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Parking at the fairground in Wissembourg (free in 2020).
Most of the route is marked with red rings.
(S/E) Take Rue de la Poudrière heading north. After about 150 metres, pass the junction with Rue des Jardins to see the remains of the ramparts and the Tour de la Poudrière tower on your left. Retrace your steps, turn right at the junction onto Rue des Paysans and immediately turn right up the stairs leading to the Tour de la Poudrière tower and the top of the ramparts.
Stay on the path at the top, keeping the town on your left. When you reach the bend to the right, you will see the Lauter river and a lock below. Continue to the right (do not go down the steps on the left towards the lock) and after about ten metres on your left, you will find a gate leading out of the ramparts and into the moat.
(1) Take the path on the right, cross the lawn, leaving the path that leads to the moat on your right, and climb up Rue des Ormes opposite. When you reach Rue des Acacias, turn left until you reach the roundabout (which is oval).
Climb up opposite via Rue du Pflaenzer (marked with a red ring) and take the second street on the right, Rue Robert Schumann. It leads to the vineyards and the village of Schweigen in Germany.
When you reach the village, continue straight on along Hauptsraße until you reach the church on your right, then turn left onto Paulinerstraße. Start climbing to reach the top of the vineyards. Stay on this path until you cross the border.
(2) Shortly after the border, go up the path on the right, then turn into thefirst path on the left. Follow the Red Ring markings to the end of the tarmac road, admiring the view of the Black Forest.
(3) Take the dirt track that climbs to the right and goes around the vineyards on the left. At the end of the vineyards, take the path on the left that descends slightly into the forest (a shortcut) and then reach the Les 3 Marronniers crossroads. There, turn right (the current path no longer follows the IGN map, marked Anneau Rouge).
(4) The path opens out and runs alongside the entrance to a private property. When you reach Route de Weiler, turn left and cross the road to take thefirst street on the right. This leads to the river, the Lauter. Just before the bridge, turn left, with the Lauter on your right, and continue between the ponds and the river. Part of the road is closed to traffic and has picnic areas.
After the hotel and then the Moulin de la Walk, continue along Rue de la Walk until you reach the D334. Cross the road and continue straight ahead to reach the Faubourg de Bitche. On your right, you will see the fortifications of the city's suburbs. Continue straight ahead through the Quartier du Bruch, a neighbourhood that was established in the9th century, and you will arrive at the Maison de l'Ami Fritz (1550) on your left, just before the crossroads with Rue du Rempart.
(5) Cross the bridge on your right, then the road on your left. Cross asecond bridge with a small lock on your left and immediately turn right onto the cycle/footpath. It runs between the city centre ramparts and the stream. The path leads to Rue Stanislas, with the14th-century Schartenturm tower on your left, which was part of the monastery's surrounding wall.
Cross the street, take the path opposite and go through the Porte des Remparts gate. Shortly afterwards, cross the bridge on the right and continue left along the Lauter river on your left until you reach the large roundabout.
Leave the roundabout on your right and continue along the cycle/footpath on the other side of the road, staying alongside the Lauter until you reach the next bridge on your left.
(6) Cross the bridge, turn left along another branch of the river and pass back through the ramparts. When you reach Rue du Tribunal, cross over to the Tribunal car park. Turn into thefirst lane on the left. At the end, take Impasse des Capucins, which leads to Rue du Général Leclerc, and follow it to the right.
When you reach Place du Marché aux Choux, keep right on Rue de la République, cross the bridge that marks the beginning of Petite Venise. About 50 metres further on, take thefirst left onto Rue de la Passerelle, cross the small footbridge over the Lauter river in the middle of Petite Venise to reach a passageway under a house. This leads to Rue de l'Ordre Teutonique. Turn right, then take thesecond street on the left, Rue Stanislas.
(7) Pass the Palais Stanislas on your left, then turn right at thefirst street, Rue du Chapitre. When you reach the church, you will see the former sub-prefecture on your left. Visit the Church of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul with its 11-metre-high fresco.
(8) Retrace your steps and continue right on Rue du Chapitre. At the end of the street, turn right and cross the bridge on the left to walk along Quai Anselmann, where you can admire the Vogelsberger and Schaaf houses on your left.
Opposite you is the Maison du Sel (Salt House), next to it is the beginning of Little Venice, and on your right is the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, with the Grange aux Dîmes (Tithing Barn) between them.
(9) Take the street on the left, Rue du Marché aux Poissons, to reach Place de la République, with the Town Hall on your left.
With your back to the Town Hall, cross the square and head towards Rue de la République. Take thefirst left onto Rue des Maréchaux, then turn right onto Rue des Carmes to reach Rue de l'Ange.
Turn left onto Place des Carmes, go straight ahead, then left onto Rue des Écoles. About 70 metres on your right, La Nef, a former13th-century Dominican church (listed as a historic monument since 1982), has been converted into a cultural centre. Leave the square and continue along Rue des Écoles to reach Rue Nationale.
(10) Opposite, admire the Maison Holzapfel, a beautiful Gothic house with corner turrets and, above the doorway, a Hercules (or a savage) holding the coat of arms of the House of Austria and the city.
Turn left and take thefirst street on the right, Rue de la Laine, with several beautiful houses along the way, then take thefirst right into Rue de la Chaîne to reach the fairground car park (S/E).
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