Sierk-les-Bains and Schengen, land of the Three Borders

A circular walk in the Three Borders region and the Moselle wine country.
The route runs alongside the Moselle before crossing it and climbing up into the woods above Schengen (Luxembourg). Beautiful views of the valley, vineyards and villages of Perl (Germany), Apach and Sierk.

Details

115527
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.75 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 165 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 166 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 308 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 143 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Sierck-les-Bains (57480)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 49.444745° / E 6.362842°
  • Accessible from the train station Gare d'Apach (Moselle).
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Description of the walk

Departure from Place de la Gro, accessible at No. 1 Rue de l'Europe.

(S/E) Go to the back of the car park, take the cycle path that runs alongside the railway line on the left and head towards Apach. You are now on the Chemin de la Moselle and the Scandibérique or EuroVélo3, which also takes you to the city of Trier in Germany.

(1) Walk alongside the Apach marshalling yard and continue to follow the Chemin de la Moselle to the Pont de l'Europe bridge.

(2) Cross the Pont de l'Europe bridge over the Moselle to reach Schengen in Luxembourg. At the end of the bridge, go down the stairs on the left.

(3) At the bottom of the bridge, on your right, you will find the European Museum (Schengen Agreements).
Take the steps on your right. Follow the "Schengen sans frontières" (Schengen Grenzenlos) signs to cross the village and reach the vineyards and woods at the top of Schengen. Continue climbing through the woods, following the same signs in a south-south-westerly direction until you reach the viewpoint.

(4) Viewpoint over the vineyards, villages and the Moselle. Continue, still following the "Schengen without borders" signs.

(5) At this crossroads, turn right and follow the Club Vosgien markings (red disc). Follow these markings until you return to the starting point. Turn slightly left at a cross and continue along a small road.

(6) Arrive at the summit of Stromberg, marked by its pylon, and descend following the red circle to reach the bottom of the cliff. At the bottom, head north-west and walk along the caves before arriving at the Boesch Chapel.

(7) After visiting (the chapel is normally open), continue downhill towards the village of Contz-les-Bains. At the bottom of the village, continue (red disc) to cross the Moselle and join the Chemin de la Moselle on the left, which takes you back to your starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 147 m
  2. 1 : km 1.9 - alt. 149 m - Apach marshalling yard - Gare d'Apach (Moselle)
  3. 2 : km 3.48 - alt. 158 m - Pont de L'Europe
  4. 3 : km 4.01 - alt. 145 m - Museum of the Schengen Agreements
  5. 4 : km 5.11 - alt. 290 m - Viewpoint
  6. 5 : km 5.62 - alt. 300 m - Marked by the Club Vosgien (red circle)
  7. 6 : km 7.14 - alt. 300 m - Viewpoint near the - Sommet du Stromberg (314m)
  8. 7 : km 7.8 - alt. 240 m - Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs, known as - Chapelle du Bœsch
  9. S/E : km 10.75 - alt. 147 m

Notes

Good walking shoes recommended as some sections are steep.

Worth a visit

Stromberg summit
Every year, the Saint John's Day fire wheel is set alight at the top of the Stromberg and rolled down into the Moselle. Legend has it that if the wheel reaches its destination, the grape harvest will be good, and so will the wine.

Along the route
Visit to the European Museum (Schengen Agreements)
Wine tasting in the Luxembourg Moselle and/or French Moselle.

Nearby
Visit the Castle of the Dukes of Lorraine in Sierk and/or Malbrouck Castle in Manderen.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 17 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
Denis26
Denis26 ★

Thank you, ACKET, for clarifying that. I have just amended the file accordingly.

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ACKET
ACKET

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 24, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk.
The section between the starting point and point 2 is the least interesting, as you can hardly see the Moselle River, which is hidden by fences and the railway line. The rest of the route is very good.
Please note: the description suggests parking at the Norma supermarket car park in Sierck, but this has moved to Rettel and the one in Sierck is now a rental property. If you enter "Norma supermarket" into your satnav, you will end up in Rettel.

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EmmanuelB57
EmmanuelB57

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk between France, Luxembourg and Germany.
A lovely surprise with the chapel and its surroundings.
A beautiful climb through the woods after Schengen.
GPS and descriptions make it easy to follow the route.
Thank you for the hike

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Caroboiteamail
Caroboiteamail

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike done in winter, so lots of tarmac but less mud. The railway track is pretty (though very muddy) and so is the view from the top of the vineyards.

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Marley
Marley

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We took the wrong road at a crossroads where two lanes seemed possible. We chose the wrong one!
We managed to find our way out thanks to my satnav...
Otherwise, it was a beautiful route
Maryse

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SSclx
SSclx

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The route is really accessible, even for beginners. There are a few climbs, but the view is well worth the effort!

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bernard 54720
bernard 54720

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

VERY GOOD

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Dominique Arcade
Dominique Arcade

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike with lovely views

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Frantz57
Frantz57
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful hike with the unique feature of the three borders.
Beautiful views of the Moselle and Schengen.

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RegineBelfort
RegineBelfort

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 07, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A pleasant hike exploring Schengen, the Moselle and the vineyards. Some very beautiful views.

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kr
kr

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 05, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A beautiful, varied walk with two or three lovely viewpoints. Magnificent autumn colours. Picked a few walnuts and ate the grapes left over from the harvest
The markings are unclear, but the guidance is perfect. That said, the two or three mistakes in orientation allowed us to discover a small chapel that is part of another route and a very steep staircase to build up our thigh muscles

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visiomil
visiomil

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

I really enjoyed the views of the vineyards

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zylvette
zylvette

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

well-marked and very pleasant hike.

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langres
langres

sorry: hike not completed: timing

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gerard stk
gerard stk

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 28, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

having already done this route, it is interesting but there is a lot of tarmac (the only negative point)
the view from Strombergh is magnificent

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