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The Mosel & the Rhine Gorge: Route Guide

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Cochem Reichsburg Mosel — The Mosel & the Rhine Gorge
Photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

A river that takes its corners seriously, lined with the steepest vineyards on Earth and castles at every meander. Cochem and Bernkastel are half-timbered wine towns out of a picture book, and Trier, Rome's northern capital, keeps its black gate, baths and basilica two millennia on. Riesling here is not a grape, it's a civilisation.

The Mosel & the Rhine Gorge is a 160 km one-way journey (self-drive). It works best as 3–5 days; the plan below is the 4-day version for September, built from 119 verified places, with real road-routed transit times, opening hours and daylight checked.

3–5
days
160km
distance
4
Stops
119
curated stops

Plan your own version → 3-day plan · 4-day plan · 5-day plan · best time to go

The route

Koblenz & the Loreley→ 50 kmCochem→ 50 kmTraben-Trarbach→ 60 kmTrier

What you'll see

Marksburg
You will see medieval stone walls and towers perched high above the Rhine River.
Koblenz & the Loreley
Cochem Castle
Take in sweeping valley views from this restored ruin high above.
Cochem
The Middle-Mosel Museum
Learn about local history in a regional museum display.
Traben-Trarbach
Porta Nigra
Stand before the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps.
Trier
Festung Ehrenbreitstein
Gaze over Koblenz from this mighty fortress's heights.
Koblenz & the Loreley
Seselbahn to the Pinnerkreuz mountain
Ride the cable car for breathtaking views of the valley and castle.
Cochem
Ruins of the Grevenburg
Explore the remains of a medieval castle, besieged through history.
Traben-Trarbach
Basilica of Constantine
Admire a majestic Roman basilica built by Emperor Constantine.
Trier

Choose your length

3-day plan19 stops · 5.8 h transit6.3 stops/day · 1.9 h transit/daySee the full plan →4-day plan26 stops · 5.7 h transit6.5 stops/day · 1.4 h transit/daySee the full plan →5-day plan33 stops · 6.2 h transit6.6 stops/day · 1.2 h transit/daySee the full plan →

When to go

Best months: May, June, July, August, September, October

Harvest on slopes so steep the pickers wear climbing gear — wine festivals run village to village and the vineyards turn gold a week at a time.

See the month-by-month breakdown →

Similar journeys

Plan your own version →