We need to travel between Koblenz (Germany) and Liege (Belgium). We have 2 nights (and 3 days) to get there. Trying to decide where to spend the 2 nights?
We (at this stage) are travelling by train/bus. We are open to staying somewhere a bit different, out of the cities, if there was such an option/idea so would consider hiring a car.
We seem to be landing on Cologne (as train goes through there) - but open to other ideas eg would it be worth going to Brussels instead?
Many would prefer spending two days in Amsterdam. But I also have been to Cologne a few times, and it's probably underrated as a lively city, Of course it's Duomo is an incredible structure.
"We are open to staying somewhere a bit different, out of the cities, if there was such an option/idea."
Trains go to all sorts of smaller places too. Aachen is a lovely place to visit or stay in. So is Maastricht, NL. Both could easily be visited on your way to Liege. You already know how to get to Cologne, it appears. So...
Cologne - Aachen: direct regional trains around the clock, 1 hr.
Aachen - Maastricht: direct hourly trains, 1 hr.
https://avv.de/files/avv/files/arriva-maastricht/fahrplan-aachen-maastricht.svg
Map of railway between Aachen and Maastricht: pink = Germany, mustard = NL:
https://avv.de/assets/images/7/linien-karte-5183a1f7.svg
Maastricht - Liege: direct trains, 30 minutes.
Cologne is worth a stop, just to see the famous cathedral, but you won't need a full day there. Brussels is not much, except for the Grand Plaza. Brugges, close to Brussels is fantastic, don't miss it.
Also, Trier, Germany and Viaden, Luxembourg are great places to see.
Thanks - Brugges was an option we hadnt thought of. Sounds like a good option :)
With the exception of the great Cathedral, Cologne is of no touristic value, but if you must go, visit the Henkles store where there is a bargain bin in the back. On our first visit, we bought a ***** kitchen knife marked down from $180 to $39. On our last visit, nothing.
Koblenz is at the mouth of the Mosel Valley, one of the most scenic sights and least visited by Americans in the EU. The optimal route to Liege is along the Mosel to Luxembourg City to Liege. The Mosel is best done by car. The train occasionally goes out of the scenic valley (including a 2 miles long tunnel at one point). Bus is hopelessly slow. By car, you are in control and can spend as much or as little time as you want in any of the many small quaint villages along the river.
You don't say when you are going to be there, but optimal time is a Sunday afternoon in warm weather when most of the villages have a local band that comes out to the riverside to play German folk tunes while the locals and lucky visitors listen & drink beer, likely the most civilized way in the world to spend a Sunday afternoon.
The high points along the Mosel are the steep river hills & vineyards, Bernkastel, Trier (once the capitol of the Roman Empire and the oldest German city. See the giant basilica (which was the office of the Roman Emperor), Berg Eltz, and Cochem. The road from Trier to Luxemburg crosses the Mosel at Renmich where there is a fine Roman villa on the German side of the river. Just upstream from Remich is the small town of Schengen where the famous treaty was signed on a boat in the river where Germany, France, and Luxemburg meet. General Patten is buried in the military cemetery on the way to Luxemburg City.
I would aim to spend a night in Bernkastel and then in Trier or Luxemburg. Before it disappeared, one of our favorite hotels in EU was the Luxemburg Holiday Inn which had the only American style hamburgers in Europe.
"The Mosel is best done by car. "
The Mosel, along with Trier and Luxembourg, is a somewhat roundabout way of getting to Liege. Perhaps you would visit the Mosel on a day trip from Koblenz during your stay there?
"Best" is pretty subjective. It's not clear to me whether your current plans include sightseeing along the Mosel, and if they do, then how many days you might have to explore the river towns. But let's say you have wisely included the Mosel in your plans in some way...
If "best" for you means following the entire Mosel riverbank route on its very windy 200 km meander from Koblenz to Trier, then you must do this by car, and you must plan for a lot of time in your car. Keep in mind that you won't be driving through all the towns since there are two river banks. The road switches riverbanks here and there but you'd have to double back to hit them all.
OTOH if you will visit the "highlight" towns - Cochem, Trier, Traben-Trarbach for example - a scenic train trip will get you to most of them quickly and easily. (Bernkastel involves a train ride to Wittlich + a bus connection.) Just as you can by car, you can follow the riverbank from Koblenz to Cochem (about half the distance to Trier as the crow flies) by train as well. This downstream half of the Mosel is not nearly as windy as the upstream half - so the 1878 Mosel Railway construction project found it easy to build right along the river; just like the road, the train follows the river for every km on its way to Cochem. The scenery will look much like this for the whole trip. There are 14 station stops from Koblenz to Cochem - see this train line map of the Mosel route. On a day trip by train you might want to stop off for an hour or two for a meal and a walk around town (train service is hourly or better) in Winningen or some other town.
After Cochem, the train heads through a long tunnel - then continues along the river past Neef to Bullay. (The train takes only about 9 minutes to get to the town of Bullay, vs. about 40 minutes driving.) After Bullay, the railway leaves the river almost entirely on its way to Trier.
The "best" way to enjoy the Mosel River itself is on a cruise boat, IMHO. There are several boats per day between Cochem and the small town of Beilstein (a 1-hr. cruise.) So a nice day trip option from Koblenz is 1.) train to Cochem for sightseeing, 2.) river cruise to Beilstein, 3.) return train to Koblenz. Another fine (and longer) cruise is the one between Traben-Trarbach and Bernkastel.
Another popular day trip: 1.) train from Koblenz to Moselkern, 2.) walk from Moselkern to Burg Eltz and back 3.) train to Cochem for sightseeing, 4.) train back to Koblenz
Cologne works perfectly, and with the added options (if you were to, unlikely, exhaust Cologne's attractions) of Dusseldorf, has far more than two days of attractions. It is not reasonable to reduce Cologne to the (most visited in Germany!) single site of the Cathedral. Cologne is a particularly walkable city, so we chose to stay near the HBF, which isn't that attractive. Cologne has everything from Medieval art to an ancient Jewish mikveh, as well as Greek and Roman art, a superb Decorative Art museum, a Kathe Kollwitz museum, and nice restaurants. Not to mention Kolsch beer!
Why are you going to Liege? I haven't been there, but except for the Calatrava rail station, it's reported to be a dusty, post-industrial disappointment. You didn't ask for itinerary reviews, but having spent two days visiting a garden show in Koblenz (from Andernach, because we couldn't find a hotel we liked in Koblenz), I think you might enjoy Boppard or St. Goar more. It is not a place to stay, but we enjoyed our on-the-road stop at Monschau. There have to be tourism busses to there from Dusseldorf, if not from Cologne. We once met two Lufthansa employees who had never heard of Monschau!
Good that you'll be visiting Koblenz, ..go up to Ehrenbreitstein, (accessible by public transport from Koblenz Hbf), that Prussian fortress on the Rhine, to get an aerial view of Deutsches Eck where the Moselle and Rhine come together.
The Koblenz HI hostel is in Ehrenbreitstein, stayed there in 1971.
If you have time doing a day trip from Koblenz, I suggest Bad Ems, ..historical place.
