Back to Germany
Rhein, Mosel and Castles
In a week, you'll follow the Rhine from Cologne to Koblenz, then into the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2002. From Bacharach, you'll explore the Loreley, a 132-meter high slate rock face near St. Goarshausen. Afterward, switch to the Moselle in Cochem with its Reichsburg, then hike to Eltz Castle, owned by the Eltz family for over 800 years. The journey ends in Trier, where Roman structures like Porta Nigra and Imperial Baths have been World Heritage sites since 1986.
7 stops
Why This Route?
The route is car-free: The Linke Rheinstrecke links Cologne via Bonn and Koblenz to Bingen; Cochem is on the train line Koblenz to Trier; and the RB 81 stops at Moselkern station, the gateway to Burg Eltz. Motorhome travelers follow the same stages. In a short distance, you link two river valleys, two World Heritage Sites, and castles from diverse eras.
Hidden Gems
- Wernerkapelle in Bacharach: The Gothic chapel was badly damaged in the 1689 castle explosion and now a secured ruin
- Calmont near Bremm: Steep vineyard, up to 70% gradient
- via ferrata through the slopes
- Hiking trail from Moselkern: From Ringelsteiner Mühle, reach Burg Eltz on moderately steep paths in approx. 40 min.
Getting there and back
Open jaw: start and end are in different places
- Arrival
- Train · Köln HbfFrom Cologne, travel the Left Rhine Railway via Bonn to Koblenz. Between Mainz and Koblenz, there's no road bridge over the Rhine; ferries will take you across. With extreme low water, ferry and shipping traffic can be suspended; check schedules beforehand.
- Departure
- Train · Trier HbfFrom Trier, you travel via the Moselle Line back to Koblenz, and from there on the Left Rhine Line towards Bonn and Cologne.
Itinerary
Stop 1 • 1 Night
Köln
routes.tagDescriptions.stadt. Rich in culture and history and routes.tagDescriptions.museen.
With over a million inhabitants, Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city and the center of the Rhineland. Its landmark is the Cathedral (Dom), which was built from 1248 to 1880 and whose spires rise a good 157 meters. Since 1996, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site and preserves the relics of the Three Magi.Around the Dom, you'll find twelve Romanesque churches, museums like the Museum Ludwig with one of the world's largest Picasso collections, and the Old Town by the Rhine with its breweries. There, you drink Kölsch from a tall, slender glass, served by a Köbes. Between Weiberfastnacht (Women's Carnival) and Ash Wednesday, the city is dominated by Carnival.
Start at Main Station.
12 Sights
5 Restaurants
Culture and Way of Life
Cathedral and Romanesque ChurchesThe Cathedral's foundation stone was laid in 1248, but it was only completed in 1880. Gerhard Richter's 2007 window in the south transept comprises 11,263 squares in 72 colours. Within the former city wall, there are also twelve large Romanesque churches from the 10th to 12th centuries, including St. Gereon and Groß St. Martin.Brauhaus and KölschKölsch, a pale, top-fermented beer, is traditionally served in a slender 0.2-litre 'Stange'. At the Brauhaus, a 'Köbes' (the local term for waiter) serves you. The 1986 Kölsch Convention dictates what can be called Kölsch.CarnivalHighlights of the season are Weiberfastnacht on Thursday, the Rosenmontagszug, and the Nubbelverbrennung before Ash Wednesday.
Stop 2 • 1 Night
Koblenz
routes.tagDescriptions.stadt. routes.tagDescriptions.fluss and Rich in history and historical sites.
Koblenz liegt dort, wo die Mosel in den Rhein mündet, und ist das nördliche Tor zum UNESCO-Welterbe Oberes Mittelrheintal. Die rund 114.000 Einwohner zählende Stadt geht auf ein römisches Kastell zurück, dessen Name „apud confluentes“, bei den Zusammenfließenden, im heutigen Stadtnamen steckt.Am Deutschen Eck steht das Reiterstandbild Kaiser Wilhelms I. über dem Zusammenfluss, gegenüber thront auf dem Felsen die Festung Ehrenbreitstein, eine der größten erhaltenen Festungsanlagen Europas. Eine Seilbahn verbindet beide Ufer. Dazwischen liegt eine kompakte Altstadt mit romanischen Kirchen, kleinen Plätzen und Weinstuben, von der aus du Burgen am Rhein und Ausflüge an die Mosel gut erreichst.
At the mouth of the Moselle into the Rhine, northern end of the World Heritage.
9 Sights
3 Restaurants
History and Culture
Romans, Prince-Electors and PrussiansUnder Augustus, a Roman fort, the “castellum apud Confluentes,” was built at the confluence. In 1018, Koblenz came under the control of the Church of Trier, whose archbishops governed the city until the French Revolution. The last Prince-Elector, Clemens Wenzeslaus, moved into the new Electoral Palace on the Rhine in 1786 but fled from French troops as early as 1794. After the French period, Koblenz became the administrative seat of the Prussian Rhineland, and the Prussians developed Ehrenbreitstein into today's fortress between 1817 and 1828.Destruction and ReconstructionDuring the Second World War, 87 percent of the city was destroyed. The equestrian statue at Deutsches Eck, unveiled in 1897, fell victim to a grenade hit in March 1945. In 1953, Federal President Theodor Heuss declared the empty plinth a memorial to German unity, and in 1993, a replica of the figure returned. In 2011, Koblenz hosted the first Federal Horticultural Show in Rhineland-Palatinate, and since then, the cable car has connected the old town with the fortress.The SchängelThe name Schängel originated during the French period from “Jean,” dialectally “Schang,” and was initially meant disparagingly. Today, it is an honorary title for native Koblenzers. The Schängel Fountain in the courtyard of the City Hall, inaugurated in 1941, depicts a boy who spits water every few minutes, and you can even encounter the figure on manhole covers.
Stop 3 • 2 Nights
Bacharach
routes.tagDescriptions.weinort. routes.tagDescriptions.fachwerk and routes.tagDescriptions.burg.
Bacharach is a small wine village on the left bank of the Rhine between Bingen and Boppard, first mentioned in 871 and still largely enclosed by its town wall with towers. Behind the wall, you'll find half-timbered houses like the Old House from 1368, St. Peter's Church, and on the hillside, the ruins of the Gothic Werner Chapel.Above the village towers Stahleck Castle, today a youth hostel, from which you can look out over roofs and the Rhine. The Rheinburgenweg connects Bacharach with Oberwesel and Trechtingshausen, and the Mittelrheinbahn stops hourly; Koblenz is about 40 minutes away.
City wall, partly walkable under arcades, and Stahleck Castle above the town, now a youth hostel.
2 Sights
3 Restaurants
Stop 4 • 0 Nights
Loreley
routes.tagDescriptions.aussicht. routes.tagDescriptions.legende and UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Loreley is a 132-meter-high slate rock situated on the right bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, right in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley. It was at this narrow, once-feared stretch of the river that Clemens Brentano set his ballad "Lore Lay" in 1801, and Heinrich Heine's 1824 poem subsequently made the mythical siren, who famously distracts mariners with her alluring hair, world-famous.Perched atop the plateau, a cultural and landscape park opened in 2019, offering a modern visitor center and barrier-free paths that lead to stunning panoramic viewpoints overlooking the magnificent Rhine Valley. To reach this impressive site, you can embark on an approximate 15-minute walk along a section of the Rheinsteig trail, commencing from the car park located in the Heide district.
Day trip from Bacharach; the rock is on the right bank near St. Goarshausen.
2 Sights
Stop 5 • 1 Night
Cochem
routes.tagDescriptions.weinort. routes.tagDescriptions.burg and routes.tagDescriptions.fluss.
With just over 5,000 inhabitants, Cochem is the tourist hub of the Untermosel. More than 100 metres above the river stands Reichsburg Castle, its origins dating back to the 12th century. Destroyed in the 17th century, it was rebuilt in Neo-Gothic style between 1868 and 1877.On the left bank, the old town, market square, and Moselle promenade are bustling with wine taverns, cafés, and shops. A chairlift leads up to Pinnerkreuz, and in the Cond district, you can visit the former Bundesbank bunker from the Cold War. Cochem is located on the Moselle Railway line between Koblenz and Trier.
Reichsburg, bought in 1868 by Louis Ravéné and rebuilt in neo-Gothic style.
4 Sights
3 Restaurants
Stop 6 • 0 Nights
Burg Eltz
routes.tagDescriptions.burg. routes.tagDescriptions.mittelalter and Great hiking spots.
Eltz Castle stands on a roughly 70-meter high rock spur in a loop of the Elz River, nestled between the Moselle, Eifel, and Maifeld regions. It originated in the 12th century, was never seriously destroyed, and still belongs to the same family, now in its 33rd generation. Many recognize its image from the former 500 D-Mark banknote.From the parking lot near Wierschem, it's about a 10-minute walk, or you can take the shuttle bus. Hikers can reach the castle via the Traumpfad Eltzer Burgpanorama trail. The guided tour shows the interiors of the Rübenach and Rodendorf houses; the ticket includes the Treasury. It is open seasonally from April to early November.
Guided tours only, daily from April 1st to November 1st.
1 Sight
Stop 7 • 1 Night
Trier
routes.tagDescriptions.stadt. routes.tagDescriptions.roemer and UNESCO World Heritage site.
Trier on the Moselle, near the Luxembourg border, is one of Germany's oldest cities. Augustus founded it no later than 16 BC as Augusta Treverorum, and in late antiquity, it was one of the Roman Empire's capitals. Nowhere north of the Alps are so many Roman structures preserved.Nine monuments, including Porta Nigra, Imperial Baths, Amphitheater, Basilica of Constantine, Cathedral, and Church of Our Lady, have formed a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1986. Other attractions include the Main Market with its burgher houses and Karl Marx's birthplace. The city, with around 112,000 inhabitants, is compact; most sights are reachable on foot from the central station.
Porta Nigra, Römerbrücke and Imperial Baths, UNESCO World Heritage since 1986.
7 Sights
3 Restaurants
History and Culture
Augusta TreverorumAugustus gründete die Stadt spätestens 16 v. Chr. als Augusta Treverorum. Ende des 3. Jahrhunderts wurde Trier als „zweites Rom“ eine der Hauptstädte der Tetrarchie. Anzahl und Qualität der erhaltenen Bauten gelten als herausragendes Zeugnis der römischen Zivilisation, weshalb die UNESCO 1986 neun Denkmäler zum Welterbe erklärte, darunter Porta Nigra, Amphitheater, Konstantinbasilika, Kaiserthermen, Barbarathermen, Römerbrücke und die Igeler Säule.BischofsstadtTrier ist Sitz des ältesten Bistums Deutschlands. Im Dom wird der Heilige Rock aufbewahrt, die benachbarte Liebfrauenkirche gehört ebenfalls zum Welterbe. Im Mittelalter prägten die Erzbischöfe als Kurfürsten die Stadt, ihr Einfluss reichte die Mosel hinab bis Koblenz.Karl Marx1818 wurde Karl Marx in Trier geboren. Sein Geburtshaus in der Brückenstraße ist heute ein Museum und zieht Besucher aus aller Welt an.
7 stops
Route Summary
Duration7 Days
Stops7 Places
TypeCulture
Best Time to GoFrom April 1 to November 1, Eltz Castle offers daily tours.