Like the Rhine, the Mosel River is carpeted with vineyards, occasionally being interrupted with a medieval castle overlooking the river.  The river itself, however, is much more peaceful than its larger brethren owing to the bends and horseshoe curves which slow the pace flow of the river.  The Mosel Weinstraße  (Mosel Wine Road) and Moselhöhenweg (a system of hiking trails) follow the river from Koblenz up to Trier, accessing the region's villages, wineries, and other sites.

For further online information, see the Frommers website.

NOTE - The drive from Koblenz to Trier on the Weinstraße takes approximately three hours.  If you opt for the parallel Autobahn, it is about an hour.

Go to the page on the Mittelrhein.

Only seven miles upriver from Koblenz, this is a great place to start exploring the Mosel and its steep, terraced vineyards.  The vineyards are along the Mosel are so steep that grape growers have built monorail systems to transport workers and grapes up and down the slopes.  An excellent vantage point of the river valley is outside of town in Am Rosenhang, where an educational wine path, or Weinlehrpad, starts.

Six miles beyond Winningen is Alken, which is literally overshadowed by the 12th century fortress, Burg Thurant (Ph: 011 49 02605 2004).  Castle tours are available which take you into the armory, tower, chapel, and cellar (local wine and snacks are available for purchase in the castle's courtyard).  More on-line castle information is at www.thurant.de.

If you enjoy exploring churches, you will want to stop off here to visit the Church of St. Castor, a building whose architecture is an interesting blend of Romanesque and Gothic.  Sunday's service is an ideal time to visit to listen to the baroque organ which was built almost three hundred years ago, by Johann Michael Stumm, one of the world's leading producers in the early 18th century.  The view from the remains of Schloss Grevenburg above Traben-Trarbach offers some of the best "picnic views" of the Mosel Valley.

Just downriver of Treis-Karden is Burg Eltz (Ph: 011 49 (2672) 9 50 50 - 0).  Located just up the Eltz River Valley from the Mosel River (on the north bank), Burg Eltz was the home of the legendary Eisenköpfe (Iron Head) knights and is one of the best examples of a medieval castle in Europe.  With a forty-minute tour (mandatory), you can explore the residential areas, the treasure chambers.  Note that there is a fifteen-minute walk or a short shuttle ride from the parking area to the castle and in the peak summer periods, lines can get extensive.  Bearing that in mind, though, this is truly a not-to-be-missed site in the Mosel. 

You can e-mail them at kastellanei@burg-eltz.de or see their website at www.burg-eltz.de.

Cochem is one of the better towns on the Mosel to use as a base of operations.  With a fabulous riverside promenade and wine festivals in June and August, it's a great town to wander around in to explore (NOTE--It's a place which has sold its soul to tourism and should be avoided like the plague in summer if you hate crowds). 

Overlooking the town is the 1000-year-old fortress, Reichsburg (Ph: 011 49 02671 255) that provides views that more than repay you for the fifteen-minute walk to get there from town.  It was restored in the medieval fashion in the 19th century after the 17th century destructions (the keep dungeon and the foundations of the walls being the only parts that survived the 1689 destruction).  The castle's website is at www.burg-cochem.de.  South of town are the ruins of the Metternich Castle (near the village of Beilstein) which is an excellent stop for lunch or a picnic.  More on-line information is available at Frommers.

Once an important center of the Mosel wine industry, Traben-Trarbach is another town worth using as a base of operations, or at least to stop and have dinner and to spend the evening in. Straddling the Mosel, Traben-Trarbach has riverside promenades on both banks and is a quiet, romantic medieval town.  During the second and last weekends of July, they hold their wine festivals.  Online information is available at Frommers.

Both a beautiful village and a producer of delicious wines, Graach is another village to visit if you like to avoid tourists.

Although a definite tourist destination, Bernkastel-Kues is worth stopping to visit, ideally during off-season or in the mornings before the bus caravans arrive.  This town is an excellent example of medieval half-timbered houses with ornate decorations carved on them.  With lots of shopping and restaurants there to meet the tourist demand, there are a couple of places to definitely consider visiting. 

The ruins of the 13th century castle, Burg Landshut, are located high atop the hill over- looking Bernkastel (the town on the southern bank of the Mosel) and provide a splendid view of the river in both directions.  The Mosel-Wein-museum (Ph: 011 49 06531 4141) offers samples of over 100 area wines in the Vinothek (the museum's vaulted cellars) and doubles as a bistro.  The town holds its annual wine festival during the first weekend in September.  Additional information is available at Frommers.

Probably the most recognized names in the Mosel, Piesport wines are known for being the most incredible wines and the most inferior of wines.  This oxymoron is due to the fact that legal loopholes allow wines that may not even be from Piesport to be labeled as such.    Much of the village itself remains just as it did three hundred years ago.  On the first weekend of each October, Piesport holds its annual wine festival.

Located right where the Mosel takes on of its 180º turns.  From the town of Summit (right outside Leiwen) is one of the most breathtaking views in Germany that just oozes romance, especially at sunset.

Located about 5 kilometers up the Ruwer River from the Mosel, there really isn't anything here except for the fact that there are very few tourists, very good wines, and a quiet beauty that makes it a great escape destination, especially in the summer when the Mosel Valley is crawling with tourists.

This venerable episcopal city is the oldest in Germany.  Founded by the Roman Emperor Augustus as Augusta Treveverum, Trier was the point at which Celtic, Germanic, and Roman cultures met and was described as the most beautiful city outside of Rome.  Over the years, it survived the Fall of Rome and subsequent barbarian invasions to become the center of intense economic, cultural and intellectual activity.

During the Middle Ages the city again flourished under the powerful archbishops, as Trier was the administrative center for the Saar before passing into Prussian hands in 1815.  Today, the city is best known as a cultural center and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Zone, recognizing the history of the city as well as the number and quality of the surviving monuments as an outstanding testimony to Roman civilization.  With numerous sites worth visiting, the following are among the ones of note:

Wine travelers will want to stop at the Vinothek (Margaretengässchen 2A, Ph: 011 49 0651 994 0540), where you can sample and purchase wines from the Mosel, Saar, and Ruwer river valleys.  This is an excellent starting point to select wineries to visit (they will be able to tell if the wine house is open to the public and if you need appointment).
The Amphitheater (Olwigerstraße 25), which could hold up to 20,000 spectators in its heyday.  The oldest Roman structure in Trier, you can still explore the cellars of the arena.
The Barbarathermen (Südallee 48) and Kaiserthermen (Weimarer-Allee & Kaiserstraße) are both Roman baths
The Bischöfliches Museum (Windstraße 6, Ph: 011 49 0651 710 5255), or Bishop's Museum, features sacred art from the Middle Ages
The Dom, or cathedral, was started in 325 AD.  Its current incarnation is primarily Gothic in design; it is in excellent condition and houses the Domschatzkammer (Cathedral Treasure Chamber).
The Porta Nigra (Black Gate) is the best-preserved structure in Trier remaining from the Roman era.   
The Rheinisches Landesmuseum (Weimarer-Allee 1, Ph: 011 49 0651 97740) houses the largest collection of Roman artifacts in Germany, including a model of the city as it would have appeared in the 4th century.
A stop for the kids (and kids-at-heart) is the Museum of Toys in Nagelstraße.  Three floors of toys include model railroads, dollhouses, rocking horses and plush dolls.

More on-line resources are available at Yahoo! And Frommers.

Straddling the Saar River, Saarburg is the center for winegrowing in the Saar region.  Other sites to visit in Saarburg include the bell foundry, a local industry dating back over four hundred years, the ruins of Schloss Saarburg.