We visited the Rhine River castles as part of our trip to German Romantic Road. The Rhine River castles can be seen year around. We visited in September 2024 as part of our German Romantic Road trip. Please refer to our trip report on German Romantic Road for more details.

The Rhine River Castles consist of 40 hill top castles and fortresses scattered in Rhine River Valley. They are listed as an UNSECO heritage site. An relaxing way to explore some of the them is by taking a K.D. cruise (Köln-Düsseldorfer Deutsche Rheinschiffahrt GmbH). To visit all 22 castles listed below, it will take more then two to three days with visits inside some of the major castles. We decided to do a quick day cruise between Braubach and Bacharach. The K.D. cruise will stop at Braubach pier at 10:05am and arrive at Bacharach at 1:15am. The return from Bacharach is 3:45pm and arrives at Braubach by 7:05pm. That gives us two and half hours to explore the town of Braubach and Burg Stahleck. K.D. cruise schedule changes every season and every year. Please do check their schedule on your specific day of travel. The K.D. Pier is about 10 min walk from the Braubach town center.

1. Burg Klopp
2. Mäuseturm
3. Burg Ehrenfels
4. Burg Rheinstein
5. Burg Reichenstein
6. Burg Sooneck
7. Burg Hohneck
   Town of Lorch
8. Ruine Burg Fürstenberg
9. Burg Nollig
   B. St. Bonifatius & Clemenskapelle
   Town of Bacharach
10. Burg Stahleck
11. Burg Pfalzgrafenstein
12. Burg Gutenfels
13. Burg Schönburg
    C. Loreley
14. Burg Katz
    Town of St Goar
15. Burg Rheinfels
16. Burg Maus
17. Burg Sterrenberg
18. Burg Liebenstein
19. Marksburg
20. Martinsburg
21. Schloss Stolzenfels
22. Burg Lahneck
    D. Deutsches Eck

Braubach is a small quiet town. The highlight of Braubach is the Marksburg castle, which is one of the principal sites of the Rhine Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has a striking example of a bergfried designed as a butter-churn tower. Of the 40 hill castles between Bingen am Rhein and Koblenz. The Marksburg was one of only two which had never been destroyed (the other being Maus Castle) and at least the only one that had never fallen into disrepair. Some of good hotels are Landgasthof Zum Weissen Schwanen and Hotel Garni Maass. For eatries, Winzerkeller Schloss Philippsburg is famous for its German favorities within 10 min walk from town center. Pizzeria Laguna has an excellent selection of pasta and pizza. It is very popular. Pizzeria Laguna is next to the Netto supermarket. We found a good selection of goods including fresh fruits, diaries and household supplies. Alternatively, one can start the cruise from city of Koblenz. Koblenz is a major city in middle Rhine river. A major city like Koblenz will provide more choice of accommodation. The same K.D. cruise starts at Koblenz at 8:05am.

We took a hike to the Marksburg. The Marksburg stated as a stone keep in 1100 by the Eppstein family and expanded into a castle around 1117. There are many hidden entrances along the Oberalleestraße southern pedestrian walkway which leads to Marksbury. The climb has about 160 elevation. It is modestly challenging. A average fitted person can easily do the climb. There is a gift shop as well as an open-air restaurante on the balcony with panoramic view of Rhine river. Holding a drink while watching ships going by on the Rhine is a fantastic experience to have. Inside Marksburg, there are chapel, Dungeon, Armory, Residential apartments, Tavern, as well as a vaulted tunnel with an antique bookshop. The bookshop has a good selection of books about the Rhine River UNESCO World Heritage Site including the Marksburg.

As ship travels southward, it passes beautiful vineyards, green hills, castles, and small towns. We are very impressed by towns of Boppard and St. Goar.

Out of the ten castles between Braubach and Bacharach, we like the Burg Pfalzgrafenstein the most. It is built on an island in the middle of the Rhine. Look out for it on the left side of ship after St. Goar. On right side of ship, look out for the beautiful Liebfrauenkirche, Church of our Lady.

The ship arrives at Bacharach a little after 1:00pm. Burg Stahleck is on the hilltop above the town. A short cut to the Burg Stahleck is on the back of Kirche St. Peter in Bacharach off Oberstraße,. The climb to Burg Stahleck is steep but doable for most of people. Burg Stahleck is not open for visitors but serves as a youth hostel, allowing the castle to be viewed up close from the courtyard.  The front of castle offers commanding view of Rhine River, which is still a busy waterway today transporting oil, chemicals, etc to the towns and factories along Rhine. Bacharach has a sizable town center with a good selection of gift shops, restaurants and hotels.

We spent about two hours in Bacharach and caught returning ship at 3:15pm and arrived Braubach by 7:05pm, on time for dinner.