What to See in Cologne & the Rhine Valley
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The Rhine Valley looks like the setting for a fairy tale, and there’s a reason for that. The region’s castles and legends, along with a river seemingly designed for dramatic boat journeys have been feeding the German romantic imagination for centuries.
Cologne anchors the western end of my suggested itinerary and earns its place as a proper city destination in its own right.
You’ll find a cathedral that stops you in your tracks the moment you step out of the train station, a Roman museum that rivals anything in Italy, and the Museum Ludwig’s extraordinary collection of Pop Art and German Expressionism.
Add Bonn to commune with Beethoven’s birthplace, the Rhine Valley for castles, cruises, and character, and the Mosel for wine, and you’re set up for an outstanding week in Germany.
This post is part of my guide to artsy & independent travel in Germany, where I share my best tips for exploring Germany’s historic cities, music, and cultural experiences.
Table of Contents
Cologne & Rhine Valley Highlights at a Glance
- Visit the Romano-Germanic Museum in Cologne.
- Take a cruise down the Rhine (a must-do!).
- Visit Beethoven-Haus in Bonn.
- Visit charming Cochem on the Mosel.
- Stay at the Hotel Rheinfels overlooking the Rhine in Saint Goar.
- Stay at the Hotel Drei Kronen in Cologne.
Getting Around the Rhine Valley
The Rhine Valley is easiest to enjoy with a car. Distances are short, and the driving isn’t too frantic, although the traffic in Cologne and Bonn can be heavy.
On a recent trip to Bonn, I had to abandon the plan to revisit the Beethoven Museum because it was impossible to find a parking spot!
Public transit is efficient in this area. Take a train from Cologne upriver to Bonn, then another train to St. Goar. From there, take a short Rhine cruise to Bacharach or as far as Bingen. Catch the train back to where you plan to stay (Bacharach and St. Goar are great choices).
If you’re driving and want to enjoy a short Rhine cruise, stay the night overlooking the river in St. Goar, then catch the K-D Rhine boat to steam upriver to Bacharach.
After checking out this impossibly adorable town, hop on the train for the short trip back to St. Goar.
By boat, the journey from St. Goar to Bacharach along the most scenic stretch of the Rhine Valley takes about an hour. By train, the trip takes about 15 minutes.
Prefer a private transfer between cities? Daytrip offers point-to-point transfers across the Rhine Valley region with fixed pricing and no meter watching, useful if you’re connecting Cologne, Bonn, and the Rhine valley towns with luggage in tow.
Suggested Itinerary
If you’re driving, I suggest spending two nights in Cologne, three nights in Saint Goar or Bacharach to enjoy a Rhine cruise and to explore local castles, and then either two nights in Cochem to explore the Mosel Valley or a visit to Trier with its excellent Roman ruins and charming town center.
If you’re traveling by train, explore Cologne, take the train to Bonn, then continue to St. Goar. Take the boat down the Rhine to Bacharach, stay a night or two, then get back on the boat to travel to Koblenz. From there, catch a train to your next stop in Germany.
Map of the Rhine & Mosel Valleys
Refer to the map below as you plan your Rhine and Mosel itinerary.
Days 1 and 2: Cologne
I really enjoyed Cologne (Köln). Situated on the Rhine River, the city has a walkable old town, an impressive cathedral, a state-of-the-art concert hall and art museum, and one of my favorite Roman museums.
The city was heavily bombed in WWII, with most of the city rebuilt in modern style and one neighborhood, the old town a few blocks south of the cathedral, rebuilt in the old style.
I stayed in this area at Hotel Drei Kronen, steps from the walkway bordering the Rhine.
On my visit to Cologne, my husband, Gregg, and I were invited to a family birthday party for an artist friend. Everyone spoke English, and copious glasses of Kölsch were downed.
Kölsch is a local beer brewed only in Cologne and served in a tall and skinny 20-cl “Stange” glass. I’m not a huge beer lover, but I did enjoy my (several) glasses of Kölsch at that birthday party.
When you’re in Cologne, make sure you sample a glass or three of Kölsch. Here’s a brewery tour where you can really wet your whistle!
Cologne Cathedral
If you arrive in Cologne by train, you can’t miss the cathedral. Step out of the station and look up, waaaay up, to see Germany’s largest Gothic cathedral looming above you. During the Second World War, the cathedral was hit by 15 bombs, but, remarkably, the medieval structure more or less held intact.
Lots of stained glass and a massive 140-foot tall ceiling are gasp-worthy. Entrance is free.
According to Rick Steves, the one-hour English-only tour is “reliably excellent”. It runs Monday to Saturday at 10:30 am and 2:30 pm and on Sundays at 2:30 pm only.
Romano-Germanic Museum
I highly recommend the Romano-Germanic Museum (Römisch-Germanisches Museum), currently closed for renovations with the collection temporarily housed in the Belgian House near Neumarkt. The collections are stunning, in particular the large collection of Roman glass vessels, jewelry, and mosaics.
In addition to Roman artifacts, you’ll see displays chronicling the archaeological heritage of Cologne, from the Palaeolithic period to the early Middle Ages.
Museum Ludwig
The sleek, modern building next to the Romano-Germanic Museum is the Museum Ludwig.
The museum holds an extensive collection of Pop Art, the third-largest Picasso collection in the world, seminal works from the Russian avant-garde, and an important collection of German Expressionists, including Otto Dix and Oskar Kokoschka.
Read my post about what to see at Ludwig Museum: Cologne’s Museum Ludwig: Best Bet for Modern Art Lovers
Kölner Philharmonie
Get tickets for a performance at this modern concert hall located in the same complex as the Romano-Germanic Museum and Museum Ludwig.
I visited the box office in the afternoon and purchased tickets for that evening’s performance of symphonic works.
Days 3 to 5: Rhine Valley
Leave Cologne in the morning and head to the Max Ernst Museum in Brühl, about a twenty-minute drive from Cologne on the way to Bonn.
Max Ernst Museum
If you’re in the area, stop by to enjoy the excellent collection and lovely grounds.
Pop in to Bonn for lunch and a visit to the Beethoven House. Here, in the place where the maestro was born, you’ll get a strong Beethoven vibe. This museum is one of the world’s most popular music museums.
The museum features Beethoven’s manuscripts, a music room for regular concerts on historic keyboards, and a special area for temporary exhibits. The museum is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm.
Read my post about my visit to the Beethoven Museum: Best Tips for Visiting Beethoven House in Bonn
If you’re traveling by train, you’ll easily be able to tour the Beethoven House before getting back onboard to travel upriver to St. Goar.
Spend two or three nights in one of the towns along the Rhine. We stayed in St. Goar at a place overlooking the river. An equally adorable choice is the town of Bacharach.
St. Goar
Splurge for a place overlooking the bustling Rhine. I spent a lot of time on the balcony of the riverside hotel, watching the little car ferry go back and forth across the rushing river.
The ferry set off bravely from the St. Goar side to be gripped seconds later in the watery clutches of a ferocious current. With a tremendous burst of power, the ferry turned 360 degrees across the river in a graceful arc and docked on the other side.
Every time the ferry crossed, we held our breath thinking it wouldn’t make it. Hours of fun!
The big attraction in St. Goar is the Rheinfels Castle (Burg Rheinfels). Its grey and turreted bulk broods on a hill high above St. Goar.
Some consider it the best of the Rhine Valley castles. On a sunny day, the view is spectacular. If you visit, leave a comment below and let other Artsy Travelers know what you think.
Rhine Boat Trip
Go down to the dock for the Koln-Dusseldorfer (K-D) line and purchase a ticket to take you to Bacharach. You can check schedules and pre-purchase tickets online.
Buy the ticket that includes your train trip back to St. Goar. If the weather’s fine, sit on the open top deck and watch the castles go by.
On the day I took the cruise, the misty, drizzly weather was very Germanic-romantic.
On the stretch between St. Goar and Bacharach, you’ll pass the famous Lorelei Rock, a sheet of slate towering over the narrowest point of the Rhine. You’ll hear the legend on the boat, so I won’t spoil it!
The boat provides indoor seating if the weather is iffy, and hot drinks and snacks are available.
Here is an option on GetYourGuide:
Bacharach
Bacharach is impossibly cute. I first stayed there at 18 in a tiny B&B with the date 1492 carved into the lintel over the door, and it hasn’t lost its charm.
Wander around the cobbled streets, admire the half-timbered houses, do a spot of shopping, enjoy a meal, and chill.
The castle on the hill overlooking Bacharach is a youth hostel and hosts a medieval music evening. Check local schedules for performance times.
Costumed performers showcase medieval instruments, and at the end of the performance a large portion of the audience gets up to shuffle through a guided version of an old German folk dance. I had a ball!
The Rhine Valley includes many more castles and the charming towns of Bingen (of Hildegard von Bingen fame) and Koblenz.
Days 6 and 7: The Mosel Valley & Trier
After exploring the Rhine Valley, consider traveling farther southwest to the Mosel Valley, where Rieslings grown on vertiginous slate slopes produce some of Germany’s finest wines.
Winedering has some excellent tastings and winery visits in the region:
Visit Burg Eltz
Drive along the twisting Mosel River, visit Burg Eltz, and stay in Cochem.
Burg Eltz is one of the superstars of German castles. Set in the middle of a forest, the castle is every kid’s dream of a foreboding fortress preparing to defend itself against marauding bandits.
The castle is over 850 years old and is largely intact, owned and cared for by the same family since it was built. Tour sumptuously decorated rooms containing many original furnishings and check out the Treasury and Armory.
Another highlight of the castle is its location in the Eltz Forest, a nature reserve intersected with numerous hiking trails.
The castle gets crowded during the middle of the day, so consider visiting in the early morning or after about 3 pm when the tour buses start to trundle away.
Cochem
Cochem boasts a gorgeous castle (the Reichsburg Cochem) and lots of narrow streets lined with half-timbered houses. It’s pretty darned cute and a good place to stay while exploring the Mosel Valley and sampling the local wine.
Here are more tours with GetYourGuide:
Trier
If you’re into Roman ruins, drive a little farther to Trier, which is Germany’s oldest city and the birthplace of Karl Marx.
When I was in Trier in 2018, the town was about to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx on May 5, 1818. A hot item in the stores was a yellow rubber duckie decked out like Karl Marx, complete with beard, a copy of Das Kapital clutched under one wing, and a quill pen in the other.
I wonder how the father of socialism would have felt seeing his birth so celebrated. On the other hand, I’m sorry I didn’t buy one.
Where to Stay in the Rhine Valley
In Cologne, I stayed at the Hotel Drei Kronen very close to the river and rebuilt after the war in the old style. I had a view of the Rhine from my window.
In St. Goar, treat yourself to the Hotel Rheinfels overlooking the Rhine. The room was spacious with a balcony and a great breakfast.
In Trier, the Hotel Estricher Hof on the outskirts of the city is a good choice for drivers.
Cologne Walking Tours
GuruWalk lists pay-what-you-please walking tours that connect tourists with tour guides all around the world. Check out their tours of Cologne!
Keep Exploring Germany with Artsy Traveler
More posts about Germany:
- Best Artsy Sightseeing in Germany
- Best Tips for Visiting Beethoven House in Bonn
- Cologne’s Museum Ludwig: Best Bet for Modern Art Lovers
- Where to Stay in Germany: My Best Picks
- Best of Berlin: A Cultural Deep Dive for Arts-Loving Travelers
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Carol M. Cram writes novels inspired by the arts; runs Artsy Traveler, an arts-focused travel blog, and Art In Fiction, a curated database of 2,700+ novels inspired by the arts; and hosts The Art In Fiction Podcast. She has also authored 60+ textbooks on computer applications and taught at Capilano University for over two decades. Carol lives with her husband, artist Gregg Simpson, on beautiful Bowen Island near Vancouver, BC.
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