Cochem to Wernigerode

Posted by hahn on 01/12/25 09:19 AM

Hello, i will be spending a month in germany in May and am currently working out my itinerary. I will be landing in Frankfurt then spending a few days in cochem to explore the area, followed by visiting Wernigerode, quedlinburg and goslar, then ideally to dresden, lubeck, scherwin, wurzburg, nuremberg and munich, possibly austria.

I just wanted to seek advice on the following:

What would be the best and fastest train route from cochem to wernigerode?
Are there any stops in between that would be nice for 2 overnights to break up the journey? (i enjoy castles and museums and was thinking if i should spend 2 nights in Koln)
1. Or based on the above, i should skip the harz mountain region altogether?

Thanks for the help! it's my first time planning a solo trip to germany so all advice is much appreciated.

Posted by MarkK

Schwerin

01/12/25 11:58 AM

3323 posts

1) You can check most train and bus connections in Germany by Deutsche Bahn journey planner:
https://int.bahn.de/en/

Sometimes Flixbus is also an alternative: https://www.flixbus.de/busverbindung

2) I am not a fan of Cologne although some interesting sights for tourists. How about Koblenz and doing a Mid Rhine valley cruise to Bingen and back (example)?

2..1. No, do not skip. Harz mountains are really worth visiting.

btw: the sequence of the listed destinations can be optimized.

Posted by Russ

Paradise

01/12/25 01:44 PM

7177 posts

"I will be landing in Frankfurt then spending a few days in cochem to explore the area..."

That's where the castles are, not in Cologne. Cologne is enroute to the Harz. You could arrange to make a stopover for a few hours in Cologne to visit a museum or two on the day you travel to the Harz. Plan to arrive late in the Harz, as this is a lengthy trip with multiple connections to be made.

Possible castle visits within range of Cochem:

Marksburg (in Braubach, on the Rhine River near Koblenz)
Reichsburg (in Cochem)
Winneburg ruins (hike from Cochem)
Burg Arras castle-hotel w/small museum and refreshments (hike from nearby town of Alf)
Burg Eltz (near Wierschem, close to Koblenz)
Burg Thurant (Alken)

Posted by MarkK

Schwerin

01/12/25 06:44 PM

3323 posts

Just as heads up: Germany has around 25,000 castles, palaces and mansion houses (source) - not only near Cochem and in Upper Mid Rhine valley. Visitiros can find two great and important palaces near Brühl close to Cologne.

Posted by Russ

Paradise

01/12/25 09:38 PM

7177 posts

Just as heads up: Germany has around 25,000 castles, palaces and
mansion houses (source) - not only near Cochem and in Upper Mid Rhine
valleys

Very true. And sadly, so very few of these mostly-terrific places manage to make it onto the pages of Rick Steves' guidebook.

What makes the Mosel and Upper Middle Rhine Valleys exceptional is the large number and intense concentration of castles/palaces and the convenient rail and trail connections that serve the two river valleys. I mentioned only a handful of these in my previous post. I cannot think of a better area on the planet to focus on, and if you are using Frankfurt airport and visiting Cologne, the Rhine/Mosel is a no-brainer.

Upper Middle Rhine castles & palaces

Mosel castles/palaces/fortresses ("Burgen, Schlösser, Festungen" in German; see alphabetical listings for 10 of them under this heading at this page. Then 10 more at this page. and 7 more at this page.