Imposing castles as far as the eye can see
View from the top of the rock into the valley
Each day, there are several 2 1/2-hour tours aboard the MS RheinKrone, embarking from the picturesque wine village of Boppard. This particular tour is worth including more than once in your personal plans, as there are wonderful opportunities to pause the journey and visit the sights that await you in St. Goarshausen and St. Goar. From the KD dock in St. Goarshausen, you can easily take the bus to the plateau of the legendary Loreley. Loreley is a rock of dark shale rising up 132 metres on the inside of the Rhine curve, in the heart of the wine-growing region of Middle Rhine. Awaiting visitors at the plateau are a summer toboggan course and the newly designed cultural and landscape park. The cultural landscape is barrier-free. Several audio boulders form part of the mythical trail. At the touch of a button, loudspeakers located at different heights recount tales about the Loreley myth. Then, from the top of the rock, visitors can enjoy a breath-taking view of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. One of the most beautiful open-air stages is situated on Loreley Rock
Legendary Loreley rock
The most inspiring way to travel
A new rendition of the Loreley song
The ‘Lorelei City’ of St. Goarshausen has even more to offer than the famous rock. Part of the beautiful Old Town is the city tower, home to a small museum of wine and local history. Visitors can view a bronze bust of the German poet Heinrich Heine between Bahnhofstraße and Heinrich-Heine-Straße. The Düsseldorf-born author penned the poem ‘Lied von der Loreley’ in 1824. The poem evokes the romantic ballad about the mermaid Loreley by Clemens Brentano. According to the saga, the blonde beauty perched from a rock from which she would use her singing to enchant skippers as they passed by on the Rhine. This was absolutely unhelpful, though, as the mermaid’s sounds made captains forget all about the dangerous current and crash their ships on the rocks. The text became known worldwide thanks to the musical score composed by Friedrich Silcher in 1837. The most vivid part of the text/song is its opening lines: ‘I don’t know why I’m so sad; there’s an ancient fairy tale I can’t get out of my mind.’ Silcher’s version is the most popular of far more than 40 musical versions composed in the 19th century. A new recording of the Silcher classic is played for guests aboard the MS RheinKrone.
Reaching Rheinfels Castle on foot or by shuttle
Hiking enthusiasts and nature lovers should interrupt their round trip aboard the MS RheinKrone in St. Goar and pay a visit to imposing Rheinfels Castle. Hikers can reach the castle via Rheinburgenweg. But the Burg-Rheinfels-Shuttle is also available and operates from May to October. The tour of the extensive fortification – one of the largest of its kind in Europe – is as exciting as it is impressive, and there are always surprises in store. The vaulted cellar in the heart of the castle ranks among the largest vaulted medieval structures in Europe. Following extensive renovations, the museum at Rheinfels Castle now features a newly designed tour and a new lighting system. St. Goar, the smallest cosmopolitan city between the Alps and the North Sea, is located between Koblenz and Rüdesheim, Boppard and Bacharach. If you want to take a look around in St. Goar, you will find interesting remains of the city wall, with its chancellery and witches’ tower, the Catholic parish church and the Protestant collegiate church in the picturesque Old Town.
Stahleck Castle near Bacharach
MS Godesburg
Yoga with breathtaking views from the Rheinsteig
Picturesque Old Town of Bacharach
Monuments seem to pass by (nearly) every minute
Loreley in St. Goarshausen and Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar are by no means the only sights. that await you in the heart of the Middle Rhine Valley. There are Loreley tours that lead from Rüdesheim to St. Goarshausen aboard two KD ships, the MS Boppard and the MS Godesburg. Other structures along the tour captivate travellers’ attention as well and include the Niederwald Monument above Rüdesheim, Mouse Tower near Bingen, Stahleck Castle near Bacharach, the Palatinate near Kaub, Schönburg Castle near Oberwesel and Katz Castle near St. Goarshausen. The KD TourGuide can broadcast descriptions of these passing monuments directly to your smartphone; at the request of many of our guests, these descriptions are also played through on-board speakers accompanied by a new classical music score. The MS Godesburg is particularly recommended for round trips to Loreley by our guests with reduced mobility. Among other things, the ship offers groundflush access, stair lifts and wheelchair-accessible toilet facilities.
with KD Moment