Our 6 Highlights in Saarland

Excellent views of the Saar loop from the 42-meter-high tower of the sentier des cimes. The short climb and lack of stairs mean that it can also be accessed by wheelchair or baby carriage.
 

Saarland is one of Germany's most forested regions. You can feel it with every step you take through a sea of beech, oak and Douglas fir trees. The Treetop Walk Saarschleife, opened in 2016, climbs ever higher above the Cloef, a rocky viewpoint in Mettlach-Orscholz. Without taking any stairs or steps, you follow the ramp up to the platform of the 42-meter-high tower, whose modern wooden constructions are as exceptional as the panorama: the Saar loop, the region's number-one landmark, is at your feet. Perfectly shaped, framed by the green hills of the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park, this extraordinary river already enchanted Prussian King Frederick William IV and French writer Victor Hugo. You can learn where it got its unique shape and how it came into being at one of the 22 learning and play stations dotted along the winding paths you cross on your walk through the Peak Trail. The wobbly bridge and a slide are guaranteed to get your adrenaline pumping.

What do the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, Australia's Great Barrier Reef and Saarland's Völklinger Hütte have in common? They're all part of Unesco's world cultural heritage. By the time you've climbed to the 45-metre-high viewing platform of the blast furnace and admired the industrial landscape of Saarland, you'll know why this remote corner of France has been a special place since 1994 (eight years after raw iron production ceased): the Völklinger Hütte, founded in 1873, is the only fully preserved iron and steel industry site in the world. The site of one of Europe's most modern sintering plants, established in 1928, is now home to the UNESCO BesucherZentrum: the world's cultural heritage entrance hall. There's plenty to discover between the blower room with its gigantic flywheels and the 70-meter-high gasometer, as well as in the “ScienceCenter Ferrodrom®”, a multimedia world of discovery about iron and steel. The Völklinger Hütte World Cultural Heritage Site expressly invites visitors to touch and experience, and is today a fascinating stage for exhibitions, concerts and prestigious events. It's an exciting cultural venue for the 21st century.

At the 120-hectare Bostal lake, you can go pedal-boating or take a sailboat tour.
 

There's no trace of water where Hunsrück and Hochwald meet. Supposedly. And yet there is a 120-hectare lake in Sankt Wendeler Land: in 1982, Lake Bostal was artificially created and has long since become a favorite place to spend sunny days and warm evenings, thanks to its gentle lawns, numerous water sports and sandy beaches. There's even a harbour. Whether you prefer to relax or be active, there's something for everyone in, on and around the lake. Naturally, within the restrictions in force this summer. From swimming to beach volleyball, from surfing, sailing and fishing to paddling, diving and pedal-boating: the range of leisure activities on offer is vast. Or how about a bike ride along the scenic riverside path overlooking the rolling landscape of the Peterberg and Priesberg? After a sporty 6.8 kilometers, you can take a seat in the open-air brewery and admire the water glistening in the sunlight.

A rectangular arch, a cross with oblique line, a triangle or the Greek letter lambda? Depending on position and perspective, the Saar polygon looks different.
 

It's a well-known fact that perspective is everything. The same applies to the Saar polygon in Ensdorf, near Saarlouis, a town built by Vauban. This 30-metre-high steel monument is designed to take on a different shape from each perspective: sometimes it looks like a rectangular arch, sometimes like a triangle on its point, and sometimes like a cross with an oblique line. In other words, a polygon. In memory of the end of the Saarland coal mining era in June 2012, this construction was inaugurated four years later. The large sculpture stands on the slag heap of the former mining region, some 150 metres above the surrounding Saar Valley. The best part: it's not only an eye-catcher from any direction, it's also accessible. On the 35-meter-long crosspiece, 132 steps lead up to the viewing platform on either side. The Terril Duhamel is also the official departure area for paragliders, for some extraordinary jumps.

Enchanting alluvial landscapes, gentle hills and a habitat for many rare plant and animal species: the Bliesgau.
 

Extensive orchards with gnarled apple and plum trees, broad beech forests and magnificent pastures with flocks of sheep characterize the gently rolling landscape of the south-eastern Saarland, in the immediate vicinity of France. The Blies, the eponymous river of the UNESCO-protected Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve, flows through the region. An international model region and one of only 16 in Germany to hold this title. The sheer number of natural treasures is impressive. The shell limestone soils near Gersheim are home to half of all the orchid species found throughout the country: from the puff orchid to the broad-leaved epipactis and the rare bumblebee ophrys. Our tip: a ten-station tour takes you through marshy meadows that are particularly rich in flora and fauna in early summer, when the main flowers are in bloom. The endangered Succulent's Damier has also found its paradise here. If you're lucky, you may discover traces of local beavers in the wildly romantic Blies meadows. Or catch a glimpse of the endangered little owl.

Numerous routes offer peaceful walks through the wild Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park, for example through dense forests of
 

You don't have to take a plane to enjoy the primeval forest. In the 10,000-hectare Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park, you can stroll for hours through the verdant woods without encountering a human soul. All the more reason to see rare plants and animals. This isolated biotope in the Hunsrück hills between Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate is home to black storks, Tengmalm's owls, black woodpeckers, Bechstein's murres and the endangered wildcat. Drosera, osmunda and cranberries also grow between mountain streams and the moss-covered tree trunks of beech forests and wet meadows. A bastion of biodiversity. You can discover them, for example, on a number of certified trails: the little dream loops. Or on the Premium Saar-Hunsrück trail, which crosses the national park and allows you to immerse yourself perfectly in this fascinating and mysterious wilderness. A refuge not only for flora and fauna.