Trier

Trier on the banks of the Moselle, in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany, is the country's oldest city, dating from Roman times. In 2019, it had 112,000 inhabitants.

Understand
Trier is rich in ruins from the Roman Empire (protected by UNESCO), such as the Porta Nigra, the Roman baths and Roman amphitheater. As Trier was founded by the Romans as Augusta Treverorum, it can dispute the title of "oldest German city" with Augsburg, Cologne, Kempten and Xanten. Unlike the somewhat provincial and quaint feel the town exudes today, it was actually one of the centers of power during the Imperial Crisis of the 3rd century AD, and certainly the most important Roman town of the province of Germania.

Besides its ample Roman heritage, Trier is also known as the birthplace of Karl Marx, a fact that the city has had difficulty grappling with during more anti-communist times, but now widely markets for tourism.

By plane
There are several airports in the vicinity with reasonable access to Trier.


 * Luxembourg Airport is about  away.
 * Low-cost carrier hub "Frankfurt"-Hahn is  east of Trier.  There are roughly-hourly Flibco buses. This airport is also reachable by bus from Bullay in 51 minutes, which can be reached using IC trains (34 minutes from Trier Hbf).
 * Frankfurt Airport is about  away. The train from there would be about 3 hours via Saarbrücken or Koblenz.

By train
Trains leave hourly from to Saarbrücken, Mannheim, Luxembourg, Koblenz and Cologne. Timetable and ticket information can be found at Deutsche Bahn.

By car
Trier is connected by the European motorway E44 from Luxembourg city (~50 km) via Trier to Koblenz (~100 km), E422 from Trier to Saarbrücken (~100 km).

Trier is connected to the Autobahn A6. This city is about one hour from Kaiserslautern or two hours from Mannheim.

By boat
There are some cruise trips from Koblenz to Trier. However, they are expensive.

Get around
Walking is the best way to travel around the city, though a vehicle is good when visiting the stadium. Also there is a scenic overview up the hill by the stadium where you can see the entire city. The city tours take you up there.

Learn
Trier hosts a University as well as a University of Applied Sciences (the so-called Fachhochschule).

The Fachhochschule is in sight of the city. The first buildings were built in 1944 and were used by the Nazis to educate the next generation of soldiers. After the war, the complex was not officially used as a school. In the 1970s the University of Trier was refounded and used the buildings until a new university complex was built on the other side of the Mosel valley. Since then the Fachhochschule uses the complex.

Budget
There are many kebab stores all over the city.

All these are in the city centre:



Drink
Trier lies at the heart of a famous wine region. In recent decades, vintners have added reds (especially Spätburgunder) and rosés to the traditional whites (especially Riesling). Apart from the standard wines and beers (Trier - Löwenbräu, Cologne - often Gaffel Kölsch, Bitburg - Bitburger), one should definitely try Viez. Viez is a natural, refreshing apple wine, which many prefer with a splash of orange soda Viez/Limo or with half sparkling mineral water Viez-Sprudel because of the tartness. In October, many enjoy freshly pressed apple juice (süßen Viez) or mixing this unfermented juice with half regular Viez. The drink is traditionally served in a white porcelain or stoneware mug holding 0.4 l.



Nightlife
On www.nightlife-trier.de you can find a lot of events in town and Kreis Trier-Saarburg. You can also find some bars on this homepage.

Stay safe
Trier is a relatively safe city. Standard travel safety applies. The railway station can be intimidating at night.

Go next

 * Konz
 * Luxembourg