Kimberly819

Hello all. I am attending a family reunion in Wiesbaden with my husband. Most of my family lives around the area so they picked Wiesbaden as a central location. While my husband and I have visited many other parts of Germany, and Europe, this will be our first time to this city. I was wondering if anyone could recommend some good nightlife spots, or things to do, when we break away from the family for a bit. We will be there for a week.

(My husband loves bier, but I'm not finding much in my internet searches. We've toured breweries in The Netherlands, Belgium, and Northern Germany, but I'm not seeing anything that stands out around Wiesbaden.)

Any suggestions or tips are greatly appreciated!!

SamuelMcollum

The hot springs are the main attraction in my opinion.

mokka4

When I search Brauereien Wiesbaden, YELP gives a list of ten top craft breweries in the area with pics.
Brauhaus Castel
Wiesbadener Braumanufaktor
Wiesbadener Kronen-Brauerei
and others may be worth a look.

Travelforbeer

Hi Kim- If you get bored with Wiesbaden, Mainz is a short bus ride across the river...

Have a great trip!!!

Heimdall

You might want to take a Rhein River cruise. There are several that last a half-day or full day, and go past some beautiful scenery.

lavandula

Hi, I used to live in Wiesbaden some time ago and we return to the area to visit friends regularly. It is a beautiful town with many 19th century buildings. The few streets around the main square have many restaurants and small bars; this is the oldest part of town. There is a nice little bar under the old Standesamt in the main square where you can get light snacks so the alcohol doesn't go to your head so quickly. You will find most bars are skewed to wine, not beer, as Wiesbaden is in a wine region. Another restaurant that has good memories for us is the Uhrturm, which has a traditional menu. A few things to look out for on local menus are Handkäs mit Musik (a very stinky cheese with raw onions, a local specialty), Spundekäs (a whipped up cream cheese with paprika and other flavourings), Apfelwein (a strong cider - persist through the first few mouthfuls, it does grow on you and doesn't give you a hangover), and in the fall, Federweisser (the bubbly, sweet, cloudy new wine) and its traditional accompaniment, Zwiebelkuchen (a sort of onion quiche).

A nice thing to do is to follow all the hot springs around town - the Bäckerbrunnen is hot at about 60C. You can drink from all the springs except the Faulbrunnen (near the bus station). The spring at the end on the Langgasse (the main shopping street) is the best to drink from; BYO cup!

A nice excursion is to take the train out to the Rheingau - the semi-rural wine region, which is to the west of Wiesbaden, just up to the corner where the Rhein turns north. If you are so inclined you can visit the wineries - many have seasonal restaurants - or go to the main tourist town Rüdesheim, where you can set off on a Rhine cruise, do wine tasting and buy Christmas decorations from Käthe Wohlfahrt; the larger Eltville has the ruins of a castle with beautiful roses planted there; there is also a monastery which was used to film The Name of The Rose (Kloster Eberbach), which is definitely worth a visit. You can also find how brandy is made at the Asbach Uralt factory.

If you are visiting over summer the Rheingau Musik Festival has concerts (many classical) in locations all over Wiesbaden and the Rheingau. Even if you are not into classical music, if you can get a concert in the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden, that is very atmospheric and memorable. There is also a casino (which I confess I am not into), which was one of the 19th century attractions to the town, so it has some history, and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Therme, a bath built on the city's hot springs.

If I had to recommend a hotel close in, it would be the small private hotel Hotel Oranien; the Crown Plaza is also not a bad location.

Mainz is also good for a visit - the Mainzer Dom (cathedral) is over 1000 years old!

Enjoy the region, it's lovely!

Lavandula

lavandula

Oh, and I didn't mention the Nerobergbahn (a funicular which takes you up a hill outside of town), and the Russische Kapelle (a very beautiful Russian Orthodox chapel), decorated in gold. Worth seeing.

Lavandula