Mosel vs. Rhine

We have spent time in both regions and I prefer the Mosel. There is a lot less tourist traffic, the vineyards and wines are amazing, lots a wonderful small towns to explore. We rented bikes and rode the bike path the follows along the river, stopping in the little towns for a bite to eat, flea markets, etc. We were there in the fall at the start of the harvest, and there were lots of wine and street festivals. Much more relaxing than the rhine.

My first trip to Europe was a cycling trip that started about an hour out of Paris, our ride was scheduled for about 10 days with the majority spent riding the Mosel from Trier to Koblenz then down to Frankfurt. The Mosel was the most memorable by far, small villages, bike paths, an area almost designed for cycling. My favorite memories is going out in one evening looking to do some wine tasting, we saw a group of ladies sitting in a garden at a house that had a winery sign out front. we asked if they had wine for sale, the frau said of course, invited us in, took us to their garage full of wine and set us up at a table so we could sample, about a 1/2 hour later the wine maker came in from the field and joined us, he said the land/vineyard had been in his family for 200 yrs but didn't know what the future held, his kids wanted to move to city. He brougt out a couple of bottles of his best year, we toured his winery, drank more wine, talked for hours,and bought more for our journey!

Another vote for the Mosel area. We loved the town of Beilstein and would stay there again in a heartbeat.

Hi Eric,

I'd go with the Mosel also. We stayed 4 nights by Cochem (in Valwig, just across the river) last Oct. and would certainly go again. We spent a day along the Rhine and really preferred the Mosel. While we did enjoy seeing Bacharach, St. Goar, Boppard and Marksburg Castle, we liked Cochem, Beilstein, Bernkastel, Zell and Trier much better. Don't miss Burg Eltz... it's the best castle and the best castle setting we've ever seen. In our opinion, the Mosel seemd "quieter", more serene. If your interested, our recent photo's are at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel1.html

Paul

I have stayed on both and also agree that the Mosel is better.Much slower paced with less traffic and people.

A useful thread for me, too. Have been to Cochem and loved it years ago. We want to take a boat trip for a few hours this time with our 11 year old grandson. Don't see as many on the Mosel and is there as much to see from the water there? We are going in early June so hoping it won't be too busy.
Plan to see Trier, Bacharach, St. Goar either way. Any more info would be useful.
Thanks for starting the thread, Eric.

I've been to both.

It depends on when you are going. If it's early fall, the Mosel is great. I'm not sure it's a substitute for the Rhine but it's beautiful and less crowded. This may be true in summer but I've only been in fall.

If you are traveling off season, you may find a lot of places closed on the Mosel. Most things will still be open on the Rhine.

I don't consider them substitutes and would want to do both if at all possible.