the far bigger Austrian Alps visible the whole way south. It also passes Neuschwanstein, which means the western section carries heavy tourist traffic in summer.
The one genuinely high road in Germany is the Rossfeld Panoramastrasse near Berchtesgaden: 16 km of toll road climbing to 1,570 m with gradients reaching 13 per cent, the highest continuous road in the country. Unlike almost every Alpine road further south, it is open year-round. Tolls are charged at a separate motorcycle rate — check the operator's current tariff rather than budgeting from an old figure.
The Black Forest
The Schwarzwaldhochstrasse is the B500 between Baden-Baden and Freudenstadt, about 60 km of ridge road running between 800 and over 1,000 m above sea level. The first section, between Hundseck and Unterstmatt, was completed in 1930, and the full route became continuously drivable in 1952. Landmarks along it include the Mummelsee, an almost perfectly circular glacial lake, the Hornisgrinde at 1,164 m — the highest peak in the northern Black Forest — and the Ruhestein, where the Black Forest National Park has its administration.
The B500 itself is a fast, flowing ridge road rather than a technical one, and it is popular enough on summer weekends that it can feel crowded. The reward for exploring is that the surrounding network of smaller roads dropping into the Rench, Kinzig and Murg valleys is at least as good and far emptier. Our Black Forest B500 guide covers the route and the side roads.
South of the classic Schwarzwaldhochstrasse, the southern Black Forest around the Feldberg and the Schluchsee carries higher ground and more open landscape, and it sits within easy reach of both the Vosges across the Rhine and the Swiss Jura.
The west, the Mosel and the Eifel
The Mosel valley is the best low-effort riding in Germany. The Moselle runs 546 km in total with 208 km solely within Germany, and between Trier and Koblenz it carves a series of enormous meanders into the slate plateau — the most striking being the Cochemer Krampen between Bremm and Cochem. The B53 covers about 80 km of it from Trier to Alf, with the B49 continuing towards Koblenz. Vineyard villages, castles, and about 200 km of near-continuous curve at moderate speed; the Mosel valley guide covers it in full, including the climbs out of the valley into the Eifel and Hunsrück that make the difference.
The Eifel plateau north of the river is volcanic upland with crater lakes and long, empty roads. It also holds the Nürburgring, whose 20.832 km Nordschleife carries 154 turns and over 300 m of elevation change. Riders should know that the circuit banned motorcycles from its open Touristenfahrten public sessions from the 2025 season, citing the different driving dynamics of two- and four-wheelers, leaving guided training days as the two-wheel route onto the track. As of August 2026 that remains the position and is the subject of an ongoing campaign, so check the circuit's current policy rather than assuming.
The Harz and the centre
The Harz is a compact mountain block in the middle of the country, and the B242 crosses it end to end — about 124 km from Seesen in Lower Saxony to Mansfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, which is why it is known as the Harzhochstrasse. Its high point is 828 m between Dammhaus and Sonnenberg, and it includes the 220-metre Hasselkopf tunnel near Braunlage. Sections between Münchehof and Braunlage are dual carriageway; the mountain sections are properly curved and demand attention.
The Harz has a particular character because the inner German border ran through it until 1989, which left the eastern side thinly developed and the road network on both flanks quieter than its location suggests. It is an easy weekend from Hamburg, Berlin or the Ruhr.
The Romantische Strasse is the other central route worth naming, though honestly it is a sightseeing itinerary rather than a riding road: 413 km from Würzburg to Füssen through Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen and Augsburg, created in 1950 to market postwar Germany to holidaymakers. It works as a link between the Franconian north and the Alps, not as a destination in itself.
The rules that shape a German trip
Low emission zones. German Umweltzonen require an emissions sticker for four-wheeled vehicles, but motorcycles, scooters and most trikes and quads classified as motorcycles are exempt from the requirement, as of August 2026. That means you can ride into German city centres without paperwork — a genuine simplification compared with France, where the equivalent ZFE rules do apply to two-wheelers.
Speed and enforcement. Sections of the Autobahn network carry no general speed limit, but limits apply widely on and around it and are enforced with fixed and mobile cameras. On federal and rural roads, limits are strict and enforcement is routine. Germany is not a country in which to gamble on tolerances.
Noise restrictions. Some popular motorcycling roads in the Alps, the Black Forest and the Eifel carry restrictions aimed specifically at motorcycles — weekend closures, noise limits or blanket bans on certain routes. These are signposted and enforced. Read the signs at the start of a road rather than assuming a route on the map is open to you.
Tolls. The Autobahn network is free for motorcycles. The exceptions are individual toll roads such as the Rossfeld Panoramastrasse and a few Alpine tunnels. If your route crosses into Austria or Switzerland, both use vignette systems that do apply to motorcycles.
Season. The Alpine and Black Forest high roads are best from May to October. The Mosel valley and the Rhine are rideable most of the year thanks to low altitude and shelter. Winter riding in Germany is entirely normal at low elevation, and roads are salted and cleared.
Gear notes for riding in Germany
Germany's navigation challenge is not finding the road, it is choosing between the many equally good ones. The B-road network is dense and signposted well enough that you rarely get lost, but the difference between a good German riding day and a dull one is entirely down to whether you planned the interesting route or followed the obvious one. Building the day as a waypoint route in advance is the whole game — our route planning guide covers doing it properly, and the navigation setup guide covers getting it onto the bike with offline maps for the Eifel and Harz forest stretches where coverage thins. A permanent riding system display is far easier to read at Autobahn speeds than a phone screen, and if you are still using a handlebar clamp, the risks of phone-mount navigation are worth understanding before a fast transfer stage.
The other German specific is speed. Sustained high-speed running on unrestricted Autobahn sections puts more heat and load through tires than any other riding in this guide, and pressure matters more as a result. A TPMS sensor gives you live readings instead of a cold check that was accurate three hundred kilometres ago, and our tire pressure guide covers setting them for a loaded bike. Riders on a JADO S6 get the map, the pressure readouts and front and rear camera coverage on one unit, and the MT100 bi-directional charger handles the long days between stops.
FAQ
What is the best motorcycle road in Germany?
The German Alpine Road is the most complete route at about 484 km from Lindau to Berchtesgaden. For a shorter classic, the B500 Schwarzwaldhochstrasse covers about 60 km of Black Forest ridge between Baden-Baden and Freudenstadt.
Do motorcycles need an Umweltplakette in Germany?
No. Motorcycles and other two-wheelers are exempt from the German low emission zone sticker requirement, as of August 2026. Only four-wheeled vehicles need one.
Can you ride a motorcycle on the Nürburgring Nordschleife?
Not during open Touristenfahrten sessions. The circuit banned motorcycles from those from the 2025 season, leaving guided training days as the two-wheel option. Check the circuit's current policy before planning a visit.
Is the Autobahn free for motorcycles?
Yes, the Autobahn network carries no toll for motorcycles. Individual toll roads such as the Rossfeld Panoramastrasse are exceptions, and Austria and Switzerland both operate vignette systems that apply to bikes.
Are there motorcycle bans on German roads?
On some routes, yes. A number of popular roads in the Alps, Black Forest and Eifel carry noise-related restrictions, weekend closures or outright bans for motorcycles. They are signposted at the start of the road and enforced.
