On this stretch of the Upper Rhine, the river serves as a border: Alsace on the left bank, Baden on the right. Rheinau occupies the German bank, facing the French church towers, and brings together under one name nine villages merged in 1975, including Freistett, the main one. The port call appears on no list of great destinations, and that's precisely what makes it interesting: it opens a rural interlude in the heart of a region that ships usually pass through without stopping.

A shoreline between two countries

Boats tie up along the dikes that protect the plain, close to the riverside villages. From the very first steps, the setting sets the tone: wet meadows, oxbows where herons and swans doze, gravel paths running between the poplars. The great cycle route that follows the river passes through here, and cyclists riding it from Switzerland to the Netherlands know these peaceful banks well, where all you hear is the current and the birds. Some ships lend bicycles: it's the best way to explore from one village to the next.

The Ried, a land of water and orchards

The immediate hinterland belongs to the Baden Ried, a plain shaped by the Rhine's former wanderings. Until the great river-straightening works undertaken in the 19th century under the direction of engineer Johann Gottfried Tulla, the river meandered freely here in a multitude of channels; today's ponds and floodplain forests are their direct heirs. Rheinau's hamlets line up half-timbered farmhouses, modest churches and vegetable gardens; in spring, stalls offer asparagus from the plain, and in summer fruit from the orchards. A stroll with no set route, from Freistett to the neighbouring hamlets, is enough to grasp the rhythm of this corner of Baden that has remained agricultural, where storks nest on the rooftops and stalk the freshly mown meadows.

The Gambsheim locks and fish pass

Across from Rheinau, on the French side, the Gambsheim dam and locks are among the major structures of the canalized Rhine: barge convoys and cruise ships pass through a drop of several metres here. The structure is home to one of the largest fish passes in Western Europe, with an interpretation centre where picture windows let you watch salmon and other migratory fish swimming upstream. The road across the dam links the two banks: some port call programs take advantage of it to cross into Alsace for a visit.

Alsace within easy reach

Strasbourg and its cathedral are about 25 kilometres upstream, a distance excursions easily cover when the itinerary includes it. Closer by, the Alsatian villages on the left bank offer their winstubs and flower-decked houses. On the German side, spa lovers can head to the thermal baths of the Baden area, while the wooded foothills of the Black Forest close off the horizon to the east.

Practical pointers

• A rural port call: bring walking shoes or use a bike to enjoy the riverbanks.
• Gambsheim fish pass: accessible via the dam, interpretation centre with viewing windows.
• Strasbourg about 25 km away: only on an organized excursion or by taxi.
• Shops are concentrated in Freistett; the other villages are mainly residential.

An interlude on the water

Rheinau doesn't hold travellers with its monuments: it holds them with its calm. An hour on the dikes, storks, a barge in the lock, Alsace glimpsed behind the trees. These are simple images, but they give sailing on the Rhine its breathing space, and they remind you that the river isn't just a string of famous cities: it's also an inhabited, discreet land that lives at its own pace.