European Railroad Discussion > Scenic Rhine Valley

This fall, my wife and plan to rail it to Switzerland for a month. We would like to ride either bank of the Rhine. Assuming we take the chunnel train, what would you suggest as the best routing to get the most scenic view of the Rhine Valley and end the day at Olten, CH?
I thank you in advance for your help.

fredstout Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This fall, my wife and plan to rail it to
> Switzerland for a month. We would like to ride
> either bank of the Rhine. Assuming we take the
> chunnel train, what would you suggest as the best
> routing to get the most scenic view of the Rhine
> Valley and end the day at Olten, CH?
> I thank you in advance for your help.

For the views, you want to ride the south bank of the Rhine. The high-speed trains between Cologne and Frankfurt take an inland route that avoids the river.

Here's a possible itinerary

London St. Pancras -- dep. 06:47 (Eurostar train 9110)
Brussels Midi -- arr: 10:07 (Central European Time)

Brussels Midi -- dep. 10:25 (DB train ICE 15)
Cologne Hbf. -- arr. 12:15

Cologne Hbf. -- dep 12:53 (DB train IC 2313)
Mannheim Hbf. -- arr. 15:21 (this will give you afternoon views of the Rhine, particularly between Koblenz and Bingen)

Mannheim Hbf. -- dep. 15:36 (DB train ICE 371)
Olten -- arr. 18:25



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/08/18 20:05 by railsmith.

Thank you very much!

The July issue of TRAINS Magazine, which is just out, has an excellent article by Brian Solomon on the "Middle Rhine" and the trains operating through there.

Saw it! We are reworking our schedule to include a ride on the Rhine.
Thanks!

Heartily recommend staying along the Romantic Rhine.

In September of 2001, we visited Germany and stayed for 2 nights at Schloss Schoenburg above Oberwesel.

http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/en/

Room 13 has a terrace outside with a wonderful view of the river traffic and trains on both sides of the Rhine.

Oh so civilized, enjoying the complimentary sherry, just rolling them by...

Get off the train and take a tour boat from Cologne down the Rhine to Mainz then continue the journey. Also like Pullman said a stop at Schoenberg Castle along the route is way better than 90 minutes looking out the left side of the train. I lived near that stretch of the Rhine for more than a decade....too nice to race through by rail.

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Absolutely beautiful place to stay!  You can go up or down the Rhein from there and take a boat back to Oberwesel.  Google the KD Lines.