The Best Sight in Rudesheim, The Rhineland

High above Rüdesheim and visible for miles around is Germania, a colossal female statue crowning the Niederwald Monument. This tribute to German nationalism was built between 1877 and 1883 to commemorate the rebirth of the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). Germania faces across the Rhine toward its eternal enemy, France. At her base are the words to a stirring patriotic song: \"Dear Fatherland rest peacefully! Fast and true stands the watch, the watch on the Rhine!\" There are splendid panoramic views from the monument and from other vantage points on the edge of the forested plateau.

You can reach the monument on foot (allow an hour), by car (via Grabenstrasse, Zum Niederwald-Denkmal, and the L-3034), or over the vineyards in the Seilbahn (cable car;  Oberstraße 37;  www.seilbahn-ruedesheim.de; open mid-March through October). There's another chairlift to and from Assmannshausen, a red-wine enclave, on the other side of the hill; a \"Ringticket\" covers the cable car up from Rüdesheim to Niederwald, the cable car down from Niederwald to Assmannshausen, and the boat trip back to Rüdesheim; allow three to four hours for it all.