Rüdesheim am Rhein

The Niederwald loop by cable car, chairlift and Rhine boat

The classic day in Rüdesheim am Rhein is the Niederwald loop. Take the cable car over the vineyards to the Niederwald monument, walk through the forest to the chairlift down to Assmannshausen, then return upstream by Rhine boat, with Siegfried's Mechanical Music Cabinet in the Brömserhof before or after.

Morning. Start on Oberstraße before the river cruises dock. Look into the Brömserhof, home of Siegfried's Mechanical Music Cabinet, then walk to the Seilbahn. The ride over the vines takes you to the Niederwald monument, where Germania holds the imperial crown over the bend in the river. Read the view: Bingen and the Nahe mouth below, the Mouse Tower on its island, and Burg Rheinstein downstream.

Midday. Walk the forest paths of the Niederwald past the romantic folly ruin of the Rossel and the old hunting lodge, then ride the Sesselbahn down to Assmannshausen. Lunch here on trout or a game dish with a glass of the village's red Spätburgunder.

Afternoon. Take a boat back upstream to Rüdesheim, passing the Ehrenfels ruin on its vineyard slope. Visit the Brömserburg by the river and the 15th-century Adlerturm, the corner tower of the old walls where Goethe stayed.

Evening. Walk through the Drosselgasse for the music and one glass, then eat on Oberstraße or Rheinstraße and finish with a flambéed Rüdesheimer Kaffee.

With a second day, take the KD boat downstream through the gorge to Bacharach and the Loreley, and come back on the right-bank train. Alternatively walk up to St. Hildegard's Abbey above Eibingen, where Benedictine nuns still make wine.

The Niederwald monument was built between 1877 and 1883 to mark the founding of the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War, and it was inaugurated on 28 September 1883. Johannes Schilling designed the figures. The whole monument stands about 38 m high, and Germania alone measures 12.5 m.

Rheingau Riesling, Straußwirtschaft taverns and Asbach coffee

Rüdesheim is a Riesling town first. Taste Rheingau Riesling from the Berg Schlossberg and Berg Rottland slopes at estate tasting rooms, or at a Straußwirtschaft, a seasonal winegrower's tavern marked by a broom or wreath. The food is hearty Hessian, and the local coffee comes with Asbach brandy.

Drink first, eat second: that is the order here. The Rheingau's Riesling ranges from bone-dry to lusciously sweet, and the steep slopes right above town, such as the Berg Schlossberg and Berg Rottland, produce some of the region's most concentrated wines. Many estates open tasting rooms in town. Ask for the trocken (dry) style if you prefer it, as menus often list several sweetness levels.

The best way to drink local is in a Straußwirtschaft, a seasonal tavern opened by a winegrower in a courtyard or cellar for a few weeks a year. They serve only the estate's own wine and simple food, and a broom or wreath hung outside shows when they are open.

Food is hearty Hessian. Handkäs mit Musik is a pungent sour-milk cheese marinated in vinegar, oil and onions. Spundekäs, a cream cheese dip with paprika, comes with pretzels. In autumn, every tavern offers Federweißer, cloudy half-fermented new wine, with warm Zwiebelkuchen, an onion and bacon tart.

The town's own invention is the Rüdesheimer Kaffee: Asbach Uralt brandy is flambéed with sugar cubes in a special cup, then topped with coffee, whipped cream and chocolate shavings. The Asbach distillery started here in the 1890s.

Rhein in Flammen, the Weinfest and Christmas in Rüdesheim

Rüdesheim's busiest dates are Rhein in Flammen, a summer weekend of fireworks and illuminated boats in July, and the Rüdesheimer Weinfest in August. September and October are harvest months with Federweißer and autumn walks on the Rheinsteig, and from late November Advent stalls fill the town.

Rüdesheim's calendar runs on wine and light. On a summer weekend in July, Rhein in Flammen sets the stretch between Trechtingshausen, Bingen and Rüdesheim ablaze with fireworks, while a convoy of illuminated boats drifts downstream. The best views are from the boats themselves or from the Rüdesheim and Bingen riverbanks.

The Rüdesheimer Weinfest takes over the town in August, with stalls, music and wine queens, and in June the Magic Bike Rüdesheim rally brings Harley-Davidson riders from all over Europe. September and October are harvest months: the slopes are full of pickers, the Federweißer arrives and walkers on the Rheinsteig get the best of the autumn colour.

From late November through December, the Christmas Market of Nations fills the old town with stalls from many countries. The cable car reopens for the season, and the Drosselgasse turns festive.

Winter is a different story. From January to March many hotels, wine taverns and lifts shut, and boats barely run. If you visit then, use Rüdesheim as a quiet stop on a Wiesbaden or Mainz trip and check opening days before travelling.

For day trips beyond the gorge, Eberbach Abbey, a Cistercian monastery in the hills behind Eltville, is a short drive east; it doubled as the monastery in the film of The Name of the Rose and still sells wine from its estates.