Dennis54

I am taking a Rhine river cruise. What day trips should I take, or must see places in or near these places?
March 17 Trier
March 18 Bernkastel
March 19 Cochen
March 20 Koblenz
March 21 mainz
March 22 Speyer
March 23 Strasbourg
March 24 Basel to Zurich
March 25 Zurich.

Thanks for any and all ideas

bilboburgler

Will touch base tomorrow. The first part of your trip is not on the Rhine but on the Mosel. Trier was the Roman capital and has an ancient centre, worth a walking tour.

Dennis54

Yes. I am coming from Paris, and first part is not on rhine....but thought I would post those cities anyway.
I found out about Roman capital!

menachem

The Rhine valley also was the Roman northern border (Limes) all the way to the Rhine estuary near present day Leiden and Katwijk, and there are a lot of archeological parks and sites are being heavily promoted as destinations along the Rhine river. Trier is one such example, but everywhere along the Limes were Roman forts and cities. Cologne is the major one of course, but you can find remains all the way to Mainz, which was an important Roman city in its own right.

Here's more info: large parts of the Limes jointly are a Unesco World Heritage site

https://www.mainz-tourismus.com/en/e...z/roman-mainz/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limes_Germanicus

https://archaeology-travel.com/explo...y/roman-sites/

bilboburgler

Trier, is also the birth place of Karl Marx and has a number of medievel houses where the official entrance is one floor up, traditionally entered by a ladder as defence against street violence. Some of the wine is very good and some buildings like the Porta Negra and the Hippodrome are worth a wonder, while the Roman baths are meh.

Bernkastel is the tourist "trap" of the region. Very lovely and full of tourists, if you want to seriously taste wine, cross to Kues and go to the wine museum where you can taste up to 120 wines for about E15.....

Cochem, trap2

Burg Eltz probably the best visit on the Mosel

Koblenz yawn

Strasbourg, fantastic, watch out for bikes

Basel, great museums

Zurich (do people really go to Zurich)

bilboburgler

Zurich, the only thing I enjoyed in/near the place, I used to have to go there for work
https://newinzurich.com/2021/08/fash...eum-st-gallen/

Dennis54

When in Speyer I thought about day trip to Heidelberg.
thoughts?
Also free day in zurich want to see alps
Via cogwheel train?

bigtyke

What tours does the cruise offer? Or do you just want to do it on your own?

Dennis54

In trier there is Reims cathedral tour then a tour of the city
In cochem there is wine cheese tasting, and Reichsburg Castle
In Koblenz "highlights of historic German town"
in mainz-Mainz Walking Tour & Gutenberg Museum
they offer extra Jewish Mainz & Chagall Windows
In Speyer included is Speyer walking tour,
or can pay extra for Heidelberg & Martin Luther’s Worms tour.
In Strasbourg- Strasbourg Highlights
Basel highlight
zurich Zürich Walking Tour & Lake Cruise

So those are included. But besides Speyer I think I would like the Heidelburg Worms tour. Am I right?

I also would like to ride into the Alps on cogwheel train.

Any other cities or sites I should consider?
Thanks

texasbookworm

I'd recommend the extra tour in Mainz--those Chagall windows are spectacular! And the story behind how they came there--I love Mainz and a day there will not be enough!

Speyer is nice but small and Worms' cathedral is not-to-be-missed, so the extra that day sounds good (also incredibly whirlwind, but...)

bigtyke

I agree with Texasbookworm - if you do the Mainz tour, do the extra Chagall wndows.

hetismij2

Do you really mean Reims cathedral from Trier? That is just daft. Trier has enough to see without a long trip to Reims.
Agree on the Chagall windows.

MichGuy

I like Zurich but Lucerne would be better for the lake cruise and cog railway.

MichelleY

I love my special wine glasses from Trier.


Agree. Do a more extensive tour of Mainz. We did a churches tour of Mainz that included the church with the Chagall windows.

See Trier. The Mosel River is lovely. Definitely see Burg Eltz, even if you have to do it on your own. When we visited Trier, I invested in some of the traditional wine glasses of the town called the Treveres.

Jetboy707

Check out the Giacometti murals, they are in the entrance hall of the main city Police Station but open to the public..... then stroll down the street and have a glass in the Jules Verne bar, Zurich`s highest bar

Jetboy707

In Zurich: Check out the Giacometti murals, they are in the entrance hall of the main city Police Station but open to the public..... then stroll down the street and have a glass in the Jules Verne bar, Zurich`s highest bar with great views over the city

Dennis54

Thanks for all your ideas. I will be reading about them and plan with my wife where to go.

LOVE the ideas of Jules Verne bar

Any more suggestions, let me know. Each of you have been so helpful.

CHE12

Strasbourg is fantastic and there is so much to see and do. Make sure to take a boat trip and enjoy the local wine and the local food. You will need to have plenty of space on your phone for all the photos you will take as it is so picturesque. The half timbered houses are delightful and the cobbled streets too.

Dennis54

I just bought a 128GB SanDisk.

Dennis54

I just bought a 128GB SanDisk.