Hi Travel lovers,
I'm returning to Germany with my family after 40 yrs. (graduated from Berlin American H. School in 1975) and We're all very excited about it. I would like some advice on a centrally located & fun city to stay in where we can take day trips to at least 3 castles along the Rhine and/or Mosel. Berg Elz is a must for us and we'd like to see the Rhinefelz & Cochem Castle too. We're looking at staying in Cochem or Koblenz. Then on to Fussen for a day. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated and thanks for letting me post Rick !
Posted by
Nederland, CO
1443 posts
On our first trip to the area we stayed in Bacharach on the Rhein. We really enjoyed it. From there we explored Rheinfels and Burg Eltz. On another trip we spent one night in Marksburg (on the Rhein) followed by 2 nights in Cochem. We really enjoyed Cochem as a base also. I would say either Bacharach or Cochem would work. Cochem is a little larger and has more restaurant / hotel options. I personally wouldn't stay in Koblenz - too big and not enough character for me. It would be easy enough to do a day trip by train from Cochem to St. Goar to see Rheinfels.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks so much !
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Will you be travelling by car or train? That would affect the answer.
As far as the Rhine is concerned, I would not stay in a big city, but in one of the many small towns along the Rhine Gorge between Koblenz and Bingen.
This highly inaccurate map lists them: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c3-C-kjMeRo/UnGphfnOhjI/AAAAAAAAQqw/aH-vLaA-tN8/s1600/rhine-river-castles-map.jpg
If you want to be central to both the Rhine and the Mosel, and are travelling by train, you could stay in Koblenz, which is a city and is where the two rivers join.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks for your reply,
We'll definitely be traveling by train. Good to know we can reach several castles from one central location there. Oh, and thanks for the map :)
Posted by
Paradise
6653 posts
Have a look at the map of the Rhine AND Mosel:
http://rhein-moselland-reisen.de/bilder/Karte-Rhein-Mosel.jpg
The trains follow the rivers closely. A good base town for day trips to the castles would be somewhere in between Cochem Castle (furthest point upstream on the Mosel for your destinations) and Rheinfels Castle (furthest point upstream on the Rhine.) Eltz and Marksburg are in between.
For reasons of atmosphere I would not stay in Koblenz.
If you are leaving afterward for Füssen, staying in Cochem will add travel time to an already long train journey.
Bacharach (further south of St. Goar but not shown on the map) lies outside your target zone and only adds time to your train trip to Cochem and Burg Eltz (and every other train outing as well.)
Staying in St. Goar is your best bet; you can see Rheinfels whenever it's convenient (just walk up.) Getting to Marksburg (which is Braubach on the opposite river bank, just south of Lahnstein) is very easy from St. Goar because of the ferry that runs there all day long - cross the river, walk to the St. Goarshausen station, and catch a train 20 minutes north to Braubach. If you are doing a Rhine Cruise, St. Goar is great too - just catch a train south to Bingen, board the cruise boat back to St. Goar, and you've seen the best part of the river - and you're "home."
I was a 70's resident of Mainz at the university there - it's indeed exciting to return for the first time after a long absence. My family stayed at the Rhineview apartment on our last visit - great place with an great location:
http://www.loreley-apartments.de/die_4_wohnungen_en.php
View across the river from St. Goar: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/78022484.jpg
View of Rheinfels from St. Goar town center: http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/18794182.jpg
There are numerous other lodging options in St. Goar as well. Most are in town and near the station and ferry dock: