3 days in Bacharach

A warning: if you're training to the airport the day of your flight, BE SURE you've checked the schedules For The Day Of Travel! I had everything all.worked.out. for our last trip, then we needed to change our departure date to a Sunday. I completely forgot to check the skeds for Sunday...and there was no way to get to the airport before our departure time. We ended up needing to stay overnight in Franfkfurt... Now that that's out of the way...what was it that caused you to want to stay 3 nights in Bacharach? That would help us with your question. Also, when are you planning to be there? Will you have a car? Is everybody looking for 'laid back', or 'Go!Go!Go!'? Any children?

If you have a car then consider going to Burg Eltz with lunch in Cochem. Even with public transport it is doable. If people are fit then bike up and or down the Rhine another day. Very easy with a flat track in both directions. Consider lunch in another town. St Goar is nothing special. You don't need a third day, but if it is unavoidable then start sampling wine, but don't mix it with time on the water! You can hike up to the castle in 10-15 min and enjoy a beer or water with a superior view.

Jason, As the others have mentioned, there are LOTS of choices for day trips from Bacharach, although with only 3 days you'll have to be selektive. There are some good restaurants in Bacharach, and one that I'd recommend is Hotel Kranenturm. I found the food there to be excellent. There's another restaurant (hotel) next door that was also good, but I can't remember the name. There are many restaurants in the main part of town such as the Altes Haus, which is in a REALLY old building. There's also an Irish Pub (always good to have a pint, even in Germany). While there you could also hike up the hill to Burg Stahleck, the castle above town which is also a HI Youth Hostel. Have a "cold one" and enjoy the view before going back down the hill. Other ideas.... > take a KD cruise on a very scenic section of the Rhine from Bacharach to St. Goar. Have a look around St. Goar and the Castle and then return to Bacharch by train. > go to the Peace Museum at Remagen and see the remains of the Ludendorff Bridge. It's a long day, but not too bad. The Museum is about 1 kM from the rail station and I found it was a pleasant walk (although my return to the station was more of an "adventure", but that's another story). > A trip to Burg Eltz is possible, but that will be a longer day trip. With only 3 days in Bacharach, I'd skip that unless you're really interested. Depending on the time of your flight, it's an easy trip by train from Bacharach directly to the Frankfurt airport (about 1 hour, usually with one change in Bingen). You'll arrive at the Regionalbahnhof. As I recall, you have to cross the street to get to the main Terminal. Lee or one of the others will be able to provide more information on the specific route. Cheers!

"We have a little less than 3 days in Bacharach before we fly out of Frankfurt. Any good trips from this town, things to see..." Yes. St. Goar: RHEINFELS CASTLE Braubach: MARKSBURG CASTLE (11 minutes south of Koblenz by train on the EAST bank of the Rhine.) Linz: "The Colourful Town on the Rhine" and maybe the most attractive of all the old-world villages (35 minutes north of Koblenz by train on the EAST bank of the Rhine.) Remagen: The Peace Museum (WW II museum housed in the supports of the former "Bridge at Remagen," 25-30 minutes by train north of Koblenz on the WEST bank, or use the ferry that runs all day between Linz and Remagen.) ALL of these places can be reached by train using a local daypass (26€ for two, the Rheinland-Pfalz Ticket Burg Eltz, which John suggests, and Cochem are also very good outings. Burg Eltz requires a 45-60 minute walk through the woods in each direction: WALKING TO BURG ELTZ FROM MOSELKERN

I've stayed in Bacharach a couple of times. They've got some fine bed and breakfasts, and there's a castle in town you can stay in. Bacharach is just a 1/4 mile long with a rail line running thru it, and it's overlooking the Rhine. It's famous for their sweet white wines. Along the river north and south are castles up the hills. Bachaarach is just over an hour to the Frankfort Airport by rail. The rail line will also take you up to Koblenz and Cologne.
Bavaria Ben writes about the region and he discusses 8 places to stay in Bacharach. See: http://www.bensbauernhof.com

I agree with most of what Russ mentions, so I won't repeat it. I'll add a couple of possibilities. Trier (down the Mosel from Burg Eltz and Cochem) is a nice city with some of the best Roman ruins anywhere. If you start early, you can go to Trier by train (change in Koblenz), spend the morning looking around, eat a quick lunch, then train to Moselkern for the walk to Burg Eltz. You can get to the castle, tour and back to the train in about 3 hours. Don't wast too much time waiting for an English tour, you need to see by tour but the tour isn't so special that it must be in English. You can then train back to Bacharach by dinner. You may also like visiting Cologne (Koln with two dots over the o), it has a great Cathedral (Dom), Roman museum, and center. Again you will likely change trains in Koblenz. The Peace museum (and another monument up the bank from the Rhine in that stretch) can be done in a day trip but I'd only recommend it for people who really appreciate WWII sights. I visited Remagen with a group of Army officers for whom it was like visiting Mecca. For me - not as much into WWII history as pre 16th century - it was only okay, but far from special.