Middle Rhine

Understand

The Rhine Valley, where the Rhine carves its way through steep hills topped with countless castles and ruins, is one of the most famous and most heavily touristed parts of Germany. The travelling here is very easy — cruises, castles and vineyard tours by day, sampling local wines at night — so it's no surprise that visitors' demographics are slanted heavily towards retirees looking for an easy break. For the more adventurous travellers, the Rheinsteig and Rheinburgenweg hiking trails along the hills surrounding the Rhine, each hundreds of km long, offer amazing vistas and access to the region's dozens of castles. A more leisurely option is to cycle the river banks to enjoy the vistas and the villages outside the boat and train stops.

When to go The peak season is definitely summer, when the hillsides are green and the cruise boats busy. In September, many inns and restaurants already start closing down for the winter, and almost all cruises end by November, starting up again in April. The autumn paints many shades of orange and brown on the trees of the valley side, while the spring brings bright green and the white of tree blossoms.

Getting there

The most common starting points for a tour of the Rhine Valley are Cologne, just north of Bonn, and Frankfurt, just east of Rüdesheim. Frankfurt is actually on the Main, not the Rhine itself, so the Rhine towns of Mainz and Wiesbaden also make popular starting points.

By plane Frankfurt airport (FRA IATA) is the major international airport for the area. Cologne/Bonn (CGN IATA) has some connections from other European countries as does Hahn airport, which is the closest to the valley but without a car not so accessible.

By train Bonn and Mainz, and with less service, Wiesbaden via Frankfurt are the key stations into the region. Bingen and Koblenz being the largest stations with Rüdesheim being a popular stop. Frankfurt airport has two stations: A regional station (Regionalbahnhof) with local and S train services to Frankfurt and Mainz, and a long-distance station (Fernbahnhof) with direct fast-train services to Mainz, Bingen (only some trains), Koblenz, Bonn, and Cologne.

By car The A61 is just to the west of the Middle Rhine Valley. The A3 is a little further to the east of the valley.

By cruise A large number of luxury cruise operators sail up (and down) the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel, Zurich or Strasbourg or from the Rhine cruise up the Main and Danube to Budapest. The leisurely journey with plenty of stopovers typically takes anywhere from one to two weeks, with accommodation on the boat itself. Large operators include Avalon and Viking, with low-season prices for a 7-night cruise starting from around US$2,000.

Getting around

By car Along the left bank runs the B9 while along the right bank the B42 runs the whole stretch of the valley. The majority of both roads in the Rhine valley section are one lane in both directions with few places to overtake. The roads are quite busy with tourists during the summer. On your travels you will want to visit locations on both sides of the river. Note that there are no bridges between Wiesbaden and Koblenz crossing the river but there are a number of ferries that take car, bike and foot passengers.

Fähre Boppard. Ferry across the Rhine between Boppard and Filsen. Fähre Loreley. Ferry across the Rhine between Sankt Goar and St. Goarshausen. Fährgemeinschaft Kaub. Ferry across the Rhine between Bacharach / Oberwesel and Kaub. Mittelrhein Fähre. Ferry across the Rhine between Niederheimbach and Lorch. Bingen-Rüdesheim Auto-Ferry. From Bingen Harbour to just below Rüdesheim Bahnhof. Bingen-Rüdesheim Ferry. From Bingen Bridge 5 to just below Rüdesheim City. 1 Rheinfähre (A couple of kilometres from the Rheinsteig route.). A ferry across the Rhine from Ingelheim to Oestrich-Winkel.

By train There are not one but two train lines running along this section of the Rhine:

The Linke Rheinstrecke ("Left Rhine Line") runs along the left (west) bank of the river from Cologne (Köln) to Mainz, passing for example through Boppard, Sankt Goar, Oberwesel and Bacharach. The Rechte Rheinstrecke ("Right Rhine Line") runs along the right (east) bank of the river from Cologne to Wiesbaden, passing for example through Braubach, Kaub, Assmannshausen and Rüdesheim. Both sides have Regional and InterCity services, but the Linke side also has Regional Express services which skip some stations. Train rides in the Rhine Gorge section can be quite scenic if you sit in the side of the train facing the river. Interchanging between the two is possible at Koblenz; alternatively, if you are staying in a town linked by a ferry service to the other side of the rive

See

1 Loreley (above Sankt Goarshausen, opposite St. Goar). Large rocky outcrop on a bend in the Rhine river. Provides great views of the valley.

Castles

Driving or cruising along the valley there is nearly always at least two castles within sight. Many are open to the public but some are private or in ruins with no access. A few are hotels or hostels. The must visits are: Rheinstein, for its position and restored structure; the Marksburg for its well-preserved structure; and Rheinfels for its size and the chance to explore the underground areas (take a torch with you). Expect to do some steep climbing of stairs and walks along narrow high ramparts. Exciting and worth the visit but a little nerve racking with small children.

Brömserburg Castle · Rüdesheim Boosenburg Castle · Rüdesheim Klopp Castle (Burg Klopp) · Bingen Mäuseturm (Toll Tower) · Bingen Ehrenfels Castle Ruin (Burgruine Ehrenfels) · Rüdesheim Rheinstein Castle · Trechtingshausen Reichenstein Castle · Trechtingshausen Sooneck Castle · Niederheimbach Heimburg Castle · Niederheimbach Fürstenberg Castle Ruins · Rheindiebach Stahleck Castle · Bacharach Stahlberg Castle Ruins · Bacharach-Steeg Pfalzgrafenstein Castle · Kaub Gutenfels Castle · Kaub Schönburg Castle · Oberwesel Katz Castle · St. Goarshausen Reichenberg Castle Ruins · Reichenberg Rheinfels Fortress (Festung Rheinfels) · St. Goar Maus Castle · Wellmich The Hostile Brothers - Sterrenberg Castle (ruin) (Feindliche Brüder) · Kamp-Bornhofen The Roman Camp in Boppard (Römisches Kastell)· Boppard Former Prince Electors' Castle in Boppard (Ehemalige Kurfürstliche Burg) · Boppard Osterspai Castle (Wasserburg Osterspai)· Osterspai Marksburg · Braubach Lahneck Castle · Lahnstein-Oberlahnstein Stolzenfels Palace (Schloss Stolzenfels) · Koblenz-Stolzenfels Prince Elector's Castle (Kurfürstliche Stadtburg) · Koblenz Electors' Palace (Kurfürstliches Schloss) · Koblenz Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (Festung Ehrenbreitstein) · Koblenz

Do

Rheinsteig. Walk part of the trail on the right Rhine side. Rheinburgenweg. Walk part of the trail on the left Rhine side.

Events Rhein in Flammen (Rhine in Flames) Firework displays and lit-up cruise boats: Linz am Rhein - Bonn: Bonn. Early May. (date needs fixing) Rüdesheim - Bingen: Bingen. Early July. (