The past months have been great for discovering, rediscovering and moreover appreciating destinations close to home. For me, they include the Ardennes, Luxemburg and the Eifel region amongst others. Most recently, we went to the Mosel valley on an eight days cycling trip. At the same time a heatwave hit Western Europe. Suddenly our cycle trip in the Mosel Valley felt much more exotic than a short break 3 hours from home!
We like active holidays, but there are also practical reasons for opting for a cycle trip. The Mosel Valley is filled with small villages, narrow roads and few parking spaces. A car is a curse rather than a help here. An excellent, safe cycle path lines the Mosel river, so we figured this would be the best way to take in the prettiest river views. Moreover, the Mosel region is a wine region, producing top class Riesling. Being able to enjoy a little taster or two does add to the experience!
In this diary of our Mosel valley cycling trip, I’m taking you from Trier to Koblenz in eight days. I’m sharing the top places to stop along the way and the best viewpoints to take in those river-and-vineyard vistas.
Preparing for a Mosel Valley cycling trip
Level of difficulty?
The Mosel Valley cycle path (Moselradweg) follows the river banks most of the time. As such it is almost completely flat and suitable for all abilities. We sometimes ventured into the hillier backcountry, but this is optional. A couple of times, we also left our bikes behind to hike up to a viewpoint. As you can see from the distances quoted below, we tailored our cycle trip and included lighter as well as more heavy days. This ensured we had time for all the scenic stops and visits along the way. The distances I listed are point-to-point along the Moselradweg. With detours and town visits included, we covered closer to 50 – 60km each day. Also, we had our luggage transported. Having less kilos to push was nice, but it also meant we could park our bikes and not worry. Plenty of companies offer luggage transport the Mosel Valley.
Where to eat and sleep?
We booked all our accommodation upfront. It wasn’t very busy (because Covid), but in normal times the Mosel valley is packed with tourists in August and booking is essential. There are many options, but don’t expect super high-end hotels. Most accommodation in the Mosel valley either dates from the ‘70s heydays or they are simple B&B in people’s homes. A lot of places are family-owned which usually means a warm welcome and high standard of cleanliness.
For meals, we didn’t book anything and it wasn’t an issue – we could easily get a table for dinner on spec. At times options were limited. For example, in Mȕden we only found one place serving one set menu – take it or leave it. We always had a picknick for lunch. In the morning we would buy the necessary things before setting of so we didn’t need to worry closer to lunchtime. Each village has at least a bakery and small grocery store.
Don’t like cycling? No problem.
I already mentioned that a car isn’t the best way to explore the Mosel valley. If a cycle trip doesn’t appeal, but you still want to stay active, opt for the Moselsteig. This long-distance trail takes hikers away from the river banks and into the higher forests and vineyards. The trail still descends into the villages to the comfort of all the services.
Want to be less active? The Moselbahn is a well-organised railway with frequent stops in the prettiest villages. And if the train doesn’t call there, there is always the extensive bus network.
Day 1: visiting Trier, Germany’s oldest city
The starting point for our Mosel Valley cycling trip was Trier. Sometimes referred to as “the oldest city of Germany” or “Rome on the Mosel”, Trier is well worth spending a day. The city is packed with interesting sights including several Roman archaeological sites. These 2nd century landmarks coupled with the rich medieval heritage define Trier as a fascinating city full of treasures. We arrived shortly after noon and did not have much time to explore the city centre. This was fine, since we’d visited before and we were mainly excited about starting our cycling trip the next day. That said, there is a lot to see if you have the time and Trier is charming town full of history.
Here is my list of favourite places to visit in Trier. A lot of them have a connection with the Roman era, because that’s my favourite period in history.
Kaiserthermen
This bathing complex was commissioned specifically for Emperor Constantine’s stay in Trier. However the baths were left unfinished and the emperor never used them. A large part of the original structure still stands and allows to appreciate the size. The most fascinating part though is the labyrinth of underground tunnels and furnaces for heating the baths.
St Peter’s Cathedral & Liebfraukirche
If you think St Peter’s Cathedral is a sizable building, remember that the original site, as commissioned by Emperor Constantine, was around 4 times the size. If you walk down the narrow street left of the cathedral, the different building phases and styles are clearly visible. The most impressive part is the Gothic cloister. The adjacent Liebfraukirche links to the cathedral via a passageway. The Gothic exterior is pretty, but the interior is much more simple. Head into the office opposite the church entrance to book a tour of both buildings – it’s well worth it.
Aula Palatina
Emperor Constantine’s “audience hall” is a must-see for its sheer size. This roman building measures 33m in height and 67m in length. Even though the building has many times been repurposed and modified, the Roman bricks are still clearly visible. Being a Protestant church today, the interior is extremely sober. However this allows visitor to fully appreciate the size of the hall.
Rheinisches Landesmuseum
This excellent museum is the place to learn more about Trier’s Roman past and see unique pieces that have been recovered or removed from the sites for conservation. The best piece in my opinion is the original Neumagen wine ship. It’s the tombstone of a rich Roman wine merchant, carved in the shape of a ship. If you’re doing a Mosel Valley cycle trip, you’ll pass through the town of Neumagen and see the replica in the original place.
Barbarathermen
The Barbara thermen are the largest Roman baths outside Rome. Not much remains of them since the site served as a stone quarry for later buildings. The only way to access the site is via a walkway above the ruins. Even though it’s a completely different experience from a visit to the Kaiserthermen, the sense of size you get is impressive.
Main square
If you need a break from Roman history, the Hauptmarkt will be a welcome immersion in Medieval times. Beautifully restored Medieval houses line each side of the square.
Amphitheatre
located on a hill just outside the town centre, this was the place where gladiator fights and other bloody games would take place. Not much of the structure remains, but the shape of the arena, surrounded by cellars, and entrance gate are still intact.
Porta Nigra
The “black gate” is the ancient Roman city gate owing its name to the dark sandstone building material. The building is impressive and a must-see. Don’t bother to enter and climb the 4 stories though – there are better views and exhibitions in Trier.
Day 2: cycling Trier – Piesport (47 km)
I was super pleased to get on the bike on day 1! After seeing lots of travel plans getting cancelled in the past months, the excitement of exploring a new corner on the world was a great, fresh feeling. The first 15 kilometres were behind us very fast – we wanted to get out of the city and surrounding industrial sites quickly. From the start, we were cycling along the river bank, away from the main road.
Roman villa’s in the Mosel Valley
Our first real stop was the village of Longuich. We left the Mosel bank for a short but steep trek into the adjacent vineyards to Villa Urbana. Only a tiny part of the Roman villa has been restored – the original was much, much bigger. It’s a peaceful spot, free to visit and gives a good impression of what a Roman winery would have looked like. We had our picnic lunch under the apple trees at the front.
It was hot and we lingered for way too long, reaching our next stop only well into the afternoon. Sticking with the Roman theme, we visited Villa Romana in Mehring. This villa is also partially reconstructed and was once much larger – allegedly the largest property in the area back in the 2nd century. Whilst it has some nice angles for photos, I didn’t like it as much as Villa Urbana because it’s set right in the middle of a more modern residential area.
The Neumagen wine ship
We peddled on to Neumagen-Dhron. Whilst it was getting late, we really wanted to make a stop here to see the replica of the “Neumagen wine ship”. It’s the tombstone of a rich Roman wine merchant, carved in the shape of a ship. Moreover, moored in the River Mosel is a real ship – a wooden replica of a Roman boat, originally built for battle, but repurposed to transport wine during times of peace.
Soon after this, we reached Piesport, our destination for the night. After a small moment of stress (they could initially only find my husband’s luggage and not mine) we settled into our room at Gasthaus Moselloreley. This was my favourite accommodation of the entire trip! A friendly family hotel with pretty historic rooms and a river view – what more could we wish for after a long day cycling the Mosel valley. Since the hotel is somewhat far from the town centre, dinner on site was our only option. Not an issue though – we enjoyed the quiet terrace, fish dish and of course a little carafe of Riesling.
Day 3: cycling Piesport – Kröv (35 km)
Piesport’s old wine press
Before cycling onwards, we decided to take a closer look at the village of Piesport first. The village is home to one of the largest and best-preserved Roman wine presses in the region. Whilst we didn’t spend a lot of time looking at the press, I found it fascinating to read about the ancient production process and look at the setup. However I got distracted by another event…
Riding up the hill to the wine press, the chain came of my bike and got completely stuck. Out came the tiny toolbox that came with then rental bike package. Thankfully it contained the right tools to take apart the chain guard and gear, retrieve the chain (thankfully undamaged) and put everything back together. I was allowed to wash my hands at the house of a friendly wine farmer.
Not many kilometres further, we made a lunch stop in Brauneberg. It’s only a tiny village, but it does sport the only onion shaped church tower in Mosel Valley.
Mosel valley metropole Bernkastel-Kȕes
By the time we reached Bernkastel-Kȕes, one of the major old wine metropolises of the Mosel Valley. Cycling in the heat of the day meant we were shattered so we decided to cheat, dump the bikes in a rack and take the shuttle bus up to the ruined Landshut castle above the town for a brilliant view over the river.
A single fare for the shuttle was 5 euros so I could only bring myself to buy us one-way tickets. This turned out to be a good decision since the walk down via the footpath was gentle and mostly in the shade. It took us straight to the magnificent main square packed with beautiful half-timbered houses. These “Spitzenhäuschen” date from the Middle Ages and although you can see example all along the Mosel Valley, the ones in Bernkastel-Kȕes are extremely lavishly decorated.
My only tiny disappointment was to find the Mosel Wine Museum closed. I’d heard many good things about it and had been looking forward to learning more about the history of wine making in the Mosel Valley.
Machern Monastery & Kröv
This gave us time for a leisurely stop at the Machern Monastery, as few kilometres furthers. The nunnery is no longer active and not a lot reminds of monastic life, but the brewery and ice cream shop are worth a stop.
After the monastery, we took on the final stretch to Kröv. There’s another Roman wine press worth seeing right next to the cycle path shortly after the monastery! For the first time, I felt like cycling was a small ordeal since we were riding along a noisy main road where Germans lived up to their reputation as reckless drivers. I was pleased to reach Kröv and the Karolingerhof, our accommodation for the night. The owners could not confirm the legend that Charles the Great was born in this very house! Regardless, the Karolingerhof is lovingly restored and the owners serve a tasty daily menu. We sat inside and watch a heavy thunderstorm during dinner – thank god we were no longer on the bike!
Day 4: cycling Kröv – Reil (15 km)
15km is an easy cycling day, we thought. We’ll arrive after lunch and have time to read and chill, we thought. Little did we know about the fascinating views and landmarks we would find along the Mosel Valley on this short cycling day!
The first stop was Traben-Trarbach. This village stands out as the “art nouveau” town of the Mosel, where the Belle Epoque comes to life. Strategically placed at a former crossroads, Traben-Trarbach benefited enormously from the wine trade. After Bordeaux in France, it was even the second largest wine trading centre in Europe. The resulted in lavish, bourgeois houses. One of them, a former merchant home, is open for visitors today (“Mittelmosel Museum”) and it well worth a stop.
Next we pushed our bikes up a gravel slope to the ruined Grevenburg Castle (no cycling uphill in these temperatures!). The café was closed, but the view was amazing and we had our picnic lunch to re-energise.
We spent several hours in Traben-Trarbach so it wasn’t particularly early by the time we reached Reil. Nonetheless, we decided to push on with the 10 extra kilometres to Zell and back. We had big plans for an offbeat detour off the Moselradweg the next day and figured we could do with some extra time. Zell is the “black cat town” and you’ll find references to cats everywhere. There is even a “black cat” vineyard!
On the was back to Reil, another thunderstorm surprised us and we sheltered for around an hour under a bridge until it had passed. So far for an early arrival. It wasn’t until dinner time that we arrived at Hotel Reiler Hof. Although dinner was on the pricey side, Reiler Hof was another fine accommodation with a lovely terrace and cosy rooms.
Day 5: cycling Reil – Cochem (48 km)
Viewpoint Prinzenkopfturm
We were halfway into our trip and getting out of bed early was getting noticeably harder! Yet we made an effort, since we had another long day and full programme ahead. I was especially since we would divert from the Moselradweg and cycle uphill. Our destination: the Prinzenkopfturm, which supposedly offers a great view of the “Zeller Hamm” – a funny bend in the river which looks like to separate lakes – and the former Marienburg monastery.
I was cycle concerned about the uphill cycle, but luckily we were ahead of the worst heat and the leafy path was mostly sheltered. At the viewpoint, we got all the views we were hoping for, so the detour was well worth the effort. Moreover, I enjoyed following the traces of the former “Kanonenbahn” railway and its role in the second World War. An easy downhill ride through the Marienburg vineyards followed. These are some of the steepest vineyards in Europe and it’s pretty impressive to watch people working them.
We found a picknick spot further down the river, close to the Bullay railway bridge. Part of the aforementioned Kanonenbahn, this was the first double bridge in Germany (rail + road). It’s an impressive example of railway engineering.
Hking the Calmont in Bremm
Onwards we cycled to Bremm. This small, residential village with lovely “Spitzenhäuschen” is the starting point for hiking the Calmont. With a modest 381m of elevation, you can hardly speak of a mountain, but it is one of the highest points in the region offering great views. In Bremm, I really regretted not having more time and perhaps even a day for walking. We went up to a halfway viewpoint, but returned without taking the via ferrata to the top.
The Sleeping Beauty of the Mosel Valley
After Bremm, I was grateful that the Moselradweg followed the main road for a while. We cycled straight on, as we were keen to spend time in Beilstein. Many people say this is the most picturesque village in the Mosel Valley. I was sceptic, but they might actually be right. The tiny, windy streets, abundance of historic, half-timbered houses and the medieval castle looming over the village explain why Beilstein is known as the Sleeping Beauty village, tucked away between rough hills on the banks of the Mosel.
We had a lovely ice cream and I bought my best souvenir of the holiday – a bottle of ice wine. I’d given already given up on finding this regional delicacy when I stumbled on it by accident. Ice wine is a sweet wine made of grapes that were frozen whilst still on the wine. Since the liquid in the grapes freezes, the wine is more concentrated and production is more limited. Moreover, producing ice wine is a risky business as several weather conditions need to be in balance at the right time. The wine I bought was made of 2018 grapes (produced in 2019) and the previous batch dated from 2014. Needless to say ice wine is rather pricey and hard to come across.
Cochem, the centre of the Mosel Valley
Once again it was getting late when we reached our destination, Cochem. This is the largest Mosel town between Trier and Koblenz and very different from the quiet hamlets we’d stayed in earlier. Moreover, Hotel Zehnthof where we spent the night isn’t even worth linking. My experience with cleanliness in Germany and, in recent times, compliance with Covid rules is generally positive. However, this place had zero consideration for hygiene or social distancing.
Don’t let this put you of from visiting Cochem! The castle is gorgeous and there are some nice walks taking you to viewpoints.
Day 6: cycling Cochem – Mȕden (15 km)
Visiting Cochem
Our next day started with a downpour, so we lingered in our room after breakfast. By the time we finally pushed ourselves to check-out, the rain thankfully eased and by the time we’d cycled to the castle – Cochem’s most famous attraction – and locked our bikes it has completely stopped. We visited the castle on a (mandatory) guided tour and after that spent most of the day in the town. Despite my first impression the night before, I have to admit that Cochem is very cute and scenic. It’s also super touristy, so we contented ourselves with walking the streets of the inner town, without visiting the shops or cafés (much too busy).
We did do one gimmicky thing – taking the cable car up to the Pinnerkreuz overlook. But we got the best views over the valley and the castle by following the hiking trails starting from the cable car and searching for places in the woods with a clear view. We even found a perfect scenic lunch spot!
The Celtic sanctuary at Martberg
We had to let go of our ambitious plan of reaching our destination (though only 15 km from Cochem) in the early afternoon. Instead, we took a small detour to from the Moselradweg to the archaeological site of Martberg. Originally known as “mons martis”, this former bustling town boasts a Celtic sanctuary dedicated to the god Lenus – Mars. Part of the sanctuary and a few houses have been restored, giving a good view of the size and style.
Despite the continuous heat and the steep climb, this was all very pleasant. Getting back down to the Moselradweg turned out to be a challenge. We followed the signs towards Treis – Karden, the village right below Martberg. However, the only option was to follow a hiking trail. This went fine for a while, but of course we ended up with our bikes at hand, navigating the narrow trail in a rather precarious manner. Not recommended. Instead, cycle to Treis – Karden and walk up the hill and back! We lingered in Treis – Karden, another of these beautiful historic Mosel valley villages, and treated ourselves to a drink before continuing our cycle trip.
Of all accommodations where we stayed, hotel Sonnenhof was the simplest, but it was 200% the most charming. The place hasn’t changed the slightest since its inception in the ‘60s (as proven by the photos on the wall). However, it is impeccably and lovingly maintained and the chatty owner gave us a very warm welcome.
Day 7: cycling Mȕden – Koblenz (34 km)
Fairytale Burg Eltz
Our chatty hostess and the custom prepared breakfast meant that we hit the road later than planned the next day. The main attraction we were planning to visit was one of Germany’s famous fairytale castles, Burg Eltz. The beauty of Burg Eltz is in its eclectic style. This is due to the fact that the castle was originally built as three separate houses, for different generations of the family. Undamaged by war throughout the centuries, unlike other castles in the region, and thanks to a resident owning family, the colourful castle is in excellent condition.
There are a few ways to reach Burg Eltz. We cycled to the Ringersteiner Mȕhle in Moselkern. From the mill, a 2km easy trail leads to Burgh Eltz. We arrived before 1100 and the area around the castle was packed. Despite the queue, we opted for a guided visit of the castle. Unfortunately, shortly after leaving the castle, we were surprised by a massive downpour. We sheltered under the three for close to an hour, but still managed to get completely soaked.
The final stretch to Koblenz
With water squashing in our shoes, we cycled onwards to the medieval village Kobern – Gondorf for a historic walk around its chapels and churches. Later we made a stop in Winningen for a stroll around the dreamy alleys of this wine village, before taking on the final stretch of our Mosel valley cycle tour to Koblenz.
Keeping with our routine, we arrived at Hotel Stein in Koblenz just in time for dinner. I can’t say a bad word about the hotel – it’s a beautiful and welcoming family affair. However, given its location outside the city centre and away from the Deutsche Ecke, where the Moselradweg terminates, I struggle to see why the rental company put us up there. We enjoyed dining in Hotel Stein – the dishes are original and the garden setting is lovely – as well as a good night’s sleep.
Day 8: riding the Moselbahn back to Trier
The next day, we skipped visiting the centre of Koblenz because it would either have been a long trek or an expensive taxi ride back and forth. Instead we walked over to the station (with our luggage this took over an hour) to catch an early-ish train back to our starting point, Trier. We were keen to catch a guided tour around St Peter’s Cathedral and sit down for a meal before heading home.
The train ride using the Moselbahn line takes close to two hours and was super enjoyable. There is a faster option, but we were keen to view the landscape we’d cycle in the past week from a different angle. It was lovely to enjoy the Mosel views one last time.
Organise your trip to the Mosel valley now!
Booking.comIf you’re looking for more inspiration on leisurely cycle trips in Europe, read my posts about cycling in the New Forest in England and Puglia in Italy.
