Advice for the Rhinelands
 

Hi there, I may have a chance to join my husband on a biz trip to Dusseldorf. If so, I would have 2-3 days in that area. Should we base ourselves in Cologne? Are there castles that could be gotten to that are on a train line, or would we have to rent a car? I'm just starting some research on this area. Any advice would be wonderful!

Well there are railways up the rhine and Mosel which are very efficient and clean. Also there are ferries and cruises up both rivers. Lots of great sites

Cologne for me. Renting car is easy. Trains are good and stations rent bikes. As well as castles there are vineyards

Cologne is a good place to "stay". It offers quite some good museums and the old city it fun to peruse. From Cologne (Koeln in German)take the train to Koblenz and on to one of the pretty towns along the Rhein between Koblenz and Bingen. Then take a boat back to Koblenz (downriver, faster), and return by train to Cologne. Since you will be traveling on "Regio " trains (the local trains that will stop at the towns along the Rhein), you can take advantage of a discounted 1-day ticket.

As to how far you should go by train upriver, look at the RR schedules at www.bahn.de and the schedules of the KD sightseeing boat line.

thanks so much, this is a great start!

Both Düsseldorf and Köln are good places to stay. It is not too important which one you choose because the train ride between both cities takes just 21 min.

Düsseldorf has

- a beautiful riverwalk,
- a vibrant old town with baroque architecture and an exciting nightlife (with hundred of restaurants),
- two fine baroque churches (including the church where Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and Schumann were employed),
- excellent museums of modern and contemporary art,
- Germany's most elegant shopping row, the Königsallee.

www.duesseldorf.de

Do not miss to visit the Neanderthal Museum in the vicinity - it is outstanding.

www.neanderthal.de

My favorite hotel in Düsseldorf is the Orangerie - with a perfect location, both central and quiet:

www.hotel-orangerie-mcs.de

Köln has

- the Cathedral, outstanding in many ways,
- 12 (!) romanesque churches,
- Roman ruins,
- two world-clas museums of medieval art and modern art,
- the chocolate museum.

http://www.koelntourismus.de/en/colo...the-rhine.html

You can either stay in Düsseldorf and make a daytrip to Köln or the other way round.

To visit a castle:

In any case, you should see the scenic Rhein valley, either by boat (the scenic section starts south of Bonn) or by train (the train Bonn-Koblenz runs directly through the valley).

The best castle in the area is the Marksburg in Braubach (1:41 of scenic ride from Düsseldorf, less from Köln).

www.marksburg.de

I enjoy both Duesseldorf and Cologne equally and usually I would base myself in whichever city my trade convention is located for convenience, so I would think your husband would want to be close to his work destination. One thing I learn is to book early because the hotels in those cities can get really booked up during trade conventions.

Great info. This will be a last minute trip, probably in a week or two. Do the boat lines run in November? We'll hope for the best in finding a place to stay. Probably Cologne, but Dusseldorf would be fine too. So far I have the Cathedral in Cologne, a museum, and a castle on my to do list! Thanks again.

The winter boat schedule is at

http://www.k-d.com/englisch/interakt...082009engl.pdf

The most scenic part of the Rhein accessible in winter is from Rüdesheim downstream to Boppard. You see the Rhein Gorge, Lorelei, and many, many castles.

As you can see from the timetable, the only departure is at 10:00. If you base in Koblenz, you can get up there in time to visit www.asbach.de before embarking. Bonn and Köln are easily accessible.

Marksburg Castle is a good stop, as is the rack railway from Königswinter up to the Drachenfels (Dragon's Rock).

With a Deutsche Bahn Land-Ticket, the two of you can cruise the whole region for a day, including local transport. The middle Rhein is on the Rheinland-Pfalz ticket; Düsseldorf and Neanderthal are in the Nordrhein-Westfalen state. The N-W will also get you a ride on the Schwebebahn (suspended monorail train) in Wuppertal, a few minutes east of Neanderthal.

I am not quite sure if a boat trip in November is so much fun. Check the weather report - when it's rainy or foggy, forget it. You also have a good view from the train which is much faster than the boats - but, again, only when the weather is good.

Sorry, but November is the ugliest month of the year in Germany. Good for museums and bars. But maybe you are lucky.