Daun: Cycling Routes, Maars and Culture

If you are looking for a hotel in Daun, you can plan your trip around specific interests: cycling, hiking, volcanic landscapes, the spa park or culture. Daun is close to the three volcanic lakes known as the Daun Maars. Some routes and circular tours also start here, while hiking trails lead to springs and through forests. Before booking, consider whether you are planning your stay mainly for cycling tours, hikes or cultural excursions.

Cycling from Daun

The Maare-Mosel Cycle Route starts in Daun. The Vulkaneifel Trail Park offers mountain bike routes of varying difficulty on woodland and forest tracks, including the KoulShore single-track area. The network is signposted so that you can ride the routes without GPS or map support. An e-bike circular tour also starts and ends in Daun. E-bikes are available to rent from the GesundLand Tourist Information; check in advance whether a bike is available for your dates. On the return journey, the circular tour crosses the Daun Viaduct, which offers a view towards the town. The options differ in format: mountain bike routes in the trail park versus an e-bike loop starting and ending in Daun.

Hiking to springs and through forests

The HeimatSpur Dreeswanderweg starts at the FORUM Daun, leads to the Hotzendrees and passes close to the Kolverater Drees, just outside Daun. The HeimatSpur Kleiner Dauner is an 8.5-kilometre circular hike from Daun and back, and also reaches the Hotzendrees. This gives you a choice of two different routes: one that passes the named Drees springs, or a circular tour with a stated total distance and both its start and finish in Daun. The HeimatSpur Großer Dauner runs through forests and along varied trails around Daun.

Spa park and trail connections

Daun Spa Park offers a peaceful public park setting with the DUNARIS mineral spring, facilities for drinking and bathing cures, and a Kneipp facility. It also provides access to several hiking trails, including the Eifelsteig and Lieserpfad. The park therefore combines a mineral spring and Kneipp facilities with access points for other trails. If you are planning a stay that includes hiking, these two named trails provide a concrete starting point for your choice.

Church, castle and volcano museum

St. Nicholas Church in Daun preserves a Romanesque crypt that survived the bombing on 2 January 1945. At the ruins of Daun Castle, a circular wall and a bastion tower with embrasures remain. The Eifel Volcano Museum is housed in the former Daun district administration building and explores regional volcanism through interactive models, information panels and images. Daun brings together a range of subjects: a crypt with historical significance, surviving parts of a castle and an account of the volcanic landscape.

Wildlife park and summer toboggan run

At the Daun Wildlife and Adventure Park, observation platforms and feeding stations let visitors see animals up close. The park also has a small animal farm. The 800-metre summer toboggan run is located just outside the wildlife and adventure park. As its seasonal operating schedule may change, check current availability before visiting.

The Vulkaneifel as a regional setting

The Vulkaneifel provides the broader geological context for Daun’s volcanic landscape. A total of 77 maars have been identified in the Vulkaneifel, and 350 eruption centres have been counted there, about 270 of them from the more recent period. These figures describe the region as a whole. For Daun itself, the three nearby Daun Maars are a specific feature of the landscape.

Discover more destinations:

Schönbach, Kradenbach, Nerdlen, Brockscheid, Dreis-Brück, Darscheid, Üdersdorf, Nohn, Udler, Steineberg, Wallenborn, Utzerath, Strotzbüsch, Strohn, Steiningen, Schutz, Schalkenmehren, Saxler, Niederstadtfeld, Meisburg, Mehren, Immerath, Hinterweiler, Gillenfeld, Ellscheid, Dockweiler, Deudesfeld, Demerath, Bleckhausen, Winkel, Tettscheid, Oberstadtfeld, Betteldorf, Mückeln

For the main travel overview: Vulkaneifel.