Very fun to explore this ancient ruin, and views are awesome of the surrounding vineyards and Rhine River. Very little English explanations available, so use Rick Steve's walking tour, or bone up on its history before you go. Museum in the castle has some English subtitles and is a definite stop.
The largest castle in the Rhine, Burg Rheinfels offers a lot to explore amongst its sprawling complex. There are tunnels mined out of the rock beneath the castle that are able to be explored, as well as some wood-carved old-style toilets! However, many structures and much of the walls are in ruins today, in contrast to the nicely-restored Burg Rheinstein further downriver.To reach the castle we took a train from Bacharach to the town of Saint Goar, then climbed the hill to access the entrance. The town itself is very pleasant, and boasts the world's largest freestanding cuckoo clock!
We visited a good amount of castles in Germany and this was definitely our favourite one. We loved that we were able to wander around at our own pace and make discoveries without the help of a tour guide. There are big main caverns, hidden passageways, tunnels, and mine shafts--all worth checking out! It seemed like there was a new adventure to be had around every turn. The recommended flashlights came in handy more than once (especially when exploring the dark, claustrophobia-inducing mine shafts!). Well worth the 4 Euro each. We had a fantastic afternoon and would gladly head back some day.
This castle is unique in that the extensive network of tunnels below the castle is largely open to the public. Would recommend only for very small groups of children. Fairly easy to hike to from the town.Commanding view of the town and Rhine - beautiful for pictures.
Explore the tunnels and the ruins. The last bit of the hike is a bit strenous...but manageable if you take it slow and depending on your fitness level. Beautiful views and solitutde.
This is a great castle to see what it could have been like to actually live in one. It's rustic and, I guess, realistic. There are tunnels to go through (bring a flashlight & remember to take off your sunglasses), there are dungeons, lookouts, etc. There are great views of the Rhine & you can understand how they could see people approaching from quite a distance. We hopped on the 'tourist train' to get to the castle & walked the Nature Trail back down to St. Goar.
Rheinfels broods over the river majestically. The ruin is large and takes a while to walk around and appreciate what it used to look like. There is a nice museum here and several restaurants, though I was a little disappointed that the really nice terrace that overlooks the valley isn't accessible if the restaurant isn't open. There is a nice hike up to the ruin from the town of St. Goar and certainly worth the effort.
A large castle good views down the Rhine valley and much to explore. There is a small but interesting museum inside and the Restaurant in the hotel superb.
It is a long way up to the castle from town, but the views are worth it. We were there towards the end of the day, so we did not explore all the tunnels. But what we saw, we really liked.
Stopped here based on the RS writeup and TA reviews. Think we were expecting too much so left a little disappointed. As long as your expectations are right, this is probably worthwhile. Nice views of Rhine and surrounding hills.