We are at the end of the Romantic Rhine and just about all of its magical towns and castles can be visited within 1-2 hours.
Bacharach
Distance: 1 hour 20 minutes
Location: South on the Rhine
Description: Extremely cute town with timber-framed homes. Very small, only about 2 streets. It is a boat stop for the Rhine tours. (You can stay in a hostel located in a castle overlooking the town)
Burg Rheinfels/St. Goar
Distance: 1 hour 10 minutes
Location: South on the Rhine
Description: Burg Rheinfels is a large ruined castle with a museum and lots of tunnels to roam through. It is located above St. Goar which is not that interesting, but it is a place that Rhine boat tours land, and it is across from the famed rock of Loreley.
Loreley/St. Goarshem
Distance: 1 hour 20 minutes
Location: South on the Rhine, across from St. Goar
Description: Loreley is a famous rock that cuts into the Rhine making its passage dangerous. The legend was that a maiden called sailors to their death with her lovely song and long blond hair. You can go around the bend on a boat tour (now made safe with radar), or you can climb (or take a shuttle bus up) the rock for the view and visit the Cat and Mouse castles nearby. There is a visitor center about the history of Rhine tourism and the ecology of the area.
Burg Pfalzgrafenstein
Distance: 1 hr 40 min
Location: In the Rhine near Kaub
Description: Sparse medieval fortress that looks like a ship in the middle of the Rhine. You must ride a boat to get to the castle. It served solely to stop ships for money. Although there isn’t much to see inside the castle, the building itself as a fort/island is something different and fun. To get to the island, you will need to be on the east bank, and you take a small ferry which runs every 15-30 minutes. There is a car ferry to cross the Rhine to the immediate north (just south of Schonburg/Oberwesel so both of these sites can easily be seen on the same visit).
Burghotel Auf Schönburg
Distance: Just over 1 hour
Location: just south of Oberwesel on the Rhine
Description: a 12th great place to eat and fun place to stay. It has a classic castle look, and you can have a wonderful meal with great views onto the Rhine. It's not every day you can eat in a castle and feel like a king! It is also quite close to Pfalzgrafenstein.
Koblenz
Distance: 1 hour
Location: south on the Rhine
Description: There is an aerial cable car across the Rhine. Deutsches Eck is also where the Mosel and Rhine meet. There is a huge equestrian statue of Emperor Wilhelm I at the site.
Schloss Stolzenfels
Distance: 1 hour
Location: south of Koblenz
Description: A Castle which mainly remains as Friedrich Wilhelm IV left it in the 1800s – has paintings, weapons, armory and furnishings as well as crenellated turrets and ornate gables. Interior also decorated.
Lahnstein
Distance: 1 hour
Location: south on the east bank of the Rhine near Marksburg
Description: Town on the meeting of the rivers Lahn and Rhine. Burg Lahneck was built in the 13th furnishings and decorations. There are also attractive views of the Rhine from the castle. In Niederlahnstein there are some old manor houses of the aristocracy.
Marksburg Castle
Distance: 1 hour 10 minutes
Location: south on the opposite bank of the Rhine
Description: One of the few (if not only)Rhine castles that has never been destroyed. Tours include several rooms of the castle – including the torture chamber with an assortment of torture devices!
Burg Rheinstein
Distance: 1 ½ hour
Location: south on the Rhine
Description: with its origins in the 9th century. It has a functioning drawbridge. The interior is neo-gothic.
Boppard
Distance: 1 hour
Location: south, on Rhine
Description: Town on a scenic bend in the Rhine. You can take a chairlift (Apr-Oct) up for a view that makes the Rhine look like 4 lakes instead of a river. You can also take a train ride to Buchholz for incredible views and a ride through tunnels. The ride is only 15 minutes and you can hike back to Boppard. Parts of the Roman walls built in 400 still remain.
Mainz
Distance: 1 ½ hour
Location: At the southern end of the ‘Romantic Rhine’ across the river from Weisbaden and Frankfurt
Description: A good sized city with a history that dates back to the Romans. The Altstadt has half-timbered taverns. There is a church with windows by Chagall and a museum dedicated to Gutenberg and the printing press (Gutenberg was from here).
Kloster Eberbach
Distance: 1 hour 40 minutes
Location: south on the east bank of the Rhine
Description: This is an old monastery and wine estate where ‘The Name of the Rose’ was filmed. It dates back to the 12th century. You can tour the monks’ refectory and dormitory and Basilica and buy local wines.
