Must-see attractions in Romantic Rhine Valley

On the right bank of the Rhine, 118m above the river, this fortress proved indestructible to all but Napoleonic troops, who levelled it in 1801. To prove…

In the 1820s, privately owned Rheinstein, 6km downriver from Bingen, became the first Rhine castle to be converted – by Prussian royalty (a branch of the…

Across the river from the village of Kaub, the boat-shaped toll castle Pfalzgrafstein, built in 1326, perches on an island in the middle of the Rhine. A…

Looming above the village of Trechtingshausen, 8km downriver from Bingen, mighty Burg Reichenstein harbours a lavish collection of furnishings, armour,…

Spread over 1700 sq metres of the striking glass Forum Confluentes building, Koblenz' Mittelrhein-Museum's displays span 2000 years of the region’s…

Dating from the 12th century, this one-time Cistercian monastery, in an idyllic little valley 15km northeast of Rüdesheim, went through periods as a…

Every April, Oberwesel crowns not a Weinkönigin (wine queen), as in most Rhine towns, but a Weinhexe (wine witch) – a good witch who is said to protect…

On the edge of the plateau above the Loreley outcrop, 4km southeast of St Goarshausen, this visitors centre covers the Loreley myth and local flora, fauna…

Once the mightiest fortress on the Rhine, Burg Rheinfels was built in 1245 by Count Dieter V of Katzenelnbogen as a base for his toll-collecting…

At the point of confluence of the Moselle and the Rhine, the ‘German Corner’ is dominated by a soaring statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I on horseback, in the…

A vision of crenellated towers, ornate gables and medieval-style fortifications, Schloss Stolzenfels rises above the Rhine’s left bank 5km south of the…

Built from red sandstone between 1289 and 1430 in the shape of a clover leaf, the Gothic Wernerkapelle was partially destroyed in 1689 during the Palatine…

High above Braubach are the dramatic towers, turrets and crenellations of the 700-year-old Marksburg, which is unique among the Rhine fortresses as it was…

In the Altstadt, the arched walkway at Am Plan square’s northeastern corner leads to the Catholic Liebfrauenkirche, built in a harmonious hotchpotch of…

Once the property of the Order of the Teutonic Knights, the Deutschherrenhaus is now home to the Ludwig Museum, which showcases post-1945 and contemporary…

Easily spotted on a hillside at the northern end of town is the enormous early 14th-century St-Martins-Kirche, popularly known as the ‘white church’. It…

The 1000-year-old Brömserburg castle near the Bingen car-ferry dock now houses this museum, filled with winemaking and wine-drinking paraphernalia from…

Adjoining a lovely formal garden is Koblenz’ oldest church, Basilika St Kastor. Established in the 9th century, it was rebuilt in the 12th century. In…

This late-Romanesque-style Protestant church, completed in 1269, has some columns with vivid capitals – look for the naked woman with snakes sucking her…

The impressive late Romanesque 13th-century Severuskirche is built on the site of Roman military baths. Inside are polychrome wall paintings, a hanging…