Landscapes
Mainz is surrounded by attractive landscapes offering something for every taste. They are located at the most one hour by car away from the State Capital. However, unforgettable and eventful excursions can also be made by cycle or ship.
Rhine-Hesse
To the southwest of Mainz lies Rhine-Hesse - Germany’s largest wine-growing area. The extensive vineyards and romantic winegrowers’ villages can be explored by foot or by cycle. All the places can be reached conveniently in an hour at the most by train or car. In summer, many winegrowers serve their wines and small snacks in their courtyards for a limited period - the so-called “Strausswirtschaften”. Before the new harvest, numerous wine festivals tempt you with the last of the previous year’s vintage. You have a window with a view of Rhine-Hesse during a pleasant trip by the regional train from Mainz to Alzey and back!
www.rheinhessen.info
www.rlp-info.de
Balloon trips
Cycling
Palatinate
The German Wine Road begins close to the border of Rhine-Hesse. It runs through the wine-growing area of the Palatinate. Rewarding destinations in this region are the charming half-timbered villages along the Southern Wine Road and the Palatinate Forest with its extensive rambling trails. The German Wine Queen is crowned in Bad Dürkheim. Hambach Castle is regarded as the cradle of German democracy. The Landesmuseum Mainz maintains the Max Slevogt Gallery in the Villa Ludwigshöhe in Edenkoben. The southern Palatinate is a sweet chestnut paradise.
www.pfalztouristik.de
www.rlp-info.de
www.deutsche-weinstrasse.de
www.hambacher-schloss.de
Nahe country
The Nahe country lies between the Hunsrück Mountains in the North and Rhine-Hesse in the South. You can get to know this countryside close up by cycle. A 120 kilometre cycle track begins in Bingen on Rhine and leads you along the idyllic small river Nahe, past the bizarre cliffs of the Roter Fels, vineyards and slate slopes to the small spa towns Bad Kreuznach, Bad Münster am Stein and Bad Sobernheim. A rewarding destination for an excursion is the German Gemstone Museum in Idar-Oberstein. All the places can be reached by train or car from Mainz in a good hour at the most.
www.naheland.net
www.rlp-info.de
www.radwanderland.de
Cycling
Hunsrück Mountains
The Hunsrück Mountains are the winter sports area of Rhineland-Palatinate. On and around the 818 metre high Erbeskopf peak, ski tows, toboggan-runs and cross-country courses are at the disposal of winter sports fans. The rivers Rhine Moselle, Nahe and Saar form the boundaries of the low mountain region. In summer, the forests, valleys and water meadows are an ideal terrain for ramblers and mountain-bikers. Anyone arriving at Frankfurt Hahn Airport lands in the middle of the Hunsrück and travels down to Mainz in a good hour by shuttle bus.
www.hunsruecktouristik.de
www.erbeskopfmarathon.de (Mountain-Biking)
Taunus Mountains
You can see the Taunus Mountains from Mainz to the Northeast. If the weather is clear, you can see as far as the Grosser Feldberg peak (880 metres) with its prominent TV tower. This large hiking and winter sports area lies on the doorstep, so to speak. A rewarding tour goes from the Nerotal in Wiesbaden through the forest to the Kellerskopf peak (474 metres). Climb up the look-out tower there, and the Rhine-Main area lies at your feet. You have a unique view of Mainz and the Rhine from the Hoher Wurzel. Mountain bikers find routes of various degree of difficulty in the Taunus Mountains. You will obtain maps and further tips in every good bookshop or in the Internet.
www.mtb-taunus.de (Mountain-Biking)
www.mtb-rhein-main.de (Mountain-Biking)
www.taunus-info.de
Rheingau
On the right bank of the Rhine between Wiesbaden and Rüdesheim lies the Rheingau. The famed Rheingau Riesling grows on its warm, southern slopes. Well worth seeing are the former Cistercian abbey, Eberbach Monastery, in which scenes of the film “The Name of the Rose” were shot, Rüdesheim with its famous Drosselgasse and the cableway to the Niederwald Monument and Johannisberg Palace, well-known for wine-tasting sessions in historic cellars and the fabulous view across the vineyards and the Rhine.
www.ruedesheim.de
www.klostereberbach.de
www.schloss-johannisberg.de
Offer of the TCM "Excursion"
Middle Rhine Valley
The romantic Middle Rhine Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It can best be explored by ship. For example, in summer the Köln-Düsseldorfer shipping company runs a daily service from Mainz to this unique river landscape. Small, romantic villages and defiant castles line the banks on the left and right, like pearls on a chain. Near St. Goarshausen you pass the Loreley Rock on which the Rhine siren, steeped in legends, is said to have turned skippers’ heads in bygone days. The 320 kilometre long Rhine Path (Rheinsteig) leads hikers through this landscape. The precipitous rocks sections in the Middle Rhine valley require you to be surefooted.
www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de
www.rheinsteig.de
www.loreley-touristik.de
Offer of the TCM "Excursion"
