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Which castle(s) to visit in the Rhine Valley?

Posted by (San Mateo, CA, USA) on

Hi. I will be in the Rhine Valley of Germany next month. I will be arriving in Bacharach at 12:30 and leaving the next morning. With this amount of time I was wondering which castle(s) I should try and go to. I will go to one and perhaps 2 with time permitting.

Which castle(s) are recommended? I will not have access to a car but will use any of the following methods to get around in the Rhine Valley: milk train, bike rental, or KD river cruise.

It seems like Rheinfells in St Goar is highly recommended. I was also wondering about one that is more intact such as Rheinstein. Would Marksburg Castle be easy to get to?

Thanks!

Posted by
19274 posts

Rheinfels, of course, is a ruin, but it is very large, interesting, and you can just wander around in it.

Marsburg is the only castle on the Rhein that has not been destroyed and rebuilt. It's on top of a hill, but the walk is not too bad. There is a shuttle running from the KD boat dock to the Marksburg. It runs whenever the KD boat comes in.

Burg Eltz, on the Mosel, is the only other castle that was not destroyed, but it is harder to get to.

Considering your time frame, I think Rheinfels is the only one you have time for. If you are staying in Bacharach, you could come back and climb the hill to Stahleck, which was destroyed and rebuilt as a hostel.

Posted by
9220 posts

Here is a nice website that has 10 of the castles along the Rhein on it. Though the site is in German, if you click on the photo, information about that castle comes up, including the castle website. Those are all in English, and they include prices, opening times, how to get there, etc.
http://www.burgen-am-rhein.de/sites/index_1024.htm

Posted by
12313 posts

We really liked the Rheinfels ruins. It's nice to wander at your own pace through the ruins and let your imagination run wild. Very few places allow you to stray off the structured tour.

Posted by
7209 posts

Instead of just visiting why not actually spend the night in a castle. There are several castles that are also hotels.

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