The Voie Bleue

From Sierck-les-Bains

to Thionville

On this first stage along La Voie Bleue in France, leave Sierck-les-Bains and its château built for the Dukes of Lorraine by following the meandering Moselle. Towards Contz-les-Bains, at a bend in the river, vine-covered slopes suddenly appear.

The cycle route continues beside the waterway, crossing typical Lorraine villages. The inauguration of the extra-wide lock at Kœnigsmacker in 1956 enabled riverboats from the Rhine Basin to transfer to the Moselle. Reaching Thionville, Basse-Ham Base Nautique, a boating and water-sports centre set in green surrounds, provides cyclists, campers and sailors with all the facilities they could need.

From Thionville

to Metz

After Thionville, La Voie Bleue slips away from this well-fortified town with its two lock bridges, masterpieces of military engineering. You then pass industrial heritage, cycling past Illange Port, France’s leading river port for metallurgical products, followed by the U4 blast furnace, a rare monument from the 20th century’s steel industry to have been transformed into a cultural and heritage centre.

Reaching the city of Metz, the cycle route crosses pretty lakes and wetlands. Take the time to wander around Metz’s historic centre before continuing on your trip; St Stephen’s Cathedral and the Centre Pompidou-Metz modern art museum count among many unmissable sights in this, the capital of the Lorraine region.