Sights & Culture

Once a monastery, a castle and winery since 1716 – wine has been grown here since the year 817. The terrace offers wide views across the Rhine valley.

65366 Geisenheim-Johannisberg

Wine shop usually open daily 10am–6pm (seasonal)

A former Rhine toll tower on an island near Bingen, clearly visible from the Mäuseturm park on the Kulturufer. The inside of the tower is only open on a handful of guided tours a year.

Park am Mäuseturm, 55411 Bingen am Rhein

Accessible via the Rüdesheim–Bingen car ferry

A castle ruin above Assmannshausen, clearly visible from the riverbank and the Rheinsteig trail.

Rheinuferstraße, 65385 Rüdesheim-Assmannshausen

A museum castle above Trechtingshausen with armour, hunting trophies and a castle restaurant.

Burgweg 24, 55413 Trechtingshausen

Museum daily 10am–6pm (last entry 5pm)

Accessible via the Rüdesheim–Bingen car ferry

A small, well-preserved castle above Niederheimbach, used as a hunting lodge by the Hohenzollerns in the 19th century.

Soonecker Straße 1, 55413 Niederheimbach

Late March to early November daily 10am–6pm (last entry 5pm), closed in winter

Accessible via the Rüdesheim–Bingen car ferry

A castle perched on a rock above the Rhine, rebuilt in neo-Gothic style and one of the first castles of the Rhine Romanticism movement. Walkable museum with armour and a viewing platform.

55413 Trechtingshausen

Usually April–October daily 10am–6pm

Accessible via the Rüdesheim–Bingen car ferry

A castle above St. Goarshausen, privately owned since 1989 and not open to the public – a lovely photo subject from the riverbank or the ferry.

St. Goarshausen

A castle above the Wellmich district of St. Goarshausen, with one of the best-preserved keeps on the Middle Rhine.

Wellmich, 56346 St. Goarshausen

The largest castle ruin on the Middle Rhine, once one of the region's most powerful fortresses. The underground mine tunnels and lower castle can only be visited on a guided tour.

Schlossberg 47, 56329 St. Goar

Accessible via the St. Goar–St. Goarshausen ferry or via Bingen

The only castle on the Middle Rhine that was never destroyed – high above the wine town of Braubach, with well-preserved medieval interiors.

56338 Braubach

A place of pilgrimage in the Rheingau forest near Geisenheim, active since 1461 and run by Franciscan friars. The pilgrimage church with its miraculous image is freely accessible, with Sunday services and a pilgrim devotion.

Kloster Marienthal 1, 65366 Geisenheim

A museum in the historic Brömserhof housing one of the world's most significant collections of mechanical musical instruments, from music boxes to self-playing orchestrions. Visits are guided tours only.

Oberstraße 29, 65385 Rüdesheim am Rhein

March–December daily 10am–6pm, tours around 45 minutes

A 12th-century Cistercian monastery, known as a filming location for The Name of the Rose. Romanesque and Gothic buildings, plus a historic wine cellar run by the Hessian State Wineries.

65346 Eltville am Rhein

Summer daily 9am–7pm, winter 10am–6pm

State museum of art and nature with collections ranging from Art Nouveau to classical modernism, plus a natural history department.

Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 2, 65185 Wiesbaden

Tue–Wed & Fri–Sun 10am–5pm, Thu 10am–9pm, closed Mondays

St. Martin's Cathedral is one of the three Imperial Cathedrals on the Rhine and over a thousand years old. Outside of services, the church is open to visitors.

Markt 10, 55116 Mainz

Weekdays usually 9am–5pm, Sundays and public holidays 1pm–5pm (outside services)

One of the oldest museums in Germany, with a collection spanning antiquity to the present day, originally founded from a gift of paintings by Napoleon in 1803.

Große Bleiche 49–51, 55116 Mainz

Tue 10am–8pm, Wed–Sun 10am–5pm, closed Mondays

The former Roman-Germanic Central Museum covers three million years of human history, from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages.

Ludwig-Lindenschmit-Forum 1, 55116 Mainz

One of the oldest printing museums in the world, named after Mainz's inventor of the printing press. The main building is currently being rebuilt, with an interim exhibition showing the key pieces at the Natural History Museum.

Reichklarastraße 1, 55116 Mainz

Interim exhibition at the Natural History Museum, Reichklarastraße 1

A Gothic church with nine blue stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall, created between 1978 and 1985 as a sign of reconciliation between Judaism and Christianity – the only church in Germany with Chagall windows.

Kleine Weißgasse 12, 55116 Mainz

March–October Mon–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 12pm–6pm; otherwise Mon–Sat 10am–4:30pm, Sun 12pm–4:30pm

National monument from 1883 high above Rüdesheim with sweeping views over the Rhine and the vineyards. Reachable on foot, by car or by cable car.

Am Niederwald 4, 65385 Rüdesheim am Rhein

Grounds open year-round, free access

A slate rock on the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, immortalised in Heinrich Heine's world-famous Loreley song. The visitor centre on the plateau explains the legend and the landscape, and a viewpoint on the Rheinsteig trail near Bornich offers a fine view of the rock and the vineyards of Oberwesel.

Loreley 7, 56348 Bornich

Visitor centre March–October Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 11am–4pm, Sun 11am–5pm

Gondola lift from Rüdesheim to the Niederwald Monument, continuing by chairlift to Assmannshausen, right through the vineyards. A firm favourite with children.

Oberstraße 37, 65385 Rüdesheim am Rhein

Seasonal, usually March to November

Scheduled boats between Rüdesheim, Bingen and St. Goar through the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley, passing the Loreley and numerous castles.

Rheinuferpromenade, 65385 Rüdesheim am Rhein

Season late March to early November

A family theme park in the Taunus hills, with a roller coaster, log flume and other rides.

Haus zur Schanze 1, 65388 Schlangenbad

Season roughly late March to early November, usually daily 10am–6pm

An animal and plant park in the Wiesbaden city forest with over 40 native species, including lynx, bison and raccoons. Admission is free.

Wilfried-Ries-Straße 22, 65195 Wiesbaden

April–October daily 9am–6pm, November–March 9am–5pm

The historic Nerobergbahn funicular carries visitors up the Neroberg above Wiesbaden using water ballast alone, with no motor. At the top, the Russian Orthodox Church with its five golden domes is well worth a look.

Wilhelminenstraße 51, 65193 Wiesbaden

Railway April–early November daily 9am–7pm, every 15 minutes

An open-air stage right above the Rhine, host to major concerts by well-known artists in summer.

Loreley 1, 56346 St. Goarshausen

A car-free lane lined with wine taverns, restaurants and live music, surrounded by the half-timbered old town and the Rhine promenade.

Drosselgasse, 65385 Rüdesheim am Rhein

A wine village right on the Rhine, home to Germany's largest continuous Pinot Noir growing area. The red wine trail winds through the vineyards, with views of Rheinstein and Reichenstein castles.

65385 Rüdesheim am Rhein, Ortsteil Assmannshausen

The largest town in the Rheingau, with a well-kept old town and the Electoral Castle right on the Rhine. Its rose garden, with over 350 varieties, is considered one of the finest in Germany.

Burgstraße 1, 65343 Eltville am Rhein

Castle courtyard and rose garden April–October 9:30am–7pm, otherwise 10am–5pm, free admission

A historic spa district with a Kurhaus, spacious spa gardens and a casino, a meeting point for spa society since the 19th century.

Kurhausplatz 1, 65189 Wiesbaden

One of the best-preserved half-timbered towns on the Middle Rhine, with its town wall still intact. Above it sits Stahleck Castle, with views over the Rhine and the vineyards.

55422 Bacharach

Accessible via the Rüdesheim–Bingen car ferry

A half-timbered old town around the Kirschgarten, one of the city's prettiest squares, just a few steps from the cathedral.

Kirschgarten, 55116 Mainz

Two half-timbered towns facing each other across the Rhine, linked by a passenger ferry: St. Goarshausen, the "Loreley town" below Katz Castle, and St. Goar with its historic old town below Rheinfels Castle.

56346 St. Goarshausen / 56329 St. Goar

A thermal outdoor pool with soft thermal water in the spa town of Schlangenbad, plus a sauna right by the pool that's open all year.

Rheingauer Straße 18, 65388 Schlangenbad

Mon–Fri 1pm–8pm, Sat/Sun/public holidays 9am–8pm (outdoor pool, season roughly April–October)

A historic Art Nouveau thermal bath in Wiesbaden's spa quarter, fed by a thermal spring already used in Roman times. Clothing-optional, minimum age 16, women-only on Tuesdays.

Langgasse 38–40, 65183 Wiesbaden

Daily 10am–10pm, closed for summer break 1 June to 31 August

A modern thermal leisure pool with indoor and outdoor basins and a sauna area, open year-round – handy in summer when the Kaiser-Friedrich-Therme is closed.

Leibnizstraße 7, 65191 Wiesbaden

Oct–Apr Mon–Thu 9am–10pm, Fri/Sat 9am–11pm, Sun 9am–10pm; May–Sep daily 9am–10pm

A large wellness and sauna centre on the edge of the Taunus hills in Bad Homburg, at the more upmarket end of the price range.

Seedammweg 10, 61352 Bad Homburg vor der Höhe

Daily 9am–10pm

Themed hiking trails through the Rheingau vineyards, passing stations such as Schloss Johannisberg and Kloster Eberbach. One of the shorter Riesling loops starts right in Geisenheim.

Riesling-Schleife, 65366 Geisenheim

A flat, well-maintained cycle path along the Rhine, part of the international EuroVelo 15 route from the Alps to the North Sea. Runs right through Geisenheim and Rüdesheim, suitable for families.

Oberstraße 42–44, 65385 Rüdesheim am Rhein

A certified long-distance hiking trail along the right bank of the Rhine, through vineyards, forest and rocky stretches. The section between Rüdesheim and Lorch offers sweeping views of the Rhine valley, with a steeper stretch near Assmannshausen.

Rheinstraße, 65385 Rüdesheim am Rhein

A signposted Nordic walking network around Rüdesheim, Assmannshausen and the Niederwald, with five circular routes of varying difficulty.

Rüdesheim am Rhein

A pilgrim trail linking Kloster Eberbach with Schloss Johannisberg, Kloster Marienthal, Kloster Nothgottes and the Abbey of St. Hildegard, through woodland and vineyard scenery.

65346 Eltville am Rhein