Reichsburg in Cochem, Germany is a fascintaing castle in a cute village overlooking the Mosel River. Many of you know that I am not a fan of guided tours of castles however I think this one is worth the money even with the quirks. I love the walkplatz area as well AND one shop has the best ice cream EVER!
Parking in this town can be tricky but if you go on a weekday we found it’s pretty abundant. We had the van so I parked in the overflow parking lot which is past the tourism office and was only a 5 min walk to the walkplatz at the Tourism Office, pictured above.
Getting up to the castle you have a few options. You can walk 10-15 mins on a steep incline (great workout!), easier walking down, you can take the shuttle bus up, or do a combo of both. When I went with my Mom we took the bus up and walked down. When my family went back for the Cochem Medieval Festival we walked both up and down. If you want to ride the bus you catch it behind the tourism office. You just wait for the next bus, times are posted, and when it arrives you get on and purchase your ticket. It’s €4 for adults and €2,50 for kids round trip.
Even if you take the bus up you’ll still have some steep uphill walking to do to get up to the castle area, probably a 3-5 min walk depending on how fast you move. You’ll also get some great views of the area from up there as well.
Once you make it to the entrance immediately to your right will be free restrooms. There is also the falconry as well but we did not check that out.
You’ll continue up to an overlook area of the Mosel and then to the right up a little more will be the gift shop, cafe, and cashier. You get your tickets here and they will tell you the time of the next tour. We went in June and they were running every 10 mins. However know that the tours are in German only, you’ll get an info sheet in English, but despite this it was worth the visit.
The best part about the guided tour is that you are allowed to take photos! Every other guided tour we’ve been on we have not be allowed to take photos, like at Burg Eltz.
We enjoyed being able to look in the rooms, take pics, and did read the info sheet for each room.
The giant suit of armor was impressive, that my friends is a Goliath worthy suit of armor! Notice the normal sized suits dwarfed beside it!
There are also some other neat finds like the mermaid chandelier!
The proudly displayed game
It’s so interesting to see it decorated and set up.
It’s so rich and ornate in all the rooms.
And this guy who looks like a frog but is NOT, it is indeed a lion wearing a knights helmet but he sure looks like Kermit to me 😉
This stunning view from the balcony is worthy of royalty.
The whole tour takes about 45 mins and your led back to the starting area in the courtyard.
The walk down provides some great views of it towering over the vineyards.
The path up and down if so desired.
On the way down we stopped for Alpine Milch ice cream in the walkplatz, so amazing! You’ve gotta try this caramel taste of heaven.
And don’t forget to stop off at the overlook point to get some amazing views of the castle and area! The first photo in the post was taken from the overlook point.
Both my Mom and I really enjoyed the tour of the castle despite it only being in German. It was interesting to see and check out the rooms. We also enjoyed the walkplatz area as well.
Know Before You Go
What: Reichsburg – Cochem, Germany
How To Get There: It’s about 50 mins from Spangdahlem, and 1 hour 40 mins from Ramstein. GPS addy: Parking garage near walkplatz – Pinnerstrasse. For overflow parking go past the Tourist info and follow the blue P signs that will be down on the left.
Parking: Parking is difficult to find here. There is a parking garage by the walkplatz but it will fill up early during festivals, and an overflow parking area as well. If you have a larger vehicle you’ll need to park in the overflow area.
Cost: €6 adults, €3 kids (6-17) or Family ticket for €16 for 2 parents and at least 2 children under 18.
Traveling with little kids: The tour is not stroller friendly, they do have an area where you can park the stroller for the tour, it may be nice to have for the walk up and down or you can take the bus.
How long: Plan on at least 1.5 hours, more if you want to check out the walkplatz area as well.
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