cos8mati

We will.be in.Germany in mid September. We are starting in Berlin.and ending our 2 week trip in Munich. In between.We are planning 4 days in.Rhine/Mosel and 2 days in.Strasbourg France. Does this sequence make sense? After comments from.Another forum.it seems 2 days in Rhine and then 2 days in Mosele is the best option instead of one base town. Any suggestions as to best town in.Rhine region.and best town in.Mosel valley? Any other thoughts welcome.

PalenQ

Are you driving or going by train - makes a huge difference to responses.

I would base all four days in Cochem, not far from the Rhine by train or car and a dreamy dreamy town that IMO has no parallel amongst the the Rhine towns.

Relocating takes a half a day - just base one place. Cochem is the picture-postcard town many dream of staying but rarely get to -

https://www.google.com/search?q=coch...w=1455&bih=977

I may suggest there is more of varied interests along the Mosel - like Burg Eltz, one of the rare castles not destroyed in wars and one of Germany's most famous castles - once gracing the backside of Germany's 500 Deutsche Mark banknote.

Trier, one of Europe's oldest cities with some of the most remarkaable Roman ruins is a short train ride or gorgeous drive along the Mosel away - the Rhine to me for the average traveler can be a full day experience - do the K-D boats and stop off en route at places like Marksburg Castle, the only castle on this stretch of Rhine not to have been decapitated in war.

But are you going by car or train?

cos8mati

We were thinking of train. Do you think a car would be bettet?

Russ

"I would base all four days in Cochem, not far from the Rhine by train..."

It's not far from the Rhine - but Cochem IS far from places on the Rhine that you likely want to visit. Savvy folks begin a Rhine cruise in Rüdesheim (or just across the river in Bingen) and cruise north. But Cochem to Rüdesheim takes about TWO HOURS of train travel - and about the same to Bingen.

So while Cochem (which lies right in the middle of the Koblenz - Trier train line) really is "dreamy" and does make an excellent base for day trips to Trier and all the other towns along the Mosel, it's far from ideal for exploring the Rhine as well. You could spend 2 nights in a Rhine village (Bacharach, Oberwesel, St. Goar?) and then switch to Cochem for two nights (a trip of roughly 1.3 - 1.5 hours) or vice versa.

If you really want to stay in just one place for both rivers, strategically-located choices are few. Koblenz is best but it is a mostly modern city, in no way an old-world village like Cochem. Boppard is probably your best one-base-town option, a very handsome town with lots of lodging and dining options; from Boppard it's about 1-1.5 hours to Cochem (depends on the trains you use and time you travel) and to the southern end of the Rhine it's only 25-35 minutes.

Boppard will NOT work well as a single base town, however, if your plans include Trier (unless you want to spend 2-2.5 hours in each direction on the train.) If visiting Trier, definitely go with the 2-base-town option.

Russ

Here is a schematic of the Rhine and Mosel train lines that while not to scale should point out the trouble with Cochem as a base town for both rivers. It should also show why Boppard is a better one-base choice.

http://www.vrminfo.de/fileadmin/data...zplan_neu2.pdf

Aramis

Go with two towns - Boppard and Cochem.

You can do this by train but a car opens up more options in and around the the river valleys. As you continue on to Strasbourg and then cross the Black Forest eastward toward Munich, a car would provide you with opportunities to visit more towns off of the rail routes; like the Alsatian Wine Route towns in France. Although many interesting towns can be "reached" by rail, some of the best things about the areas are not easily accessed on foot from the rail station and you would be limited by timetables on the less frequent routes. It is an individual decision that depends on your interest in driving driving, the types of things you want to see and experience, and how you want to spend your time.

Taking the train from Berlin to Boppard and then picking up a car when you leave Boppard to drive the Mosel and onward before dropping it on arrival in Munich might make sense.

cos8mati

Is Trier an importsnt town to see? What are the must see towns in Rhine and Mosel? With 4 days there are just so many towns we can explore. Is Trier on.the must see list? We want time to ecperience the beautiful towns and not feel.rushed to race from one to the other.

Does it make sense to rent a car when we get to.Rhine area and drive to Mosel and then Strasbourg? Then take a train to Munich?

Can we stop at Trier on the wsy to.Strasbourg?

Aramis

"What are the must see towns in Rhine and Mosel?"

Bacharach, Rudesheim, Cochem, Burg Eltz, are on my recommended list of must sees.


"Is Trier on.the must see list?"

Trier would be a good addition to the list if you have time.


"We want time to ecperience the beautiful towns and not feel.rushed to race from one to the other."

Cochem to Strasbourg is a 2:54 hour drive - about 4:30 by train
Boppard to Bacharach is 22 minutes via fastest train.
Boppard to Bingen/Rudesheim is about 30 minutes by train.
You could also take the boat


"Can we stop at Trier on the wsy to.Strasbourg?"

Cochem - Trier - Strasbourg - is a 3:23 hour drive so it adds about 30 minutes to a drive. It is still about 4:30 by train since the train connects through Trier. It takes about an hour to get to Trier from Cochem. You can decide if that means it can be seen on the way.

Around Strasbourg, I would suggest, Riquewihr, Ribeauville, and Hunawihr, all very close together and about 45 mins south of Strasbourg.

"Does it make sense to rent a car when we get to.Rhine area and drive to Mosel and then Strasbourg? Then take a train to Munich?"

You have a few opinions on this already.