135 Best Sights in The Rhineland, Germany

A 25-minute ride on the U79 from the City Center puts you in this historic corner of Düsseldorf, reminiscent of a storybook German town with its winding cobblestone streets and neatly packed stone and brick buildings. Don't miss seeing the crumbling ruins of Kaiserpfalz, a 12th-century castle on the banks of the Rhine.

Marx was born on May 5, 1818, in this bourgeois house built in 1727. Visitors with a serious interest in social history will be fascinated by its small museum. Some of Marx's personal effects, as well as first-edition manifestos are on display. Audio guides are available in English.

Two baroque altars dominate the interior of the Gothic Karmeliterkirche on Karmeliterstrasse, near the Rhine. It houses intricately carved choir stalls and tombstones and several beautiful Madonnas. Winegrowers still observe the old custom of laying the first-picked Trauben (grapes) at the foot of the Traubenmadonna (1330) to ensure a good harvest.

The works of Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945), the most important German female artist of the 20th century, focus on social themes like the plight of the poor and the atrocities of war. This is the larger of the country's two Kollwitz collections and comprises all of her woodcuts, as well as paintings, etchings, lithographs, and sculptures. There are also changing exhibits of other modern artists.

A friendly husband-and-wife team run this winery, which has eight generations of winemaking tradition behind it. They make a special collection of rieslings with labels designed by visiting artists, and have an unpretentious tasting room close to the river.

Fifteen of Wiesbaden's 26 springs converge at the steaming Kochbrunnen Fountain, where the sulfurous but at least theoretically healthful waters are there for the tasting.

The origins of the official art museum of the Archdiocese of Cologne stretch back to 1853, but the institution received a big boost in 2007, with the opening of a new home atop the ruins of the Gothic parish church of St. Kolumba. Designed by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the new building pays homage to the site's Roman, Gothic, and medieval heritage, while unstuffily presenting a collection of art spanning from late antiquity to the present.

An impressive reminder of Trier's Roman past, this edifice, now the city's major Protestant church, was built by the emperor Constantine around AD 310 as the imperial throne room of the palace. At 239 feet long, 93 feet wide, and 108 feet high, it demonstrates the astounding ambition of its Roman builders and the sophistication of their building techniques. The basilica is one of the two largest Roman interiors in existence (the other is the Pantheon in Rome). Look up at the deeply coffered ceiling; more than any other part of the building, it conveys the opulence of the original structure. An ornate rococo garden now separates the basilica from the Landesmuseum.

Exhibits are generally excellent at this large museum that focuses on German art since 1945, mainly Rhenish expressionists (Beuys, Baselitz, and August Macke), as well as works by contemporary German artists.

Eltville flourished as a favorite residence of the archbishops of Mainz in the 14th and 15th centuries, and it was during this time that the castle—which now houses Eltville's tourist-information center—was built. The museum includes an exhibition commemorating Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of modern letterpress printing, who was appointed courtier here in 1465; the Count's Chamber with its impressive 14th-century murals; an observation deck with a lovely view of the city; and a dungeon that is accessed by a narrow spiral staircase. More than 300 varieties of roses grow in the castle's courtyard garden, its walls, and out along the Rhine promenade.

Built in the 18th century by the prince-electors of Cologne, this grand palace now houses Bonn's university. If the weather is good, stroll through Hofgarten park in front of it. When Bonn was a capital, this patch of grass drew tens of thousands to antinuclear demonstrations. Today it's mostly used for games of pickup soccer and ultimate Frisbee.

Some 10 km (6 miles) north of the Maus castle, near Kamp-Bornhofen, is a castle duo separated by a "quarrel wall": Liebenstein and Sterrenberg, known as the Feindliche Brüder (enemy brothers) in reference to the feuding descendants who inherited the castles from the king who built them. Liebenstein is now home to a charming medieval-style hotel complete with lavish period rooms, and Sterrenberg offers a traditional German restaurant with garden and terrace that offer wonderful panoramic views.

This church stands on Roman foundations at the Old Town's highest point, where, on surrounding streets, war damage is evidenced by the blend of old buildings and modern store blocks. The bulk of the church is of Romanesque design, but its choir is one of the Rhineland's finest examples of 15th-century Gothic architecture, and the west front is graced with two 17th-century baroque towers.

Popularly known as the "red church" because of its brightly colored exterior, Liebfrauenkirche has superb sculptures, tombstones, and paintings, and one of Germany's oldest high gothic shrine altars, from 1331.

One of the Rhineland's most famous and beloved attractions lies 4 km (2½ miles) south of St. Goarshausen: the steep (430-foot-high) slate cliff named after the beautiful blonde nymph Loreley from the story written in 1801 by author Clemens Brentano. Brentano drew his inspiration from the sirens of Greek mythology, and his poetic creation describes her sitting on the ledge, singing songs so lovely that sailors and fishermen were lured to their demise in the treacherous rapids. The rapids really are treacherous; the Rhine is at its narrowest here and the current the swiftest. Her tale was later retold as a ballad by poet Heinrich Heine and set to music by Friedrich Silcher at the height of the Rhine Romanticism movement in the 19th century. The haunting melody is played on the PA systems of the Rhine boats whenever the Loreley is approached.

The 20-minute 3-D film and hands-on exhibits at this visitor center are entertaining ways to learn about the region's flora and fauna, geology, wine, shipping, and, above all, the myth of the Loreley. You can stock up on souvenirs in the shop and have a snack at the bistro before heading for the nearby vantage point at the cliff's summit. The center is on the Rheinsteig trail, and other hiking trails are signposted in the landscaped park. From Easter to October there's hourly bus service to and from the KD steamer landing in St. Goarshausen.

One of the world's most important art collectors, chocolate magnate Peter Ludwig, endowed two museums in the town he called home. The Forum, the larger of the two, holds a portion of Ludwig's enormous collection of contemporary art and hosts traveling exhibits.

Just behind the Deutsches Eck, this modern art museum is housed in the spic-and-span Deutschherrenhaus, a restored 13th-century building. Industrialist Peter Ludwig, one of Germany's leading contemporary-art collectors, has filled this museum with part of his huge collection.

With the wings of a glider you can silently soar over the Rhine Valley. At the Luftsport-Club Rheingau you can catch a 30- to 60-minute Segelflug (glider flight) between Rüdesheim and the Loreley; allow 1½ hours for pre- and postflight preparations.

On the eastern shore overlooking the town of Braubach is the Marksburg. Built in the 13th century to protect the silver and lead mines in the area, it's the only land-based castle on the Rhine to have survived the centuries intact. Within its massive walls are a collection of weapons and manuscripts, a medieval botanical garden, and a self-service restaurant with a terrace offering stunning views. The castle can only be visited as part of a 50-minute guided tour: individual English tours take place daily during the summer months at 1 pm and 4 pm; call ahead if you'd like to join a pre-arranged tour at a different time.

The church is a remarkable amalgamation of art and architectural styles, both inside and out. Take a moment to admire the 117 carved bosses in the star-vaulted ceiling of the nave. Among the many fine sculptures throughout the church and the chapel is the town's treasure: a Renaissance stone relief, Christ in the Winepress.

Looking west along the river from Bingen, you can just about spot the Mäuseturm, perched on a rocky island near the Binger Loch. The name derives from a gruesome legend. One version tells that during a famine in 969 the miserly Archbishop Hatto hoarded grain and sought refuge in the tower to escape the peasants' pleas for food. The stockpile attracted scads of mice to the tower, where they devoured everything in sight, including Hatto. In fact, the tower was built by the archbishops of Mainz in the 13th and 14th centuries as a Mautturm (watch tower and toll station) for their fortress, Ehrenfels, on the opposite shore (now a ruin). It was restored in neo-Gothic style by the king of Prussia in 1855, who also rebuilt Burg Sooneck, but you can't go inside.

Elaborately carved half-timber houses (16th–17th century) and a Renaissance town hall (1608) frame St. Michael's Fountain (1606) on Bernkastel's photogenic medieval market square. At the beginning of September, the square and riverbank are lined with wine stands for one of the region's largest wine festivals, the Weinfest der Mittelmosel.

The Mittelmosel Museum features twenty fine 18th- and 19th-century rooms in the baroque villa Haus Böcking (1750) exhibiting a number of works of art as well as a collection chronicling the historical development of the area.

Relocated in 2013 to the new Forum Confluentes, this museum, founded in 1835, houses the city's excellent art collection, including extensive holdings of landscapes focusing on the Rhine. It also has a notable collection of secular medieval art and contemporary works by regional artists.

Within St.-Nikolaus-Hospital there is a small wine museum as well as a bistro. While the museum isn't particularly exciting, there's also a Vinothek (wineshop) in the vaulted cellar, where you can sample more than 100 wines from the entire Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region.

Located just behind the Dom, this collection focuses on medieval sacred art, and includes fascinating models of the cathedral as it looked in Roman times. Look for the 15 Roman frescoes discovered in 1946, that may have adorned Emperor Constantine's palace.