Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Castles
Wierschem
Eltz Castle (Burg Eltz) near Wierschem in Rhineland-Palatinate is the storybook medieval castle many travelers picture when they think of Germany: a cluster of towers and half-timbered upper stories rising from a rock in a deep, wooded sid…
Viewpoints
Bornich
The Lorelei (Loreley) near Sankt Goarshausen is the most famous rock on the Rhine River: a slate cliff about 130 meters high at the narrowest point of the Middle Rhine, inside the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. The l…
Landmarks
Trier
The Porta Nigra in Trier is a massive Roman city gate begun in 170 AD and the symbol of what is often called Germany's oldest city. Built from huge sandstone blocks and darkened by centuries of weathering, the "Black Gate" survived because…
Churches & monasteries
Speyer
Speyer Cathedral, known in German as the Kaiserdom, is the largest surviving Romanesque church in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. Rising above the Rhine in the Palatinate region, this massive red-sandstone basilica s…
Castles
Cochem
Reichsburg Cochem (Cochem Imperial Castle) is the fairy-tale castle that crowns the hill above Cochem, one of the prettiest wine towns on Germany's Moselle River. With its slender octagonal keep, pointed turrets and battlements rising abov…
Castles
Braubach
Marksburg Castle above the town of Braubach is the only medieval hilltop castle on the Middle Rhine that was never destroyed, which makes it a must-see on any trip through the Rhine Gorge. Perched high above the river in the UNESCO-listed…
Churches & monasteries
Glees
Maria Laach Abbey (Abtei Maria Laach) stands on the southwest shore of Lake Laach in the Eifel volcanic region and is famed for its six-towered Romanesque basilica, one of the finest in Germany. The Benedictine abbey was founded in 1093 an…
Old towns & squares
Koblenz
Most visitors stand at the Deutsches Eck, look out over the Rhine and Moselle and then ride the cable car up to the fortress. Yet the real Koblenz is just a few steps inland: the Old Town is the city's original core, with three Romanesque…
Landmarks
Trier
Where grass now grows over the terraces, up to 18,000 people once cheered in Roman Trier. The Trier Amphitheatre at the foot of the Petrisberg hill was built in the second half of the 2nd century AD and staged gladiator fights, animal hunt…
Old towns & squares
Bernkastel-Kues
Bernkastel-Kues is one of the most charming wine towns on the Moselle River and one of the best things to see in the Moselle Valley. Its medieval market square is lined with colorful half-timbered houses, a castle ruin watches over the old…
Castles
Erlenbach bei Dahn
From a distance, Berwartstein looks like a storybook castle: turrets, a keep and red roofs above the forest near Erlenbach. The more exciting part, though, is inside the rock below. Stairs, passages and chambers are cut straight into the r…
Castles
Sankt Goarshausen
Katz Castle (Burg Katz) in Sankt Goarshausen is one of the landmark castles of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it sits on a rocky spur right above the river. Built in the 14th century as a rival to nearby M…
Castles
Lahnstein
Lahneck Castle (Burg Lahneck) in Lahnstein sits on a rocky spur above the point where the Lahn river meets the Rhine, and forms part of the UNESCO Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Site. With its rare pentagonal keep and neo-Gothic…
Castles
Thallichtenberg
Walk Lichtenberg Castle from one end to the other and you cover almost half a kilometre. At 425 m long it is one of the longest castle ruins in Germany and the largest castle complex in the Palatinate. It sits on a hill spur above the vill…
Castles
Sankt Goarshausen
Maus Castle (Burg Maus) above the Rhine village of Wellmich, part of Sankt Goarshausen, is one of the best-known castles of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The medieval hilltop castle with its round keep was…
Castles
Bacharach
In the middle of the Rhine off Kaub stands a white castle with little red corner turrets that looks as if it were sailing upstream. Pfalzgrafenstein Castle, known locally simply as "die Pfalz", was never a knight's home but a toll station:…
Castles
Trechtingshausen
Reichenstein Castle in Trechtingshausen perches on a rocky spur just above the Rhine and is one of the most photogenic castles in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Rebuilt around 1900 as a neo-Gothic residence, i…
Castles
Sankt Goar
Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar is the largest castle ruin on the Middle Rhine and one of the most exciting castles to explore in the Rhine Valley. Perched high above the river, it lets you wander through courtyards, ramparts and dark undergr…
Castles
Trechtingshausen
Rheinstein Castle (Burg Rheinstein) clings to a rocky spur above the Rhine near Trechtingshausen, just downstream from Bingen. It was the first ruined Rhine castle to be rebuilt in the Romantic era, and it lies within the Upper Middle Rhin…
Castles
Bacharach
Stahleck Castle (Burg Stahleck) towers on a rocky spur above the wine town of Bacharach in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the oldest castle sites on the Rhine, it is now a youth hostel, which means you…
Castles
Alken
Thurant Castle (Burg Thurant) near Alken is the largest castle on the Moselle River and a landmark of the region. This twin castle crowns a slate ridge above vineyards, and a visit takes you through courtyards, a chapel, a dungeon and a ro…
Viewpoints
Bremm
The Calmont near Bremm in Germany's Mosel Valley is often called the steepest vineyard in Europe, and it offers one of the most famous views in the country. From the summit cross you look straight down onto the Bremm Mosel loop, where the…
Monuments
Koblenz
The Deutsches Eck (German Corner) in Koblenz is the headland where the Moselle River flows into the Rhine, and one of Germany's most recognizable landmarks. A colossal equestrian statue of Emperor William I towers over the tip, while Ehren…
Museums
Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler
In an emergency, the West German chancellor, the federal president and around 3,000 people would have sat out a nuclear war here for 30 days behind sealed steel gates. The Government Bunker in the Ahr valley was one of the best-kept secret…