My husband and I are going to spend a few days in Cochem and a few days in St. Goar. There are so many amazing castles, wineries and sights to see and it is overwhelming to select the best to see and in what order. Please help me choose the best castles? Do you recommend a half day river cruise on the Rhine? Towns that we must see while in this region?
thanks
The cruise on the Rhein would be good. Do Bingen to St. Goar, in that direction.
Definitely see St. Goar and Rheinfels castle and the Marksburg in Braubach. Boppard has some interesting ruins of the old town wall and a Roman fort that was there.
On the Mosel there is, of course, Burg Eltz. Bernkastel is ground zero for Riesling wine. In Zell is the statue of the famous Zeller Schwarze Katz.
Marksburg was wonderful. My favorite, with Burg Elz coming in second. We opted not to take a Rhine cruise and were glad we didnt. It seemed like too much time floating, looking at things from a distance. Instead, we rented bikes (we were staying in Bacharach, and rented bikes from a local person whom our b&b hostess recommended) and rode along the paved, flat well established bike paths (which we also did along the Mosel, renting from bike shop in Cochem). A ferry crosses the Rhine quickly and easily, and the train runs along the Marksburg side, so between the three we had easy transport throughout the region that kept us up close and personal with places along the way. That said, we are younger than RS' average (I was 46 at the time and my daughter 13), and are avid bicycle riders, so a cruise could be a nice break in the site seeing and offer perspective of the whole before you conquer the parts. A half day seems like more than you may need though. I believe there is a 90 minute ride from Bingen to St Goar?
In the Mosel region, we took the train from Cochem to the station at the base of the hike to Burg Elz that RS describes. We then did the ~90 minute walk, part paved/part trail, and it was wonderful. Beautiful scenery, great way to emerge from the trail upon the castle on high. There is a nice cafe at the castle where we had lunch after the tour, and then walked back. I found Burg Elz to be more formal, like a museum, and more preserved in a cleaned-up and prepared for visitors way. Marksburg spurred my imaginings more of what it might have been like to live there back when.
the Rhine and Mosel are quite different and make for a nice contrast. Enjoy
Biking from Cochem to Beilstein is fun. We also enjoyed the Castle in Cochem almost as much as Burg Eltz. Don't miss Rheinfells and if you have time Marksburg (although quite good I would rank it at the bottom of these 4).
I'd put the Marksburg #1, if only because it is a real castle preserved by the German Castle Association as it was hundred of years ago. Rheinfels (ruins) is interesting because it is so extensive and you can explore it at your own rate. Burg Eltz, like the Marksburg, was never destroyed, unlike all of the other castles in the area, but since it is currently lived in, I doubt how faithful it is to it's original state. The Reichsburg, in Cochem, is not a real castle. The real castle was destroyed in the early 19th century by French troops and restored mid-19th century to look like a castle by a wealth Berlin businessman, but is really just his vacation home. It's not like a castle inside.
I concur with Lee's suggestions. Braubach (home of Marksburg) is easy to reach by ferry crossing + short train ride from a St. Goar base (a very good base-town choice for train users heading to other destinations as well - Oberwesel and Bacharach to the south, Boppard to the north.)
Cruise: train to Bingen Rhein Stadt station, cruise back to St. Goar = 90 minutes and the best Rhine scenery.
Castles: Marksburg and Eltz rank at the top for me. Both have guided tours. I'd pick Marksburg if I had only one choice - you do get a feel for medieval existence there, whereas Eltz is prettied up substantially. Rick Steves discounts Cochem's Reichsburg entirely - a shame I think as it's interesting too and the view from there over Cochem and the Mosel Valley is awesome. Rheinfels in St. Goar is very different - ruins + museum, self-guided tour - but from St. Goar so easy to see as you find it convenient. Eltz is the most time consuming from St. Goar.
I went into some details this morning on this thread as well.
