February 2026 places along the Rhine to visit

It's a 11-12 hour train ride from Copenhagen to Frankfurt or Koblenz. Europeans fly between those places. It's a 1.5 hour flight for $150.

Understand that none of the attractive small towns that people flock to in tourist season will be worth visiting unless you want to experience grey, rainy, days and shuttered shops. 3/4 of the restaurants won't even open up. These are not towns with indoor attractions that stay open all year round.

If you want to tour Europe in the winter you should aim at major cities. If you were a week later in FEB there's Carnival/Rose Montag, but other than that people are indoors.

I lived near the Rhein for a couple years and enjoyed short visits in the gray, drizzly season. It is true that the area is very quiet in the off season,

Going back we liked a stay in Mainz with Rhein day trips by train. Mainz has a wealth of sights including the Cathedral and Stephans Church (Stephanskirche) with its Chagall windows. We liked the museums and Roman ruins as well. Mainz has many hotels and restaurants.

Mainz is handy to the Frankfurt airport if you are flying out of there.

I would avoid the river cruises (cold, miserable), but you could probably still enjoy Cologne and Mainz in that area. Lots of great museums in both cities and in Cologne, a lively brewpub culture. Around that time it's also the announcement of the prince and princess of Carnival in Mainz, not sure of the date. There will be lots of Carnival pre-parties and department stores will have a section for costumes for Carnival if you don't get to see anyone dressed up.

You can catch the trains up and down the Rhine, pretty much every town is accessible. Rüdesheim is probably the town which has the most tourist infrastructure and indoor wine tasting. In the summer it is tourist central (tourists transfer from buses to boats here), but I think even in winter businesses will be open, there more than most towns. There is a Käthe Wohlfahrt store there (Christmas decorations year round). If you are catching the trains I recommend a Rheinland-Pfalz Länder-Ticket, which allows you to catch the slow trains as much as you like and get on and off as you please.

Good luck, I think you can't go wrong with Cologne and Mainz.

Lavandula

The mention of somewhat grim Continental weather isn't wrong. I lived in Cologne for a year and pretty much didn't see the sun from November to April. Yes, the days are short and overcast but it can still be fun to get out and about. Cities are a better choice and both Mainz and Cologne would have open museums, restaurants, shops, churches, concerts, theater etc. Frankfurt is also worth a visit. But the small river towns are not at their best.

Here are a few other ideas if you're interested in Germany but dislike overcast skies. You need to get away from the North Sea for that. If after Copenhagen you really need some sun, you could fly to Munich or Zurich and head into the mountains. The Alpine small towns are definitely lively in February. The sun will come out during the short days and the precipitation is more likely to be white than just wet.

Or embrace the grey North Sea climate and go to Hamburg, a city I really enjoy. That's a much easier train ride from Copenhagen.

Just food for thought. Nothing wrong with your original plan either. The old saw is "there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing."

Rüdesheim and Eltville, as well as the much farther north, Koblenz, are the only small towns that will have anything open at all. Even Rüdesheim will be fairly shuttered. The Käthe Wolfhart store is not open year round. They shut down in the winter season. Eltville is livelier because a lot of people live there that work in Wiesbaden. Eberbach Monastery which is by Eltville is open year round and is well worth a visit if you are on the Rhein. There aren't many cruises this time of year, (maybe 1 per day if at all) but I have been on them, sitting inside at the front of the boat. It isn't like sitting outside, but it was fine.
Mainz certainly has a lot to see, no matter the weather.

Your best bet is to stay in MAINZ, which has plenty of indoor options AND is well positioned for an outing by train to one or more of the Rhine villages. Mainz is only 20-25 min's by train from FRA airport and around 30 min's from Bingen (gateway town to the scenic Rhine gorge.)

Some scenes near Bingen:

https://img.locationscout.net/images/2019-04/burg-rheinstein-germany_l.jpeg
https://www.schloesser-hessen.de/files/estates/~/burgruine-ehrenfels/_gallerySliderLarge/Hangweg.jpg

Bingen itself isn't much; take the train a bit further north past small towns and castles for a bundled-up walk around the old-world towns of Bacharach and Oberwesel. The towns are quiet but the buildings still very impressive.

Railway from Bingen to Koblenz:
http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/walking-hiking.php

Bacharach:
https://media-cdn.holidaycheck.com/w_1024,h_768,c_fit,q_auto,f_auto/ugc/images/3c9cab8b-4d78-3c6d-9714-b8a207a380bf

We stayed in Schmitten im Taunus in January a few years ago and had snow. We drove with our own car. All the traditional small towns south of Koblenz along the Rhein were dead and it was hard to find a place open for a Bier and Coffee. We stopped at most and made the best of it. We did enjoy the Römerkastell Saalburg Museum and enjoyed a day in Wiesbaden. We made it to the top of The Großer Feldberg, but it was icy cold and windy then. It was actually a relaxing few days.

You can extend the outing I suggested above beyond Bacharach and Oberwesel by taking the train north to Koblenz, switching there to a southbound train along the opposite riverbank in the direction of Rüdesheim and Wiesbaden. Lunch/snack options are handy in and around Koblenz Hbf station. https://live.staticflickr.com/2914/33749878842_5e7784c2a3_b.jpg

Winter scenery in the Rhine Gorge is somewhat stark but still attractive from the window of a warm train car. Rüdesheim would make for a nice stop in the afternoon. From Wiesbaden, catch a direct train to Mainz.

The entire train journey I've described can be accomplished with a Rheinland-Pfalz Ticket day pass, €38/2 adults, hop off and back on at will. Valid anytime on weekends, from 9 am onward on weekdays. Purchase on the day of travel using the DB App or a ticket machine at Mainz Hbf station.