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The Mosel River courses through the peaceful countryside of Germany, Luxembourg and France. Sailings of the Mosel -- or the Moselle, as it's known in France -- are often combined with cruises of the Rhine River. The route is lined by some of Europe's most enchanting cities, as well as grand castles, lush vineyards and picture-perfect medieval villages. Like most of Europe's great rivers, the Moselle features both industrial stretches and scenic regions. That said, the Middle to Lower Moselle (where the river snakes its way from Trier to Koblenz through a series of steep bends) is just lovely.
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The Roman Path (Römerweg) takes you by the ruins of a small castle (Ramstein Burg), swinging rope bridges, spacious caves, the Geierlay lookout, and ancient Roman mines. Wine lovers are certainly spoiled for choice when it comes to wine bars, tours, and tastings throughout the Mosel Valley. Prepare to sample endless pours of classic German Riesling wine, roses, and occasional red. Koblenz is one of the largest cities in the Mosel Valley and is perched where the Rhine and Mosel rivers meet. Trier is known as Germany’s oldest city thanks to its historical ties to ancient Rome. In fact, some of the best things to do in Trier include seeing well-preserved ruins like the famed Porta Nigra and Roman baths.
A land of castles and kingdoms
15 of the Best European River Cruises - Travel + Leisure
15 of the Best European River Cruises.
Posted: Tue, 09 Aug 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The "Sleeping Beauty of the Moselle" Beilstein is definitely worth a side trip, the historic town was not given this romantic epithet for nothing. All the main river cruise operators offer Moselle cruises, often in combination with the Rhine and other rivers. Operators include Emerald Waterways, APT, Uniworld, Tauck, Avalon Waterways, Viking River Cruises, AmaWaterways, A-Rosa, Scenic Tours and CroisiEurope. Trains are often not an option to return from a cruise on the Moselle River. Koblenz, Cochem, and Trier are linked by frequent trains but the railways are not in the river valley and many of the smaller towns are only sporadically reached by public transportation. Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD), the largest operator of pleasure boats on the Rhine River, currently limits its activities on the Mosel to sightseeing panorama cruises in Cochem — easily booked online.
Have any epic places to visit in the Mosel Valley that I missed? Comment below!
The panorama excursion cruises are usually an hour with up to 12 departures per day. These panorama cruises are very similar and the best choice is usually simply the next boat to depart. Prices, around €12 for the one-hour cruise, are the same for both cruise lines. Boat cruises are available most days on the Mosel from early April (or Easter if it falls in March) to late October.
The route is called the Calmont-Klettersteig and begins behind the town’s picturesque church. Cochem is a small town nestled along the banks of the Mosel River, enchanting visitors with its fairytale charm, hilltop medieval castle perched on a hillside, and colorful half-timbered houses. Although there aren’t any classic big German cities in the region, it is conveniently about two hours west of Frankfurt and south of Cologne and Dusseldorf. This means the Mosel River is within driving distance from some of Germany’s classic tourist destinations.
Accommodations, many meals and beverages and guided sightseeing are covered in the upfront price. Plus, the discounts and deals offered on this site will greatly reduce the amount you pay. A good souvenir of a Moselle cruise is a bottle of Roter Weinberg Pfirsich Likor (Red Vineyard Peach Liqueur), a drink made from small red sour peaches grown only in the Moselle Valley.
Where You'll Stay
With a settled history that predates the Romans, it is yours to discover on one of our Moselle river cruises. The Moselle region in Luxembourg has been a very popular excursion and holiday destination for many decades. Incredible landscapes, picturesque villages, award-winning wines and gastronomic treats provide a varied offer for active holidaymakers, gourmets and explorers.
His astronomical instruments and apparatus, including the world's oldest celestial sphere, can be seen in the hospital library. All of those sites have UNESCO World Heritage Site status, but Trier is not just a repository of Roman remains. It's also a thriving modern university city, close enough to Luxembourg to have more of a cosmopolitan than a Germanic feel.
Festivities include concerts, fairs, firework displays, oompah bands, processions and, best of all, lots of wine. Excursion cruises from Trier go downriver to Bernkastel-Kues (over four hours each way) or upstream and into the Saar River to Saarburg (two hours). Trier, famous for its Roman monuments and as the birthplace of Karl Marx, is also a popular departure point from Moselle River cruises. Cruises in winter are limited but some are available during the romantic Advent and Christmas market seasons, especially in Bernkastel and Trier. Tickets for the panorama cruise of KD in Cochem are easy to buy online (and usually a bit cheaper). However, for other cruises buy tickets from kiosks at major stops or directly on the boat.
These riverboats call frequently at stops along the route, where it is possible to join the cruise or to disembark for sightseeing. Multiple-day cruises on the Moselle River are popular but less common than on for example the Rhine or the Danube Rivers. Day-trip excursion cruises usually operate within small regions, especially around Cochem, Bernkastel-Kues, and Trier where panorama cruises and excursions are possible. From Koblenz, riverboats mostly cruise up the Rhine rather than up the Mosel.
Most main attractions stay open until early November, so this is also a good time to see the sights without so many crowds. And both Boppard and Piesport have autumn wine festivals early in October, so pick the right itinerary and you won't miss out. The more industrialized parts of the Moselle Valley, where the river is a key artery for transporting goods, are also interspersed with gorgeous scenery in a quickly changing landscape. So be prepared to take a bit of rough with a lot of smooth while savoring fine Riesling wines and venturing ashore to explore wonderful places like Trier, Germany's oldest city.
Plenty of river cruise adventures provided by the best river cruise companies in the world are now available. In Luxembourg, the valley is actually the Moselle River Valley and comprises the cute towns of Remich, Grevenmacher, and Wasserbillig. Most towns and cities in the region host a wine festival, some bigger than others. The most notable events include Bernkastel, Traben-Trarbach, Trier, and Cochem. When not soaking up the picturesque details of the center’s timber frame buildings and cobblestone streets, take the time to sip wine and nibble on traditional German fare. Driving or hiking up to the Castle Landshut lookout, where you can book a nice meal at the restaurant nestled within the castle ruins, is also a must.
On these trips, guests visit Reichsburg Castle, which is perched on a steep hill and offers splendid views of Cochem. Weave through the towns and cities of Germany on a Moselle river cruise that tantalises the sense for discovery. Beautiful, romantic Bernkastel-Kues is one of the most picturesque Moselle wine towns. It is a popular departure point for Mosel cruises but is also frequently the destination.
Not only is Bernkastel-Kues a particularly beautiful town but the meandering Moselle is at its most beautiful in this region. Kolb offers a variety of excursion cruises from Cochem to other popular Moselle destinations. Cruises downriver to Koblenz or to visit Burg Eltz are classics but the views are better upriver from Cochem.
This narrowness also translates to less overall traffic on the river and in ports, Hoffee says. This not only means gorgeous vineyard views from the ship, but also opportunities to visit family-owned wineries and sample their delicious wares. In Remich, Luxembourg, I joined a walking tour that ended with an informative wine tasting in the shady garden of Domaine L&R Kox, which grows 30 acres of grapes and produces 50 small-batch wines.
The cruise begins in Luxembourg, in the small town of Remich, then whisks passengers through west-central Germany. It briefly sails on the Rhine, then on the Main River, before finishing in Frankfurt. And while so many European destinations have gotten a little too busy for comfort, the Moselle has remained quiet, serene. If your goal is a quintessentially European river cruise without the quintessential European crowds, the Moselle is the river for you. Before setting sail on the Moselle River with Avalon Waterways in July, I didn’t know quite what to expect. Though I’d been on other river cruises in Europe, the Moselle really wasn’t on my radar.
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