Rhine-Moselle Region

What to see & discover

My Top 3

01 The Highlight: Castle Eltz

Eltz Castle is probably the best-known excursion destination in the Rhine-Moselle region. Instagram is flooded with photos of this German castle. No wonder, the castle is simply photogenic! And by the way, Eltz Castle has an exciting history.

We learned about this history on a guided tour of the castle, which I can highly recommend to anyone (costs: EUR 7 for students, EUR 11 for adults). The castle is worth seeing both inside and out. Our guide told us interesting facts that I have never heard before on a castle tour.

Eltz Castle dates back to the 12th century and has always been owned by the Eltz family. The castle has never been conquered by force and was extensively renovated in the 19th century so that it is in top condition. The Eltz family still lives in one wing of the castle for a few weeks a year. Simply amazing!

Find out everything you need to know for your visit to the castle, in particular how to get to the castle, how to get tickets and what hiking options there are, here.

02 Geierlay suspension bridge

The Geierlay suspension rope bridge is no less famous than Eltz Castle. You'll be able to take your perfect Instagram picture here too!

The bridge, which is 360m long and 100m high, is freely accessible at all times. Only in extreme weather conditions or other unplanned circumstances is a temporary closure possible. We parked the car in the (paid) parking lot P1 at the visitor center of the Geierlay suspension rope bridge. From there it is about 1.7 km to the bridge. The route is well signposted and leads along a small forest path. You should therefore wear sturdy shoes.

The hiking trails around the suspension rope bridge are relatively empty. Only the bridge itself is crowded with people. You should therefore perhaps only pay a short visit to the bridge and then explore the area with its numerous hiking trails!

03 Elfenlay dream loop

The Elfenlay dream loop is a hiking trail near Boppard. The trail leads over the Hubertus Viaduct, an old railroad bridge, to the Sabelsköpfchen viewpoint, from where you can look out over the Rhine loop!

The hiking trail covers a distance of 10.2 km and 410 meters in altitude. It took us about 4 hours at a leisurely pace. The hike is not too demanding, but can be strenuous in some places. The Elfenlay Dream Loop is a circular route, so you can start the hike from several places. The best starting point is probably behind the train station in Boppard. However, we started our hike at the Hotel Bergschlösschen. That worked really well too!

After the hike, you can take a detour into Boppard and walk along the Rhine promenade. Or you can take the train and ride over the Hubertus Viaduct.

What else to see & discover:

Cochem Castle

Cochem is a beautiful little town on the Moselle. The townscape is characterized by old houses and cobbled streets. The old town with the remains of the historic town wall, the town hall and the market square with the Martinsbrunnen fountain are particularly beautiful. However, Cochem is also known as a small party town! In the many pubs and bars along the promenade, people party to pop music from the early afternoon. Nevertheless, there is something idyllic about Cochem!

The imposing Cochem Castle towers above the town. The castle is one of the most beautiful in the area. But it's not just worth taking a look at and inside the castle. The view of the surrounding region from the forecourt of the castle is also impressive!

The castle was built around the year 1000 AD, but fell victim to French troops around 1150 AD and remained a ruin for a long time. It was not until 1868 that Louis Ravené bought the land and had the castle rebuilt. The reconstruction gave the castle a neo-Gothic style, although the remains of the late Gothic building remained an integral part of the rebuilt castle. Nowadays, Reichsburg GmbH invites visitors to take guided tours of the walls.

Deutsches Eck Koblenz

Our trip to Koblenz was rather short. One thing we couldn't miss, however, was a detour to the famous “Deutsches Eck”. The place where the Moselle flows into the Rhine.

The view of the two rivers from the headland is nice. More impressive, however, is the view of the Kaiser Wilhelm Monument, which towers over the square. At 37 meters high, the monument is one of the most imposing bronze statues in Germany. After it was destroyed in the Second World War, it was rebuilt in 1993 thanks to a private foundation. Today, Kaiser Wilhelm once again looks down on the Rhine and Moselle. If you don't just want to look at the monument, you can also climb its steps and explore it in more detail!

Calmont via ferrata

The Calmont via ferrata is just the thing for hiking and climbing enthusiasts! The via ferrata takes you up the steepest vineyard in Europe via ladders and striking rock spurs. Once you reach the top, you have an incredible view over the Moselle loop!

Moselle bend

The view of the Moselle bend is about as beautiful as the view of the Rhine bend from Sabelsköpfchen. In the small village of Bremm, the Moselle makes a 270-degree turn, which is impressive to watch from above! The loop in Bremm is considered to be the narrowest and most beautiful loop on the Moselle!

Koblenz Castle Park

Koblenz Castle is one of the last residential palaces from the time before the French Revolution. Where princes and kings once resided, various federal authorities are now based. The castle park, which is freely accessible, is also particularly impressive. Here you can enjoy a moment of peace and quiet!

More castles & palaces in the region

There are countless castles and fortresses in the region around Koblenz! In Koblenz itself, Ehrenbreitstein Fortress sits on a hill and watches over the city. But Thurant Castle and Stolzenfels Castle are also worth a visit. You can also explore Schöneck Castle, Marksburg Castle, Rheinfels Castle and Katz Castle.

Middle Rhine via ferrata

The Middle Rhine via ferrata is one of the few alpine via ferrata routes north of the Alps and therefore invites you to adventure! It is located on the left bank of the Rhine in the small town of Boppard. Once you have completed the strenuous climb, you can enjoy a fantastic view of the Rhine bend!

Cochem chair lift

You can take the Cochem chairlift up to the Pinner Kreuz and enjoy a unique view over the Moselle from here. You can then walk down through the beautiful vineyards!

Bankeck

Bankeck is a small village in St. Goar. There is a small stretch of beach here from where you can enjoy a fantastic view of Katz Castle.

View Spitznack

If you like beautiful views, then Spitznack is the right place for you! Because from the striking rock formation, you have a beautiful view over the Rhine!

Wine tasting

We went to Cochem for a little wine tasting on the Moselle. We chose the Rademacher family winery for this, partly because it is easy to reach on foot (after all, nobody would have been able to drive after the wine tasting). Mr. Rademacher offers various wine tastings/tours: From simple wine tastings with a tour to vineyard hikes with a chairlift ride. We were just stupid enough not to book any of the tastings in advance... So unfortunately we couldn't do a wine tasting with a tour so spontaneously. The moral of the story: don't forget to book!

However, Mr. Rademacher was able to offer us a good alternative: A simple wine tasting with six different wines for around EUR 11 per person. In the end, it was just right for us! As there were four of us, we were able to choose a total of 24 different wines from a large selection. As none of us are wine connoisseurs, we chose 24 different types of wine so that we could try 24 different wines. Mr. Rademacher must have been shaking his head inwardly. He offers us his good wines (he has already won several competitions with his wines) and instead of enjoying them, we just overload our taste buds...

However, he didn't take it badly, but rather gave us some recommendations and told us something about the vines and the production of the wine. He also gave us a small brochure with the most important information about the different types of wine. We then turned this into our own personal notebook. After each wine, we wrote down what we thought of it. In the end, there was a clear winner: the 1998 Cochemer Herrenberg, a lovely Riesling.

I have put together a list of all the places on Google Maps.

You can find the list here.