50.07° N · 7.77° E
A 65 km gorge of the Rhine between Bingen and Koblenz, a World Heritage Site since 2002, with some forty castles and fortresses, terraced vineyards and the Loreley rock.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
The classic stretch of the Rhine on a scheduled boat: from Bingen to St. Goar in 1 h 40, passing Bacharach, Kaub, Oberwesel and the Loreley. From €28 in 2026.
The Middle Rhine castle that was never destroyed, seen inside with a guide in about 50 minutes; €12 adults, €8 children, and tours in English daily in summer.
A 915 m, 20-minute chairlift from Boppard to the Vierseenblick, where the Rhine meander looks like four lakes. Return, €12; children, €7.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From May to October, with the scheduled boats sailing and the castles open. In summer, the Rhein in Flammen nights fill Rüdesheim, Bingen, St. Goar and Oberwesel with fireworks.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
The Upper Middle Rhine Valley has no airport of its own, but Frankfurt (FRA), with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities, is very close. The airport has a railway station, and from Frankfurt you reach Bingen, Rüdesheim or Koblenz, the ends of the valley, in under two hours. By hire car, the journey is by motorway to Mainz or Bingen.
The Middle Rhine is made for travelling without a car. Two railway lines, one on each bank, stop at almost every village; the KD scheduled boat goes down the river from April to October, and ferries cross from one side to the other. Sleeping in Bacharach or Oberwesel, you have the station and the landing stage a walk away. The only thing it asks is that you check the timetables: the scheduled boat stops from mid-October to April.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Superior three-star hotel of the Stüber family, in a half-timbered house on Bacharach's wall: 14 soundproofed rooms, some with a balcony over the Rhine.
Why we like it: DJH hostel inside Stahleck Castle, above Bacharach, with 178 beds, a terrace over the Rhine and prices from €32.10 per person with breakfast.
Why we like it: Four-star hotel inside Schönburg Castle, above Oberwesel, with 31 rooms, breakfast included, two restaurants and free parking in front.
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the Bacharacher Rieslingbraten, Hunsrück veal shoulder braised for 15 hours in Riesling with spätzle (€28), and to start the Middle Rhine assortment with the Hinkelsdreck pâté (€19).
What to order: a Spundekäs with pretzels or a flammkuchen to nibble with the Weinkarussell tasting; in mid-afternoon, cake by Eva, the house pastry cook.
What to order: the Hunsrück bean stew with beef (€17.50) or the game sausage with sauerkraut (€25.50); for dessert, the hot apple tart with ice cream.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
Take the train to Bingen or Rüdesheim and come back by boat: the Loreley stretch is best seen from the water.
It is the only way to get from one bank to the other in the valley.
Bacharach or Oberwesel, to see the river at sunset without the day trippers.
You miss the view of the opposite bank, which is where the castles you want to see are.
Fly to Frankfurt: in less than two hours by train you reach Bingen, Rüdesheim or Koblenz, the ends of the valley. Both banks have a railway line, with stops at Bacharach, Oberwesel, St. Goar and Boppard.
Between Mainz and Koblenz there are no bridges over the Rhine: you cross by ferry. Combine the train on one bank, the boat to go down the river and the ferry to change sides. Scheduled boats sail from spring to autumn between Bingen, Rüdesheim and Koblenz, stopping at the villages.
The scheduled boat from Bingen to St. Goar takes 1 hour 40 minutes to go down the castle stretch and passes beneath the Loreley rock, which can also be seen from above at the plateau viewpoint. In Bacharach, the town walls and Werner Chapel can be walked in an hour and a half. Downriver, Marksburg Castle, above Braubach, is the one that was never destroyed, and from Boppard the chairlift to the Vierseenblick shows the meander as four lakes. On foot, the Rheinsteig and the Rheinburgenweg run along the slopes of both banks.
In Bacharach, the Weinstube Zum Weinkrug serves the wine from its own cellar with simple cooking, and Stübers Restaurant is the special dinner; above Oberwesel, Zum Mundschenk is open daily inside the castle. To sleep, the Rhein-Hotel Bacharach is on the town wall, the Burg Stahleck hostel is inside a castle and the Burghotel Auf Schönburg is the luxury night.
Questions
Two: one for the boat and the villages, another for a castle and a stretch on foot.
Not between Mainz and Koblenz. You cross by ferry.
From spring to autumn. In winter the scheduled service is greatly reduced.
Nights of fireworks and illuminated boats in several villages of the valley during the summer.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/germany/rhineland-palatinate/upper-middle-rhine-valley
