Middle Rhine Valley Scenic Route

Last updated: 25 June 2023

Have you ever heard of the Middle Rhine Valley?

Did you know there is a scenic driving route that runs through the Rhine valley, from Bingen to Bonn, and you’ll get the chance to see over 40 castles from the Middle Ages and some beautiful scenery along the way? It doesn’t get the name romantic Rhine for nothing!

The Middle Rhine Valley scenic drive is formed of 2 parts, the upper part from Bingen to Koblenz and the lower part from Koblenz to Bonn. Roma and I did the 65km upper half of the Middle Rhine Valley scenic drive, we started in Bingen and ended in Koblenz (the route is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002) on our return to London from Switzerland.

One of our favourite aspects of travelling is meeting new people and learning more about the world around us from fellow travellers, which is exactly how we learned about the Middle Rhine Valley scenic drive!

Thanks to Scott from vacationcounts.com (@vacationcounts) and Jennifer from sidewalksafari.com (@sidewalksafari) that we learned of the Middle Rhine Valley scenic route and decided to check it out during our drive through Germany. And boy were we glad that we spent the time to take the drive because it turned out to be one of the most scenic, spellbinding, and serene drives that we’ve taken since living in Europe.

According to Google Maps, the drive from Bingen to Koblenz is approx 65km and should take just over 1 hour (the blue line below) but we ended up spending about 3 hours making the journey because we kept pulling over to take photos and enjoy some of the fresh air. And that’s what makes this trip so amazing, you literally have one thing to see after another.

And just one piece of advice if you plan on following our route, there are limited parking places along the way in which to pullover to enjoy the view. Some of the places we just pulled over on the side of the road, on a footpath, and yes even the occasional parking lot. However, this was one of the perks of driving early on a Sunday morning, so just something to keep in mind.

Starting the Middle Rhine Valley Drive

Our journey early on a Sunday morning in Mainz on our way to Bingen to start the scenic route, first up was a pitstop at Macca’s (McDonald’s) for a bacon roll and a coffee, nothing good ever happens without coffee. Then we hit the road and followed the 60 until the 9 road turn off to Bingen.

Burg Reichenstein

Once we started the scenic route at Bingen, it was within 10 minutes that we were already looking to pull over at Burg Reichenstein, a 12th century castle which boasts a working drawbridge and portcullis and is open to the public.

Since it was early on a Sunday morning nothing was open so we admired the beauty of this castle roadside. After a few minutes we were back on the road and heading to our next stop, Burg Sooneck.

Burg Sooneck

Burg Sooneck is a 13th century castle with a pretty interesting history – built, besieged, refusal to be rebuilt, then rebuilt, then besieged again, then left to decay, then rebuilt…and this is just the tip of the iceberg!

We passed signs to the castle so we followed them to, this time, get a little closer to a German castle. You basically need to drive past Burg Sooneck for a few minutes, then take a left, and follow the winding road.

Now here’s the thing with the winding road, it’s basically one road up and the same road down which makes me wonder what traffic must be like during Summer but made me grateful that we were driving up on a Sunday morning. However, if you’re like us and spend all your energy on ensuring that your car stayed on the narrow road then there’s a good chance that you’ll drive straight past the official parking area and keep driving up to the castle on the footpath!

We spent some time enjoying the view and the tranquility before getting back in the car and heading back the way we came, hoping that no one else decided to visit the castle at the same time! Thankfully, we made it back to the main road and continued our journey on the 9 road.

It’s only about 10 minutes of driving before you spot another castle and then you’re quickly searching for a place to pull over!

Ruine Furstenberg

Unfortunately since we were on a main road and there were a few other drivers around, we didn’t have the opportunity to stop as quickly as we would have liked so our photos were taken from a distance. The castle in question was Ruine Furstenberg, a 13th century castle sitting high on the hill overlooking the Rhine region.

After a check quick of Google Maps to ensure that we were still heading in the right direction, we noticed that that we weren’t far from Castle Pfalzgrafenstein so we knew that would be our next stop.

Castle Pfalzgrafenstein

Castle Pfalzgrafenstein (which I’m sure is easy to pronounce in German….) looks like something out of a fairy tale and it’s a castle you don’t need to check if you’re looking at the right one, you know when you see it.

This was one of the stops where there is no designated parking area so you have a make a decision quickly, especially if there are cars behind you. Fortunately for us, the road was empty so we just pulled over on footpath for a few minutes and there were no issues.

Pfalzgrafenstein Castle stands on the tiny Pfalz island in the middle of the Rhine and was built about 800 years as a toll collecting castle! That’s right, a toll collecting castle! Just because you were on the water didn’t mean that you didn’t have to pay your tolls! And they meant it too because apparently a chain (also called a boom) would be strung up across the river forcing boats to submit and pay their levies!

Next time we’re in the Rhine valley we are definitely taking advantage of the ferry which allows visitors to visit the castle.

Oberwesel

We spent a bit of time admiring the view and then headed back on the 9 road and continued our journey. We drove for about another 15 minutes before we drove through the town of Oberwesel which was just lovely, so lovely that we just had to stop and admire the view.

There were plenty of empty parking spaces so we had no issue grabbing a space before heading out to take in the view and explore the village for a short time. I think my favourite thing about Oberwesel was simply standing on the footpath looking out over the Rhine and hearing nothing, there was no noise and was just perfectly tranquil.

We spent about a good amount of time just walking around taking photos and really just soaking up the serenity of a quaint village with spectacular views.

We pulled ourselves away from the view to get back in the car and continue our journey but after 10 minutes on the road we arrived in Sankt Goar (St Goar) and it was just too beautiful not to stop, so we did. It’s a good thing we decided to go exploring because guess what we found? Another castle of course!

Sankt Goar

Once we parked the car we walked down to the shores of the Rhine and just stood there taking in the view when we noticed that high up on the hill was another castle!

Burg Katz

Burg Katz, a 14th century castle built by Count William II Katzenelbogen. The castle is now a private residence and not open to the public.

Man, imagine that being your house and giving the pizza delivery driver instructions on how to deliver, “oh trust me, you don’t need a house number…”

One of the best things about visiting St Goar on a Sunday morning was that it was completely empty, we literally didn’t see anyone else so it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. Walking up and down the main street, taking photos, and just sitting down and hearing the church bells in the distance was easily one of the best parts of the drive. We highly recommend that you take some time to stop and visit St Goar.

We bid St Goar a fond farewell and headed back out on the road and continued heading to Koblenz. We drove for about 15 minutes before we saw what looked like to be a ski-lift but that couldn’t be right, we were nowhere near any ski fields so curiosity grabbed hold and we had to stop and investigate.

Boppen Sesselbahn

We used the ski lift as a homing beacon and followed it to arrive at a relatively large carpark in the middle of Boppen. The carpark was deserted expect for one car with 4 passengers who appeared to be getting dressed into warm clothes and hiking gear. We decided to take a walk, nodded politely at the hikers, and kept walking to seek out the mysterious ski lift.

What did we discover? Well, it’s NOT a ski lift at all but a Sesselbahn (chair lift) which takes you 232 meters up and across 914 meters of spectacular views of the Rhine. Once you arrive at the top there are vantage points with different views and for those interested, the top is a good starting point for hikes through the woods.

Unfortunately the chair lift is closed from November to March every year so we weren’t able to enjoy a trip up the mountain but it did afford us the opportunity to get close to the gondolas and take some photos.

Boppard Chair Lift – Interesting facts

• Reaches a maximum height of 214 meters
• Length of 914 meters
• Transports up to 600 people per hour
• Total of 80 chairs on the lift
• 20 minute journey each way
• Operates 1st April – 31st October
• Running hours 10:00 -17:00
• Adults 7,50 euro return (4.80 one way)
• Child ( to 14) 4,50 euro return (3.00 one way)

After taking some photos of the chair lift and vowing to return during the Summer months we headed back on the road to our next stop, our final stop before reaching Koblenz.

Braubach

It only took 10 minutes before we arrived in Braubach, and just like in St Goar and Boppard, we pretty much had the roads to ourselves. However we soon discovered where everyone was because we drove past a church which had pretty much the entire town’s cars parked outside. The choir we heard inside was also a good indicator that church on Sunday was the place to be for Braubach.

We took advantage of the quiet streets and found a carpark and headed down to the Rhine and that’s when we saw it, probably the most interesting looking castle of the entire drive, Marksburg Castle.

Marksburg Castle

If I didn’t know better, I’d say that this is the castle where Shrek rescued Princess Fiona from, but since I do know better I won’t make that comparison. I think the reason why it made such an impression on us was because it looked remarkably well preserved in all its grandeur compared to some of the other castles we saw during our day’s adventure.

Marksburg Castle was built in the 12th century for the town’s protection and it must have been pretty impressive because it’s the only castle in the Rhine valley that was never destroyed, which is probably why it looks so impressive today.

After taking some photos and enjoying a quiet stroll along the Rhine we decided to head up into the town and take advantage of the quiet streets.

We spent about 20 minutes wandering through Braubach before returning to the car and making the final 10 minute drive to Koblenz, thus bringing our scenic drive through the Middle Rhine Valley to an (unfortunate) end.

This is one scenic drive that we can definitely recommend so if you have the opportunity to drive through the Rhine Valley we can say that you won’t regret it.

The world is waiting for you to experience it.

The Essentials

Bingen to Koblenz 

• Distance: 65 km (40 miles)
• Driving time: Minimum of just over 1 hour, we took 3
• Castles: Some castles have entry fees, others are private homes. Otherwise it’s free!
• Insider tips: Sunday morning is the best time to go, quiet on the roads which makes a quick photo stop all the easier. Take a zoom lens if possible, not always easy to get up close to the castles.