The Romantic Rhine and the Moselle, from Mainz to Trier

Two valleys of vineyards and castles

Between Bingen and Koblenz, the Rhine runs for 65 kilometres along the bottom of a narrow valley, between vineyards and forests. A road follows the water on each bank, and nearly forty castles and ruins line the heights, one after another. No bridge crosses the river between Mainz and Koblenz: you go down one bank and come back up the other, and see each castle close up and from across the water. Ferries cross in a few minutes.

The high point is the Lorelei, a slate rock 132 metres above the river. The Rhine narrows here, and boatmen long feared the passage. Go up to the plateau at the end of the day to watch the boats take the bend. In Boppard, a chairlift climbs to the Vierseenblick, where the river looks cut into four lakes.

On the other side of the Hunsrück, the Moselle makes wide loops, and the road follows them from one wine village to the next. You reach Burg Eltz on foot, through the forest. Cochem, Beilstein, Traben-Trarbach and Bernkastel-Kues line the water’s edge. At Bremm, the Calmont is said to be the steepest vineyard in Europe; it is still worked by hand. The trip ends in Trier, among the Roman monuments.

In the 19th century, the ruins drew writers. In 1801, Clemens Brentano wrote a ballad about Lore Lay. In 1824, Heinrich Heine had her sing on the rock, and the boatmen forgot the reefs. Victor Hugo passed through Bacharach in 1840 and told the story of his journey in ‘The Rhine’.

The princes of Prussia then rebuilt ruins in the medieval style, such as Stolzenfels, from 1836 to 1842. Since 2002, the valley has been a World Heritage Site.

Trier, the Roman town

The Romans founded the town around 16 BC, under the name Augusta Treverorum. Trier claims to be the oldest town in Germany. In the 4th century, it was a residence of the emperors. Constantine had his audience hall built here, the Basilica of Constantine, 67 metres long under a single roof and now a Protestant church.

The Porta Nigra, the old north gate, was begun in AD 170. Its name comes from its blackened stone. In the 11th century, it became a church, which saved it from being taken apart for its stone. The cathedral next door is the oldest in Germany. With the Imperial Baths and the amphitheatre, these monuments have been on the World Heritage List since 1986.

What not to miss

1. 1Burg EltzThe castle has belonged to the same family since the 12th century; it was on the 500-mark note.
2. 2The NiederwalddenkmalA monument from 1883 above the vineyards of Rüdesheim, with a view over Bingen.
3. 3The Deutsches EckIn Koblenz, the point where the Moselle joins the Rhine, facing the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein.
4. 4BeilsteinA village of 132 people below a ruined castle, the setting for several German films.
5. 5Traben-TrarbachA former centre of the wine trade, rich in Art Nouveau houses built around 1900.
6. 6Bernkastel-KuesA market square lined with half-timbered houses, and the birthplace of Nicholas of Cusa.

The Romantic Rhine and the Moselle in pictures

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The Marksburg on its hill, above Braubach.

Food and wine of the Rhine and the Moselle

The Rhine and the Moselle are Riesling country, a white grape grown on slate slopes. You drink it in a Weinstube, a wine bar, or in a grower’s Straußwirtschaft, open for a few weeks a year. In autumn, they serve Federweißer, a new wine, with onion tart.

In Rüdesheim, Rüdesheimer Kaffee is flambéed with Asbach brandy and served with cream. Rhineland cooking serves Sauerbraten, marinated beef, in a raisin sauce. In Trier, people drink Viez, a local cider.