Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [446]
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For picnic supplies:
Food market (Viehmarktplatz; 7am-2pm Wed & Fri)
Karstadt supermarket (Simeonstrasse 46; 9am-8pm Mon-Sat) In the basement.
Nahkauf supermarket (Brückenstrasse 2; 8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 8am-7pm Sat)
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Entertainment
Stop by the tourist office or go to www.trier-today.de for details on concerts and other cultural activities.
TuFa ( 718 2412; www.tufa-trier.de, in German; Wechselstrasse 4-6) This vibrant cultural events venue, housed in a former Tuchfabrik (towel factory) – thus the name – hosts cabaret, live music of all sorts, theatre and dance performances.
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Getting There & Away
Trier has several hourly train connections to Saarbrücken (€15.20, one to 1½ hours), via Mettlach, and to Koblenz (regional/IC trains €19.20/24, 1½ to two hours). There are also frequent trains to Luxembourg (€10.40, 50 minutes, at least hourly), with onward connections to Paris.
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Getting Around
Trier has a comprehensive bus system ( 71 72 73; www.swt.de, in German) but the city centre is easily explored on foot. Single tickets/day passes, sold by drivers, cost €1.70/4.65. The Olewig wine district is served by buses 6 and 16.
Bikes in tip-top condition can be rented at the Hauptbahnhof’s not-for-profit Radstation ( 148 856; per 24hr €9-12; 9am-7pm mid-Apr–Oct, 10am-6pm Mon-Fri Nov–mid-Apr), next to track 11. Staff are enthusiastic about cycling and can provide tips on routes.
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BERNKASTEL-KUES
06531 / pop 6700
This charming twin town, some 50km downriver from Trier, is the hub of the middle Moselle region. Bernkastel, on the right bank, is a symphony in half-timber, stone and slate and teems with wine taverns. Kues, the birthplace of theologian Nicolaus Cusanus (1401–64), has little fairy-tale flair but is home to the town’s most important historical sights.
The tourist office ( 500 190; www.bernkastel.de; Am Gestade 6, Bernkastel; 8.30am-12.30pm & 1-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat, 10am-1pm Sun & holidays Easter-Oct, to 3pm Fri, closed weekends & holidays Nov-Easter), 100m downriver from the bridge, reserves hotel rooms, sells hiking and cycling maps, offers internet access and has a 24-hour ATM. A hotel reservation board with a free phone is just outside.
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Sights & Activities
Bernkastel’s pretty Marktplatz, a block inland from the bridge, is a romantic ensemble of half-timbered houses with beautifully decorated gables. Note the medieval iron rings, to which criminals were attached, on the facade of the old Rathaus.
On Karlstrasse, the alley to the right as you face the Rathaus, the tiny Spitzhäuschen resembles a giant bird’s house, its narrow base topped by a much larger, precariously leaning, upper floor. More such crooked gems line Römerstrasse and its side streets. Facing the bridge is the partly 14th-century Pfarrkirche St Michael, whose tower was originally part of the town’s fortifications.
A rewarding way to get your heart pumping is by hoofing it from the Spitzhäuschen up to Burg Landshut, a ruined 13th-century castle – framed by vineyards and forests – on a bluff above town; allow 30 to 60 minutes. You’ll be rewarded with glorious river valley views and a cold drink at the beer garden ( 10am-6pm mid-Feb–Nov).
In Kues, most sights are conveniently grouped next to the bridge in the late-Gothic St-Nikolaus-Hospital ( 2260; Cusanusstrasse 2; admission free; 9am-6pm Sun-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat), an old-age home founded by Cusanus in 1458 for 33 men (one for every year of Christ’s life). You’re free to explore the inner courtyard, Gothic Kapelle (chapel) and cloister at leisure, but the treasure-filled library can only be seen on a guided tour (€4; 10.30am Tue & 3pm Fri Apr-Oct), sometimes held in English.
The complex also houses the new, multimedia Mosel-Weinmuseum (Moselle Wine Museum; 4141; adult/under 12yr/13-18yr €5/free/3; 10am-6pm mid-Apr–Oct, 2-5pm Nov–mid-Apr), with interactive terminals (in German, English and Dutch) and attractions