135 Best Sights in The Rhineland, Germany

Drop down into a labyrinth of cellars beneath Trier's streets or visit the estate's elegant Vinothek (wine store) to sample fine Rieslings, which were built on almost two millennia of priestly tradition. Tastings are available which showcase six wines and one sparkling wine.

The 900-year-old church is vintage late Romanesque, with a massive octagonal main tower and a soaring spire. It stands on a site where two Roman soldiers were executed in the 3rd century for being Christian. It saw the coronations of two Holy Roman Emperors (in 1314 and 1346) and was one of the Rhineland's most important ecclesiastical centers in the Middle Ages. The 17th-century bronze figure of St. Helen and the ornate rococo pulpit are highlights of the interior. Outside you'll find two giant stone heads: those of Cassius and Florentius, the martyred soldiers.

This is one of the Rhineland's most important venues for major temporary exhibitions about art, culture, and archaeology. Its modern design, by Viennese architect Gustave Peichl, is as interesting as anything on exhibit in the museum. It features three enormous blue cones situated on a lawnlike rooftop garden.

Walking through the pleasant area that was once the government district is like taking a trip back in time, to an era when Bonn was still the sleepy capital of West Germany. Bordered by Adenauerallee, Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse, Franz-Josef-Strasse, and the Rhine, the quarter boasts sights such as the Bundeshaus, which includes the Plenarsaal (Plenary Hall). Designed to serve as the new Federal Parliament, the Bundeshaus was completed only seven years before the capital was relocated to Berlin in 1999. A few steps away, you'll find the historic Villa Hammerschmidt, the German equivalent of the White House. This stylish neoclassical mansion began serving as the federal president's permanent residence in 1950, and is still his home when he stays in Bonn. Equally impressive is the Palais Schaumburg, another fine example of the Rhein Riveria estates that once housed the Federal Chancellery (1949–76). It became the center of Cold War politics during the Adenauer administration.

Bingen was destroyed repeatedly by wars and fires; thus there are many ancient foundations but few visible architectural remains of the past. Since Celtic times the Kloppberg (Klopp Hill), in the center of town, has been the site of a succession of citadels, all named Burg Klopp, since 1282. Here you'll find a terrace with good views of the Rhine, the Nahe, and the surrounding hills, and from April to October you can climb the tower for a more lofty view.

A stylish castle hotel with two restaurants serving fresh and elegant cuisine, Reichenstein also has an interesting museum with beautiful period rooms, collections of decorative cast-iron slabs (from ovens and historical room-heating devices), hunting weapons and armor, and paintings. It's the only one of the area's three castles directly accessible by car.

The castle ruins overlooking the town bear witness to the fact that St. Goar was once the best-fortified town in the Mittelrhein. From its beginnings in 1245, it was repeatedly enlarged by the counts of Katzenelnbogen, a powerful local dynasty, and their successors, the Landgraviate of Hesse. Rheinfels was finally demolished by the French in 1797. Take time for a walk through the impressive ruins and the museum, which has a detailed model of how the fortress looked in its heyday. It's a steep ascent by foot, but between 11 am to 5 pm, the cab company Papst will take you from the Katholische Kirche to the castle and back.

Perched on the edge of the Soon (pronounced "zone") Forest, this imposing 11th-century castle houses a beautiful collection of Empire, Biedermeier, and neo-Gothic furnishings, medieval weapons, and paintings from the Rhine Romantic era.

This 12th-century castle towers over the village and the Burgberg (castle hill) vineyard. Castle tours include the chapel, cellar, tower, and a weapons display, and wine and snacks are served in the courtyard. Allow a good half hour for the climb from the riverbank.

From the hilltop ruins of this 13th-century castle there are splendid views. It was here that Trier's Archbishop Boemund II is said to have recovered from an illness by drinking the local wine. This legendary vineyard, still known as "the Doctor," soars up from Hinterm Graben street near the town gate, Graacher Tor. You can purchase these well-regarded wines at some of the shops around town, or sample them at the restaurant here.

As you continue along the winding course of the Mosel, you'll pass Europe's steepest vineyard site, Calmont, just before the loop at Bremm. Opposite Calmont are the romantic ruins of a 12th-century Augustinian convent.

If you're a steam-lover, try this high-tech spa with a venerable history. In Dürer's time there were regular crackdowns on the orgiastic goings-on at the baths. Today taking the waters is done with a bathing suit on, but be aware that the sauna area is a clothes-free zone.

A ride on the chairlift to the Pinner Kreuz provides great vistas, which you can enjoy from the terrace of the café at the top

This pointed bit of land, jutting into the river like the prow of an early ironclad warship, is at the sharp intersection of the Rhine and Mosel rivers. One of the more effusive manifestations of German nationalism—an 1897 equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I, first emperor of the newly united Germany—was erected here. It was destroyed at the end of World War II and replaced in 1953 with a ponderous monument to Germany's unity. After German reunification a new statue of Wilhelm was placed atop this monument in 1993. Pieces of the Berlin Wall stand on the Mosel side—a memorial to those who died as a result of the partitioning of the country.

The cathedral houses sacred art from late antiquity and the Carolingian, Ottonian, and Hohenstaufen eras. A bust of Charlemagne on view here was commissioned in the late 14th century by Emperor Karl IV, who traveled here from Prague for the sole reason of having it made. The bust incorporates a piece of Charlemagne's skull. Other highlights include the Cross of Lothair and the Persephone Sarcophagus.

The highlight of the cathedral's museum is the 10th-century Andreas Tragaltar (St. Andrew's Portable Altar), constructed of oak and covered with gold leaf, enamel, and ivory by local craftsmen. It's a reliquary for the soles of St. Andrew's sandals, as signaled by the gilded, life-size foot on the top of the altar.

The town of Königswinter has one of the most visited castles on the Rhine, the Drachenfels. Its ruins crown one of the highest hills in the Siebengebirge, with a spectacular view of the Rhine. It's also part of Germany's oldest nature reserve, with more than 100 km (62 miles) of hiking trails. The castle was built in the 12th century by the archbishop of Cologne, and takes its name from a dragon said to have lived in a nearby cave. (The dragon was slain by Siegfried, hero of the epic Nibelungenlied.)

The castle ruins can be reached via two different hikes, each of about 45 minutes. One route begins at the Drachenfelsbahn station, and passes the Nibelungenhalle reptile zoo along the way. The other route starts at Rhöndorf on the other side of the hill. The Siebengebirge Tourist Office can provide a map that includes these and other local hiking trails.

If hiking to Drachenfels isn't for you, you can also reach the castle ruins by taking the Drachenfelsbahn, a narrow-gauge train that makes trips to the summit every half hour from March through October, and hourly in January and February. Download a free audio tour (available in English) about the Drachenfelsbahn and the Drachenfels on the website.

Less than 500 feet long, Drosselgasse is a narrow, pub-lined lane between Rheinstrasse and Oberstrasse that buzzes with music and merrymaking from 10 am until well past midnight every day, all year round. The first wine tavern here, the Drosselhof, opened in 1727.

Southeast of the cathedral and the site of the city's tourist-information center is an arcaded, neoclassical structure built in 1822. The central pavilion contains two fountains with thermal water—the hottest north of the Alps—that is reputed to help cure a wide range of ailments in those who drink it. If you can brave a gulp of the sulfurous water, you'll be emulating the likes of Dürer, Frederick the Great, and Charlemagne.

Butterflies from South America, Asia, and Africa flit back and forth over your head between the branches of banana trees and palms in two pavilions at this park. The palace houses a small museum of decorative cast-iron objects, a restaurant, and a café, and its park can be explored.

German history since World War II is the subject of this museum, which begins with "hour zero," as the Germans call the unconditional surrender of 1945. The museum displays an overwhelming amount of documentary material organized on five levels and engages various types of media. You can even step inside a re-created 1950s ice-cream parlor, complete with an interactive jukebox. An audio guide in English is available.

This museum and archive houses significant manuscripts of the German poet and man of letters, Heinrich Heine. Part of the complex was once the residence of the composer Robert Schumann.

Near the St. Roch Chapel, the Hildegard Forum has exhibits related to St. Hildegard of Bingen, the famous mystic and composer of the High Middle Ages, a medicinal medieval herb garden, and a restaurant serving tasty, wholesome foods (many based on Hildegard's theories of nutrition) and a substantial selection of local wines. The lunch buffet of soups, salads, mains, and sweets, is a very good value.

Wolfgang Steffens conducts half-hour daily tours at 11, 2, 3, and 4, showing how he produces the gourmet mustard at his 200-year-old mill. Garlic, cayenne, honey, curry, and Riesling wine are among the flavors you can sample and buy in the shop. From the Old Town, walk across the bridge toward Cond. The mill is to the left of the bridgehead.

At this small but very well cared-for museum, you can see the most intact set of Roman surgical tools ever discovered (2nd century), period rooms from the Rhine Romantic era, and displays about Abbess St. Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179), one of the most remarkable women of the Middle Ages. An outspoken critic of papal and imperial machinations, she was a highly respected scholar, naturopath, and artist whose mystic writings and (especially) music became very popular starting in the 1990s, when her work was rediscovered and popularized by feminist religious scholars. An excellent illustrated booklet in English on Rhine Romanticism, The Romantic Rhine, is sold at the museum shop. The museum is housed in a former power station (1898) on the riverbank.

The oldest remaining parts of the Hofgarten date back to 1769, when it was transformed into Germany's first public park. The promenade leading to what was once a hunting palace, Schloss Jägerhof, was all the rage in late-18th-century Düsseldorf before the park was largely destroyed by Napoléon's troops. Today it's an oasis of greenery in the heart of downtown.

This small castle, at the end of an avenue leading under the tracks across from Schloss Augustusburg's grounds, was built as a getaway where the prince could indulge his passion for falconry.

Bernkastel was once the home of a well-assimilated Jewish community until the Nazis took power. You can ask at the tourist center to borrow a key to the town's Jewish cemetery, reachable by a scenic half-hour hike through the vineyards in the direction of Traben-Trarbach. Opened in the mid-19th century, it contains a few headstones from a destroyed 17th-century graveyard.