Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [424]
Walking options are legion and include Weinwanderwege (vineyard trails) from St Michaelskapelle, a chapel atop a little vine-clad hill just northeast of the tourist office, to Honigsäckel and Hochmess (two hours return); and forest trails to two historic ruins, Limburg (11km, three hours return) and Hardenburg (two hours one-way).
The Kaiser-Konrad-Radweg links Bad Dürkheim’s Rathaus with Speyer’s Dom (about 30km each way).
SLEEPING & EATING
Bad Dürkheim has a good selection of reasonably priced hotels. Restaurants with warm-season terraces can be found on Römerplatz and along nearby Kurgartenstrasse.
Knaus Camping Park ( 613 56; www.knauscamp.de; In den Almen 3; site €7-12, person €6.40) A lakeside camping ground about 3.5km northeast of the centre.
Marktschänke ( 952 60; www.bd-marktschaenke.de, in German; s/d from €49/75; ) An especially friendly, family-run hotel with seven extra-large rooms and a playfully cluttered, rustic restaurant specialising in regional dishes (mains from €6.80). It’s located about 250m southwest of the Hauptbahnhof, off the Obermarkt.
Hotel Weingarten ( 940 10; www.hotelweingarten.de; Triftweg 11a-13; d €88-105; ) Situated 1km northeast of the Bahnhof along Manheimerstrasse, this aptly named, welcoming place has 18 lovingly cared-for rooms, most with balconies. Reception closes at 2pm on Sunday – call ahead if you’ll be arriving after that. The same family runs a winery next door.
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AHR VALLEY & THE EIFEL
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The Eifel, a rural area of gentle hills, tranquil villages and volcanic lakes, makes for a great respite from the exuberant mass tourism of the Moselle and Rhine Valleys. Its subtle charms are best sampled on a bike ride or a hike, though it also has a few headline attractions, including a world-class car-racing track, a stunning Romanesque abbey and a lovely wine region, the Ahr Valley.
The Ahr River has carved a scenic 90km valley stretching from Blankenheim, in the High Eifel, to its confluence with the Rhine near Remagen. This is one of Germany’s few red-wine regions – growing Spätburgunder (Pinot noir), in particular – with vineyards clinging to steeply terraced slopes along both banks. The quality is high but the yield small, so very few wine labels ever make it beyond the area – all the more reason to visit and try them for yourself.
For information on the region, see www.ahr-rhein-eifel.de (in German).
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Getting Around
The best way to travel through the Ahr Valley is on the Ahrtalbahn, an hourly train serving most of the villages between Altenahr and Remagen (35 minutes), and, Monday to Saturday, Bonn.
If you’re driving, make your way to the B266/B267, which traverses the valley.
The scenic Rotweinwanderweg (Red Wine Hiking Trail; www.ahr-rotweinwanderweg.de, www.rotweinwanderweg.de, both in German), marked by small signs with grape icons, takes hikers though luscious vineyard country on its 35km route from Bad Bodendorf to Altenahr, via the hillsides above Bad Neuenahr and Ahrweiler. You can walk as far as you like and then return on the Ahrtalbahn. Tourist offices have trail details and maps (€1).
Cycling options include the Ahrtalradweg (Ahr-Radweg), which runs pretty much along the Ahr, linking Sinzig (on the Rhine) with Blankenheim, a distance of about 80km. Bikes can be taken on the Ahrtalbahn free of charge.
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REMAGEN
02642 / pop 16,100
Remagen, 20km south of Bonn, was founded by the Romans in AD 16 as Rigomagus, but the town would hardly figure in the history books were it not for one fateful day in early March 1945. As the Allies raced across France and Belgium to rid Germany of Nazism, the Wehrmacht tried frantically to stave off defeat by destroying all bridges across the Rhine. But the Brücke von Remagen (the steel rail bridge at Remagen) lasted long enough