Koblenz

Koblenz is a city in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in the Middle Rhine Valley in the Federal Republic of Germany. Koblenz has about 114,000 inhabitants (2019); the surrounding area accounts for about 400,000 people in total. The city is the northmost point of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage site.

Understand
Koblenz was the capital of the Rhine province of Prussia. Located in the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers, and watched by the gigantic Ehrenbreitstein fortress on top of the eponymous hill, the city was the battleground of multiple wars between France and the German countries between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Today, Koblenz is an attractive city that is often used as a convenient base for exploring the region, as it gives easy access, either by car, train, boat or even bicycle, to both river banks of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley and also to the German Moselle Valley. The city itself also has major tourist attractions including Fortress Ehrenbreitstein, the Deutsches Eck and Castle Stolzenfels.

By plane
Koblenz is located within one hour travelling time of three major German airports:
 * Frankfurt Airport, which is one of the world's major intercontinental hubs and home of Lufthansa
 * Hahn Airport, the largest airport in the state, served by low-cost airlines
 * Cologne-Bonn Airport, one of Germany's largest airports and the main base of Lufthansa's low-fare subsidiary, Eurowings

By train
Koblenz can easily be reached by train IC, for example from the Frankfurt/Mainz area, Cologne area or Trier. These towns are one to two hours away and connections run from early in the morning till late night.

Nightjet, the Austrian Railways' sleeper train, runs twice a week from Brussels via Bonn and Koblenz to Vienna, Munich and Innsbruck. It calls at Frankfurt airport, Würzburg and Nuremberg where it divides: one portion runs via Linz to Vienna, the other via Munich to Innsbruck. In 2020 it doesn't run in July and Aug, but it's expected to be year-round from 2021.



By car
Three German motorways lead to Koblenz: A3, A48 and A61. Parking in the center of Koblenz is sometimes restricted according to time. Park and ride is available. The train station has a parking garage, as does the Löhr Center. Pay attention to closing times at the Löhr Center parking garage: it closes shortly after the shops, typically catching at least a few tourists unaware.

By bus
Many bus companies offer trips to Koblenz for one or more days.

Get around
Buses leave from the central train station (usually between 5:30 and 23:00) and will take you to most parts of Koblenz. The city itself is quite small and easily accessible on foot.

You can reach Festung Ehrenbreitstein by taxi, bus, or by taking a ferry across the Rhine River and walking up the walled access road to the fortress. You can also ride a chairlift (Sesselbahn) to the top of the fortress.

By bus
Koblenz' buses can be confusing to the typical visitor. Navigation apps such as Google Maps do not really work for public transportation in the city, and in some places there are multiple bus stops, but buses passing in different stops might actually go to the same destination. The VRM website contains English transit maps and a journey planner.

For a visitor, the most relevant stops are probably Hauptbahnhof (the main train station), Bf Stadtmitte/Löhr-Center (the city's largest shopping mall in the west of the shopping district, close to the Old Town), and Zentralplats/Forum (near another large shopping mall, in the east of the shopping district closer to the Rhine, and also close to Old Town). The Schlossweg bus stop of bus line 670 can be used to reach Castle Stolzenfels.

Buses can be paid in cash - you can use the journey planner above to calculate the fare. Alternatively, you can acquire a Koblenz Card in the tourist centre in Forum Confluentes (Zentralplats/Forum stop), which gives you unlimited bus trips within the Koblenz city proper plus discounts or free entry on several attractions. While this may sound like a huge benefit, consider that many attractions in Koblenz close early and you may not be able to visit many of them in the same day.

By bicycle
Koblenz is a very pleasant place for cycling, as there are cycling paths along most of the banks of the Mosel and Rhine rivers. Bicyles can be rented at Micha's Rad-Atelier (Hohenzollernstraße 119, 56068 Koblenz, +4926197333166) near the train station, or Fahrradverleih (Gemüseg. 7, 56068 Koblenz, +4917670148061, ) in the Old Town. Cycling is a particularly convenient way to reach Castle Stolzenfels, since it's a mere 6 km from the main station and buses aren't very frequent. Other regional attractions within cycling distance are the town of Lahnstein which contains Castle Lahneck and Palace Martinsburg, and Braubach with the famous Castle Marksburg.

See

 * City Sculptures. Koblenz has a number of whimsical sculptures and fountains scattered throughout the city. Look for them as you walk around, and you will be pleasantly surprised.
 * City Sculptures. Koblenz has a number of whimsical sculptures and fountains scattered throughout the city. Look for them as you walk around, and you will be pleasantly surprised.
 * City Sculptures. Koblenz has a number of whimsical sculptures and fountains scattered throughout the city. Look for them as you walk around, and you will be pleasantly surprised.
 * City Sculptures. Koblenz has a number of whimsical sculptures and fountains scattered throughout the city. Look for them as you walk around, and you will be pleasantly surprised.
 * City Sculptures. Koblenz has a number of whimsical sculptures and fountains scattered throughout the city. Look for them as you walk around, and you will be pleasantly surprised.
 * City Sculptures. Koblenz has a number of whimsical sculptures and fountains scattered throughout the city. Look for them as you walk around, and you will be pleasantly surprised.

Buy
Koblenz has two big shopping malls (Löhr-Center and Forum Mittelrhein) with some 130 shops, located in the city centre. There are also many downtown shops on or near Löhrstraße.

Drink
Koblenz is located in the wine area of the Rhine and Mosel Rivers, mostly known for dry white wines, but also producing dry red wines, and in Germany, trying the beer is also a must. Southern and northern German beers differ in the proportion of hops and malt. More hops makes the beer more bitter, and this region is known for a higher percentage of hops. "Königsbacher" and "Koblenzer" are made by a local brewery.

Go next
Rhine Valley: Moselle Valley: Lahn:
 * Boppard
 * Braubach
 * St. Goar &mdash; home to the famous "Loreley", the narrowest and once the most dangerous part of the Rhine for ships
 * Treis-Karden &mdash; site of the stunning Eltz Castle, 30 km west of Koblenz
 * Cochem &mdash; medieval town up the Mosel River
 * Bad Ems