Hesse · Renânia-Palatinado · Germany
Frankfurt, the gateway to Germany, with a rebuilt old town and museums on the banks of the Main, and the Middle Rhine Valley, of castles and vineyards, just over an hour by train.
In the photo: Loreley on the banks of the Rhine
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Get to know the place
The airport is one of the largest in Europe and has a long-distance train station inside the terminal, which makes the city a natural starting point for the rest of the country. Behind the skyscrapers of the financial district there is a historic center with Römerberg square, the cathedral where the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were elected and crowned, and an Altstadt (old town) rebuilt house by house after the bombings of World War II.
The city is divided between the two banks of the Main. On the north bank are the town hall, the cathedral, the Paulskirche and the house where Goethe was born. On the south bank, the Museumsufer brings museums side by side, including the Städel, and the Sachsenhausen neighborhood houses the Apfelwein taverns, the cider that is Frankfurt's typical drink.
To the west, the Rhine flows into the stretch called the Middle Rhine Valley, inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2002. It's about 65 km between Bingen and Rüdesheim to the south and Koblenz to the north, with slopes covered in terraced vineyards, small towns on the water's edge and dozens of castles atop the hills. There are the Loreley rock, the Marksburg and the ruins of Rheinfels.
Rüdesheim am Rhein, in the state of Hesse, is the eastern gateway to the valley, with the Drosselgasse and the Niederwald monument above the vineyards. Bacharach, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, is a small walled town at the foot of Stahleck castle. Both are served by regional trains from Frankfurt, and sightseeing boats connect the valley towns in the season, which usually runs from April to October.
This destination brings together 3 cities: Frankfurt, Bacharach, Rüdesheim am Rhein.
One destination, many paths
Start with one city or combine several in your itinerary.
Contornos: © BKG (2026), dl-de/by-2-0. Adaptação do Cidade Turismo.
✈ Flughafen Frankfurt am Main (FRA) · 12 km to Frankfurt
Confirm before buying. From Frankfurt Airport (FRA), the S-Bahn train reaches the central station in about 15 minutes. To Rüdesheim and Bacharach, continue by regional train from Frankfurt in just over an hour.
Suggested arrival point: Frankfurt
Behind the skyscrapers of the financial district there is a reconstructed Altstadt around the Römerberg, the cathedral of imperial coronations, Goethe's birthplace, the museums on the south bank of the Main and the cider taverns of Sachsenhausen.
Bacharach is a small walled town on the left bank of the Rhine, in the heart of the Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has half-timbered houses, the church of St. Peter, the ruins of the Wernerkapelle and Burg Stahleck atop the hill. From here you can reach the Loreley, Burg Rheinfels, Burg Pfalzgrafenstein and the Marksburg, the valley's most visited castles.
Rüdesheim am Rhein is the wine town that opens the Middle Rhine Valley on the Hesse side, opposite Bingen. It has the Drosselgasse, an alley of taverns with live music, the cable car over the vineyards up to the Niederwalddenkmal, the mechanical instrument museum at the Brömserhof, the Abtei St. Hildegard high on the vineyards, and the quay for boats that go down the Rhine toward the Loreley.
The local experience
12th-century castle on the hill above Bacharach, rebuilt in the 20th century and used as a youth hostel. The terrace overlooks the Rhine.
Cobblestone alley about 2 metres wide and roughly 144 metres long, filled with wine taverns, live music and small shops, between the Rhine promenade and the Oberstraße.
The town-hall square of Frankfurt, with the stepped-gable façade of the Römer, half-timbered houses on the east side and the Justice fountain in the middle.
Gothic church with a 95-meter tower where the kings of the Holy Roman Empire were elected and, between 1562 and 1792, crowned. The tower can be climbed on foot.
38-metre monument featuring the statue of Germania, erected between 1877 and 1883 on the hill above the vineyards, with views over the Rhine and Bingen. Reachable by cable car in season.
Gothic ruin of a roofless chapel, between the center of Bacharach and the castle, with a plaque that recalls the persecution of Jews linked to its history.
Walled old centre of Bacharach, with half-timbered houses, the church of St. Peter and the 14th-century wall with towers, between the Rhine and the vineyards.
The core of the old town center, between the Römerberg and the cathedral, rebuilt between 2012 and 2018 with 35 buildings, some of them faithful copies of houses destroyed in 1944.
Museum with more than 400 self-playing musical instruments, from music boxes to orchestrions, presented in a guided visit at the Brömserhof, a 15th-century manor house.
Benedictine abbey of nuns above the vineyards of Eibingen, heir to the convents of Santa Hildegarda de Bingen, with a church painted in the Beuron style, a shop and a winery.
132-metre slate rock on the right bank of the Rhine, at the narrowest and deepest stretch of the river, with a lookout at the top and the legend of the siren who lured boatmen.
200-meter skyscraper with a publicly accessible observation deck at the top, offering 360-degree views over the city center, the River Main and the other buildings of the financial district.
Ruin of the largest fortress-castle of the Middle Rhine, founded in 1245 above St. Goar, with underground galleries, a vaulted hall and a museum.
The south bank of the Main between the bridges Eiserner Steg and Friedensbrücke, with a row of museums in old mansions and new buildings, from the Städel to the Liebieghaus.
The only hill castle in the Middle Rhine that was never destroyed, from the 13th century, above Braubach. It can only be visited with a guide.
One of Germany's leading art museums, with around 3,100 paintings from the Middle Ages to contemporary art, on the Museumsufer.
14th-century toll castle on a rocky island in the middle of the Rhine, opposite Kaub, shaped like a stone ship. It is reached by a small ferry.
The house where Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in 1749, rebuilt after the war with the original furniture, next to the Deutsches Romantik-Museum.
Iron pedestrian bridge over the Main, dating from 1868, which links the Römerberg to Sachsenhausen and offers the most famous view of Frankfurt's skyscrapers.
Neighborhood on the south bank of the Main, known for its Apfelwein taverns, Frankfurt's cider, served in gray and blue ceramic jugs.
Former round church where the first elected parliament for all of Germany met in 1848 and 1849. Today it is a memorial to democracy, with an exhibition about that history.
Covered market from 1954 in central Frankfurt, with dozens of stalls selling fruit, cheeses, cold cuts, herbs for Grüne Soße and snacks.
A 22-hectare botanical garden opened in 1871 in the Westend district, with tropical plant greenhouses, outdoor themed areas and lakes.
Before you go
A little planning leaves more time to enjoy the journey.
From May to September the days are long and Rhine boats run more frequently. September and October are the grape harvest season in the Rheingau and Middle Rhine vineyards. Christmas markets usually run from late November until near Christmas, in Frankfurt and in Rüdesheim. Winter, from December to February, is cold and has short days.
The seasons shown are the most usual ones; nature doesn't always follow the calendar.
Allow two days for Frankfurt: one for the old town, the cathedral and the Main Tower, another for the museums on the south bank and Sachsenhausen. The Rhine Valley requires another two days: one for Rüdesheim and the Niederwald, another for Bacharach and the castles of the Loreley region. With four or five days in total you can see everything without rushing.
In Frankfurt, the area around the central station (Hauptbahnhof) is convenient for those catching trains, and the Innenstadt, near the Hauptwache and Römerberg, makes everything walkable. Sachsenhausen, on the other side of the river, is close to the museums and the cider taverns. In the Rhine Valley, staying in Rüdesheim or Bacharach lets you see the towns empty at night and start early on the boats. In high season and during Frankfurt fairs, book in advance.
Take your trash with you, follow the signs and support local businesses. In natural areas, follow the visiting guidelines.
Get your questions answered
Yes. Rüdesheim is just over an hour by regional train from Frankfurt central station, and Bacharach about an hour and a half, usually with a change in Mainz or Bingen. In one day you can see one of the towns at a leisurely pace and do a stretch by boat. To see both towns and the castles, it's best to spend one or two nights in the valley.
No. Frankfurt has metro (U-Bahn), urban trains (S-Bahn) and trams, and central Frankfurt has an environmental zone (Umweltzone) that requires a sticker on the car. In the Rhine Valley, regional trains run along both banks and boats connect the towns in season. A car only helps to reach castles outside bus timetables, and note there is no bridge over the Rhine between Mainz and Koblenz: the crossing is by ferry (Fähre).
The season for regular boats on the Middle Rhine usually runs from April to October, with more departures in summer. In winter there are reduced services on some stretches. In periods of very low or very high river levels, boats may cancel trips: check on the day.
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