Ernolsheim-Bruche lies along the Canal de la Bruche, built under Vauban between 1682 and 1687 to float sandstone from the Vosges to Strasbourg's fortifications — eleven locks along its length, one of them still standing at the edge of the village.
Today the canal towpath carries a well-used cycle route running the full 48 kilometres from Strasbourg to Molsheim, part of EuroVelo 5, shaded by forest and farmland for most of its length. At Molsheim, riders can continue onto the Route des Vins d'Alsace, through Rosheim's Romanesque old town and the "Plus Beaux Détours" village of Obernai.
A radio documentary on the valley singled out Ernolsheim-Bruche's old lock-keeper's house, now a private home along the towpath, as exactly the kind of quiet stopping point the canal route was built around — gardens, forest at the back door, cyclists passing at an unhurried pace.
There's no climbing to speak of here — this is flat, canal-side riding, a gentle link between Strasbourg's urban cycling network and the steeper roads waiting in the Vosges foothills further west.
