Monschau, Germany is a cute little village in Germany that has many neat things such as glass blowing, a castle, mustard mill, sand sculptures, brewery, & more! It’s also very charming with it’s half timbered houses, you can get a great overview from the castle area. It’s 1 hour 10 mins from Spangdahlem, and 2 hours 9 mins from Ramstein. A great little village to visit for a day trip!
On our trip we visited the Glashütte Monschau and walked up to the castle and walk around the outside. It was a trip with friends and we had no information about the location prior to the visit so I did not have time to research everything else in the area for our trip.
There is a large parking area in front of the glass blowing shop, while we were there the paid parking machine broke so we had to get a note from the cashier inside to put in our vehicle window. I’m not sure how much parking is because we didn’t end up having to pay for it.
The glass blowing shop is filled with all kinds of glass wonders for your eyes! I love how it was sorted and organized by color. There were creations of all kinds available.
Prices were reasonable and cheaper than the prices that we’d seen in the Black Forest.
The lamps were amazing and our favorites were the colored owls.
So many fun things to look at!
The glass blowing demo is fantastic! It’s €2,50 per adult & €2,20 per child and it lasts for 30-40 minutes long. This was much longer and much more extensive than the glass blowing demo we seen in the Black Forest.
You could blow your own plant watering bulb for €5 but we were a bit disappointed that was the only option because we have no use for one of those 😉 In the Black Forest you were able to blow your own vase.
The demo was only in German (with some translation from the lady who took our group) but even if it was only in German just watching the things that he made was fascinating and well worth the time and money.
There were No Photo signs posted but he allowed our group to take photos and video.
There is also a cafe attached to the shop, it had a neat set up but we did not eat there. Just beyond the the cafe you’ll find another entrance area and this is where the Sand Sculpture display is located. There are restrooms in the shopping area by the cafe, you’ll need €0.50 per person to use.
We then decided to walk up to see the 13th century castle and the the scenic view of the village. You can’t go inside the castle as it’s a working youth hostel but you can walk the grounds, up the tower, and on the ramparts. Could be a neat place to go and stay with the family in a castle!
To get to the castle walk down 2 mins (to the left of the glass blowing) to the red hotel and take the path up behind it. The path up is steep but paved so you could use a stroller. The walk is about 5-8 minutes.
The views from the area of the village are fantastic and you can see ruins across the way as well. You can also get a view of the half timbered houses.
There are also several other things to do in the area, the first link in the post will take you to the village page which lists the attraction and info, it’s in German so you’ll need to use Google chrome.
This is a cute and picturesque village to visit in Germany, it’s also a great location to see glass blowing much closer than the Black Forest area! We went in November when it was a bit colder, I’m sure it’s even more adorable in the warmer months as well. It’s one of those hidden little gems that you don’t hear about often but may happen to stumble upon. I’d say it’s worth the visit to go check out this charming place!
Know Before You Go
What: Monschau, Germany – Glassblowing, Castles, & more!
How To Get There: It’s about 1 hour 10 mins from Spangdahlem, and 2 hours 9 mins from Ramstein. GPS address: Burgau 15, 52156 Monschau is for the glass blowing store where there is a large parking area.
Parking: Can be tricky, get there early if you want to get a spot easily. If you park on the road expect pay a €15 fine. You can NOT park in the Hela parking lot, it’s gated and someone lets people in and out. The Lidl parking lot is full of vendors but on the side towards the Rathaus I seen a parking lot. You can also go past it and find some parking to the right. It’s hit or miss so if you arrive late plan to be patient as you look for parking. We arrived around 7:45 am and found parking fairly easy.
Cost: Free to walk around, €2,50 adults & €2,20 kids for the glass blowing demo.
Traveling with little kids: Strollers are OK here but our friends who took them said it wasn’t super stroller friendly.
How long: Plan on at least 1 hour to watch the demo & browse around, add 30 mins if you want to walk up to the castle and back, more if you plan to eat lunch.
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