We are planning to spend 7 nights in the Mosel and Rhine area of Germany in June. A tentative itinerary is 3 days in Trier, 2 days in Cochem and another 2 in Oberwesel. The locations are flexible as we have not made any reservations yet. I have used the forum to come up with ideas for hotels and restaurants which is a big help. We will be travelling by car. We have already been to Munich, Heidelberg area and Berlin.<BR>Is this too much time in the Rhine/Mosel area as the distances are not very long between places? Any comments on the itinerary would be appreciated.<BR><BR>Thanks Laurie

Laurie - an idyllic itinerary. While in Trier you might consider a day trip to Lux. and while in Cochem a day trip to Burg Eltz is a must - also consider a trip to Bernkastel-Kues. Oberwesel is a good jumping off point for exploring the Rhine Castles (Marksburg) and delightful villages (St. Goar, Boppard, Bacharach, etc.) Do enjoy some excellent wine tasting and have a wonderful time!

An acquaintance of mine recently spent a month in/around Cochem and enjoyed himself thoroughly, so I doubt you'll be bored if you venture out a bit.<BR><BR>Good suggestions for you from Charlie. Trier is probably good for one day's activities, so 2 nights there might be fine, unless you do the Luxembourg daytrip, or maybe even if you do. I second his suggestions for Bernkastel and Burg Eltz as well. Personally, I think Cochem is a better spot for 3 nights since there is a greater variety of more interesting things to do in the immediate area. Cochem has its own castle and is an excellent spot to head out from on a river cruise. There's also hiking (the hike up to &quot;Marienburg&quot; from nearby Alf is highly recommended), biking, and numerous other nearby towns to visit.<BR><BR>In Oberwesel, book a place that's away from the train tracks!<BR><BR>

Last May we stay at the Auf Schoenburg Castle Hotel in Oberwesel and loved it. It's a beautiful location up above the town overlooking the Rhine River. They have a wonderful gourmet restaurant and lovely rooms at a reasonable price. We will definitely stay there again.

Last June we spent 3 full days on the Mosel and it wasn't enough time to see everything we wanted to--we didn't have time to get to Trier. We stayed in the small village of Beilstein and enjoyed it immensely. We enjoyed it more than the Rhein, but we like more laid-back places.

reinsl,<BR><BR>Be sure to visit Luxembourg City. It is spectacular.<BR><BR>Curious

Laurie - I would definitely second Bettyk's suggestion re: Auf Schoenburg. Have tried many times to stay there, but always full, but have stayed at Gutenfels Castle across the Rhine in Kaub - not as LUX, but definitely an experience we would repeat.

Another vote to reduce your time in Trier. One good day seemed plenty for us. Us the extra days for St Goar and the other towns along the Rhine

Just a note to say thanks for all your suggestions. From your input our plans now are as follows: (we will be in the area for 8 nights now)<BR><BR>Trier - with a vist to Luxembourg, we will be staying at the Villa Hugel<BR><BR>Cochem - certainly will visit Burg Eltz. Staying at Alte Thorschenke. I understand that there is a wine week in Cochem 6/18 -22 from another post. That's when we will be there.<BR><BR>Oberwesel - staying at Auf Schoenburg which was highly recommended.<BR><BR>Since distances are not that great we should be able to see a number of the other places that you mentionned.<BR><BR>Thanks again...Laurie<BR>

reinsl,<BR><BR>We stayed at Vill Hugel in May. Best breakfast of our trip. Nice view, but a way from downtown. It is on a hill and the walk down is not too bad. Grab a bus or taxi for the return.<BR><BR>If you are there on the weekend, the restaurant does not serve dinner on Friday, Saturday or Sunday nights. Chef's nights off.<BR><BR>One last thing, directions in Trier are &quot;challenging&quot;. The hotels are indicated on street posts by small brown signs. You might want to contact the hotel for explicit directions. Save a few circles and frayed nerves.<BR><BR>Curious

I'll agree w/CharlieB. However, you may want to skip having too many things plotted out in advance. There tend to be many inexpensive places to stay &amp; we stumbled across several festivals, etc. &amp; stayed wherever the event was. We never had a problem &amp; probably saved some $ as well.

Thanks for the information on Villa Hugel. I wasn't aware of the chef's night off but fortunately we arrive on a Monday. The directions to the hotel are on their web site www.hotel-villa-huegel.de. The options seem to be walk down and take a taxi back which sounds ok or drive down providing parking is plentiful. As for directions, they are on their website www.hotel-villa-huegel.de but from your warning it may not be so easy<BR>Thanks...Laurie

We just got back on Friday from that very place. Loved Trier, we spent a day, but could have easily spent longer. We stayed in Beilstein (about 10-15 minutes from Cochem), and found it charming. We stayed at Gute Quelle, had a very nice and quite large room, and luckily for us the owner is from Ireland originally, and also has an english menu for dinner. (We speak a little German, but find menus very challenging!!!) Burg Eltz is easy to do from the Cochem area (the directions in Rick Steves book are very easy to follow) and definitely worth the trip! You could easily spend a couple of days just sampling wine at all of the little towns!<BR>Have fun!

Good choice on the ALTE THORNDECKE. Stayed there in 97 and enjoyed it. Watch your head on the stairs going up!<BR><BR>If you get to the town of ZELL look for a small winery on the outskirts doing wine tasting for groups. Brown stone building with American flag out front. Great guy. Good wine. The tunnel goes into the hill from this small building. Been there twice. Not good directions, but it will give you something to look for.