Stunning. Nearly unbelievable that it's real!…read more Beautiful medieval castle overlooking Cochem and the Moselle River. The scenery is extraordinary. The castle tour is well worth it as is the drive to it. There is a small cafe/restaurant there. We had some excellent soups and some nice beers. Prices were reasonable considering the incredible view and historic setting. Pro Tip on Parking: Just keep driving up. The parking is all the way up by the castle and there are several areas. Many people park down the road and walk up. Don't do this... unless you want the cardio. Pro Tip on Photos: There are several excellent photo stops while on the drive down into Cochem before driving up to the castle as in my photos. Pro Tip on Cochem: Very cool town. Tourist restaurants are on the castle side of the river but there are a couple great places on the other side of the river that offer higher quality fare and a great view of the castle.

It's a relatively small castle, but what makes it outstanding is the view it offers of Mosel river…read moreand valley. Totally worth it just for that alone, and there are some interesting things to see inside as well. Highly recommend taking the bus from downtown (terminal is right next to the tourist office) to save the walk, unless you enjoy hiking up the steep hill. Most tours are in German, and when we arrived, we spent too much time snapping pictures in front of the castle (should have done that AFTER the tour), so we missed the English tour by a few minutes. Not wanting to wait a while for the next one, we joined the German tour. We were given a page of info in English (there are many languages available), although we definitely missed out on the jokes as the Germans chuckled once in a while. On the return trip, we got off at the old town instead of the bus terminal, where we get to see the shops and eateries. Makes for a great day trip when staying in the area.

Nestled into the countryside and hidden from streetview is the storybook Burg Eltz…read more To start, visiting Burg Eltz takes a bit of planning. You'll want to either hire a tour company to drive you there from a bigger city like Frankfurt (about an hour drive), or rent a car. We went on a small tour and while it was really fun to hear the guide talk to us about the countryside and what we were seeing etc. I do think we could have handled the drive had we decided to rent a car. Once you arrive, if you are American and familiar with the National Parks here in the states, it's going to remind you a lot of US National Park Service parking lots. It's not a massive lot, but in general big enough for tourists and busses to offload people as they arrive. I'm not sure if it costs anything to park but my gut says it probably does as I think I saw some euros exchanged from our driver to the parking attendant. Once you are parked, you have two choices: to either walk directly to the castle along a street, or take the hiking path. I cannot stress how much I encourage everyone to take the hiking path. It's a very easy hike through meandering forest and once you can get the castle into view it's breathtaking. Kind of like how I imagine the castle from Beauty and the Beast to be hidden in the film, is how this is tucked away. It takes a while before it will come into view which adds to the general charm and mystique of the place. All of this being said, the road is great for the walk back if you don't want to hike uphill, there is a shuttle bus that will take you up the road if you are tired, and because of the shuttle and the fairly even path of the road, it makes this castle much more accessible to those who have mobility needs. While at the actual castle there are two lines for tours - one for a German speaking tour, and one for an English speaking tour. This is important to note because we were there on a German holiday and the German speaking line was over an hour wait, while the English speaking line was only about 20 minutes. So, make sure you inquire about which line you are in! The tour itself is very good. The tour guide we had clearly took his job very seriously and had a lot of interesting information to share. My biggest takeaways were that this is one of the most intact medieval castles in Europe, largely due to its remote location as it avoided many bombs that impacted other parts of the continent, and that it is still occupied by descendants of the original owners. Knowing that this is still in the family was really remarkable and added to the general uniqueness of this historic location. Overall, it was a gorgeous castle to visit, and as many others have noted it's well nestled into wine country, so make a day of it and sample some riesling at one of the nearby villages on your way back to the city!

Wish I'd read more about the castle prior to the trip, because I was not expecting such a hike! The…read moreBurg Eltz castle is hidden deep in the hills, surrounded by miles of woods. Off of the street is a large, dirt parking lot with ample parking. From there is a trail head, that begins the hike to the castle. It's muddy, so bring good shoes... and probably water, too. Keep in mind that this castle doubles as somebody's home. It's pretty quiet, and many spots are blocked off from tourists. We paid for a guided tour, which ended up being a lot of fun! The little section we walked through was actually big. It's hard to imagine just how big the rest of the castle is. They, fortunately for me, hold tours in English. It was very educational and kept my interest. Not my favorite castle, not my favorite hike, but it was a good experience nonetheless!

I truly loved every minute of visiting this quaint historical town right near the Mosel. If you…read morelove wine, particularly Riesling, this is definitely the place to go. The historical tours you can take here and just exploring the old town and surrounding areas is breathtaking and very reasonable in price. Lots of nice things to see, friendly people, and great food! It made for a great visit for myself and one of my dearest friends.

Riding the valley? Amazing. Town? Slightly over-rated.read more

Amazing architecture and history. It was used as a church at one point which saved it from…read moredestruction. Make sure to go inside, pay 6 euro and go up to the other floors. You can read the history from the provided pamphlet or ChatGPT.

Sehr schönes altes erhaltenes Tor. Von dem damaligen Stadteingang. Eintritt mit 6€ ist auch OK.read more