roger_cook

Last year we caught the train from Frankfurt to Koblenz and admired the view as we sped along beside the Rhine, passing a number of interesting looking riverside towns.
Has anyone the experience or knowledge to recommend which towns to visit on this route, with some hotel suggestions too?
We would be travelling by local train and planning to stay for at least two nights at each stop - maybe more if there is a lot to see. Interests = local history, scenery, architecture, good food and wine.

bilboburgler

Bonn stands out and anwhere around the Ahr for the wine. South of Koblenz you enter a main wine growing area and it gets very interesting while the turn up the Mosel is equally fascinating.

roger_cook

It was the section between Mainz & Frankfurt that I was looking at.

Reading54

Boppard, a town of about 5000, was both charming and convenient. We stayed at the Bellevue Rheinhotel, 5-min walk from Boppard Hbf, and just in front of the K-D Cruise line's ferry dock. We took a train to Bacharach and then took a K-D river cruise boat down stream back to Boppard. This hotel did not have air conditioning when we stayed in 2017, something to think about if you are going in the heat of the summer. The hotel's dining room (serving breakfast, lunch and dinner) was lovely.


Cochem, on the Mosel river, is postcard cute. But to make a day-trip from Bappard to Cochem by train you'll have to start with a 13-min train ride from Boppard to Koblenz, then change to another regional train to Cochem. One-way travel time will be about 60 to 90 minutes, depending on how long you'll have to wait in Koblenz.

PalenQ

Rudesheim - tour bus central or St Goar or Boppard or any town between Rudesheim and Boppard for lovely riverside towns - maybe 2 days there and then take train to Cochem to enjoy the to many prettier Mosel Valley from a Cochem base. Take K-D boats on the Rhine for a day - get off at say Marksburg for the only intact medieval castle still standing on this part of the Rhine. www.k-d.com for boat info. For lots on trains check www.bahn.de/en; www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com.

roger_cook

These are some very promising suggestions. Looks like, with some research, we can find plenty to make our journey from the UK a great experience. Many thanks posters.

PalenQ

Cochem is great but can be crowded in summer but still a great base - Burg Eltz, one of Germany's most famous castles, is an easy day trip by train and bus/taxi from Moselkern train station. 2 days on Rhine would be enough for me.

neckervd

The Rhine river area between Ruedesheim and Koblenz is best visited by boat
https://www.k-d.com/en/downloads/

PalenQ

Yes trains speed thru Rhine Gorge and with boat you can see both sides and have commentary en route and enjoy when all the Germans en masse start singing some song when the famous Lorelei cliff approaches. Very moving for sure!

lavandula

>It was the section between Mainz & Frankfurt that I was looking at.<

Mainz to Frankfurt (the Rhein-Main area) is less worthy of a visit. It is mostly modern development. Between Rüdesheim and Wiesbaden-Biebrich on the northern side there is a small wine-growing area which gets lots of day-trippers from Wiesbaden (Rheingau). Highlights are Kloster Eberbach and the castle ruins in Eltville, but just walking between villages is good.. Near Frankfurt on the northern side of the Main there is Höchst which has a modern (awful) part and a small older section with a castle. I don't know of much on the southern side apart from Mainz itself and maybe Darmstadt. And when you get to Frankfurt there is quite a bit to see (Römerberg, Museumsufer, Apfelwein-pubs in Sachsenhausen, Palmengarten....). But do look at Mainz, it has an engaging old town and a Roman past.

Lavandula

victorinevien

Rhens is a great town right by the Rhine River. It's a bit south of Koblenz and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Up high on a hill, you can see the Konigsstuhl, the place where members of the German government met to choose the next German King. There are some great restaurants with outdoor seating, a nice bakery, and a halal place that also sells pizza. Very charming town to experience the slower pace of life in small town Germany and get a bit of German history in.

roger_cook

First I apologise for typing "Between Mainz and Frankfurt" - I meant Mainz & Koblenz! Stupid boy!
Overwhelmed by all the great suggestions and plan to organise a 2 week trip, probably in late September [assuming our MPs haven't upset our European neighbours any more than they have already]
Thanks everyone