I want to see Castles!

[mtebor]

the title says it all. I am planning a trip for our 25th anniversary in a few years and was considering going to Germany to do a Castle tour.

 

Not sure if this could be done with a river tour or if I would be better off booking a land tour.

 

 

 

thanks

[Floridiana]

If you decide on a land tour, you should really also take one of the day boat tours on the Rhine. Those castles are much better seen from the water than from the road.

 

Can you handle traveling independently without a tour? You could line up castles from Berlin to Bavaria. The oldest is in Meersburg on the Bodensee (Lake Constance).

[caviargal]

The Rhine Gorge is a lovely stretch of castles. We saw this on a bright and sunshiney day just ten days ago, on AmaReina's Basel to Amsterdam cruise. Nice mix of ports and overall AMA provides a great experience.

[papa B me]

We took our first river cruise this past July and seeing castles was high on my agenda. We sailed with Uniworld on the SS Antoinette on their castles on the Rhine itinerary from Amsterdam to Basal. As others stated, sailing through the Rhine Gorge with all the castles along the banks is magical. We also toured Marksburg Castle(our favorite) and Heidleburg Castle. I think most of the River Cruise lines on this itinerary offer these. They also did a tour and wine tasting at Volrads castle that was really enjoyable. We spent 5 days on our own in Switzerland after the cruise and toured a number of castles in Switzerland. Comparing the River portion to the land based portion I highly recommend the River Cruise. Great way to experience traveling through Germany and a little bit of France.

[Bet & Peg]

Germany is indeed the place to go for castles!!! Also do some research about staying in one or more - can be done as some have been converted to hotels!

 

We took Viking's Rhine River cruise in 2013 a Christmas Markets trip that also included sailing through the middle Rhine River that's full of castles! We also visited Marksburg - our 2nd visit - which is just a fantastic older castle. In 2008 we did a Germany road trip and stayed in the Cashel Hotel auf Schoenburg - fabulous experience!!! http://hotel-schoenburg.com/ On the cruise we sailed right passed the hotel high on a bluff - great experience bringing back wonderful memories!!

 

I do agree with the poster who suggested a Rhine River day trip cruise if you see this area via car. We hadn't scheduled time for that and it was a mistake - SO happy we did it years later! That Rhine River cruise would be fabulous any time of year!!!

 

Also tale a look at the castles in Bavaria - not hard to combine both areas with a car! Some there are also hotels and the area itself is breathtaking! But start planning early - castles are very popular and both hotels & cruises book up quickly!!

 

Have a wonderful trip and great Anniversary!!!

[notamermaid]

Hello,

 

cannot add much to the great info from the experienced river cruisers above. :)

 

For the stretch of the Rhine castle from Bingen to Koblenz a river cruise is indeed best I think. The Bavarian castles you cannot really see on a river cruise as they do not line a river like that. They also have a different history attached to them.

 

A note on "castle": I guess you mean the distinctly medieval castle you see in films and in children's books. For that I reckon the Rhine is best, with a larger cluster of castles over fewer kilometres:

 

http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/castles.php

 

If you are happy to look at the 10th right through to the 19th century the Bavarian castles and palaces are great to explore on a land trip:

 

http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/index.htm

 

The "ultimate" picture gallery:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_castles_in_Germany

 

Have fun planning.

 

notamermaid

 

Strong winds and rain with river level rising.

[CPT Trips]

Definitely visit all of Ludwig's Castles in Baveria as well as Nymphenburg . . . You could do this by spending a few days pre/post cruise in Munich

[beesKate]

Do you just want to "see" castles... or tour them. The river cruises will allow you to see many of them, but we didn't tour any (just palaces on certain stops). Combining land and river may be better if you really want to be able to tour the castles. However, if you're happy with just seeing them, the Rhine cruises are the best!

[FuelScience]

Do you just want to "see" castles... or tour them?

 

This is the key question. If you want to "see" them and do some touring, I recommend something like Viking's Cities of Light or Rhine Rhapsody. Both of these cruises go through the Moselle Valley and the Rhine Gorge where you'll see the castles. In addition, you'll tour the Reichsburg Castle in Cochem, the Marksburg Castle just south of Koblenz, and the Heidelberg Castle. In addition, you tour the Roman ruins at Trier. On the cities of Light, you'll also tour the gorgeous baroque Bishops Residenz at Wurzburg.

 

fuelscience

[Hydrokitty]

Do you just want to "see" castles... or tour them. The river cruises will allow you to see many of them, but we didn't tour any (just palaces on certain stops). Combining land and river may be better if you really want to be able to tour the castles. However, if you're happy with just seeing them, the Rhine cruises are the best!

 

We REALLY need a LIKE Button!!!:D

[roothy123]

We loved our Paris to Prague trip on Viking. Yes, it starts in Paris and ends in Prague (both wonderful cities) but in between you go down the Rhine and the Mosel, with plenty of castles to view, with running commentary on what you're seeing. As for touring them, you will tour one in Marksburg, but in my opinion, the outside and the view of the river from its balcony was better than the inside. We went in September, so there were great vineyards to look at also. It was our favorite river cruise, except perhaps for China.

 

This probably goes without saying, but if you do a river cruise, make sure you will pass the stretches mentioned above during the day time.

Edited January 11, 2015 by roothy123

[mtebor]

Do you just want to "see" castles... or tour them. The river cruises will allow you to see many of them, but we didn't tour any (just palaces on certain stops). Combining land and river may be better if you really want to be able to tour the castles. However, if you're happy with just seeing them, the Rhine cruises are the best!

 

Thanks everyone for the information.

 

We would be looking to tour them. My wife wants to see the castles in England (not sure why).

[Hydrokitty]

Thanks everyone for the information.

 

We would be looking to tour them. My wife wants to see the castles in England (not sure why).

 

Castles in England are loaded with history! I lived there and recommend the following as not to be missed:

 

The Tower of London...for initials of "guests" in the walls. (Not tourists!)

Hampton Court..home of Henry VIII...fantastic.

Windsor Castle...home of Queen Elizabeth...her childhood artwork is on the walls.

Blenheim...home of Winston Churchill.

Leeds....because it's the most beautiful

 

If you're looking to tour don't take the river cruise....yet.

[notamermaid]

Hello Hydrokitty,

 

Castles in England are loaded with history! I lived there and recommend the following as not to be missed:

 

The Tower of London...for initials of "guests" in the walls. (Not tourists!)

Hampton Court..home of Henry VIII...fantastic.

Windsor Castle...home of Queen Elizabeth...her childhood artwork is on the walls.

Blenheim...home of Winston Churchill.

Leeds....because it's the most beautiful

 

If you're looking to tour don't take the river cruise....yet.

 

I like your choice of English castles. Myself, I would add Hever castle, the former home of the Boleyn family. It is in a lovely setting in the South East of England. If you can, go on a land trip when the local bluebells are in bloom. Stunningly beautiful.

 

Other than that I recommend the Welsh castles Caernarfon and Conwy. At Conwy you have a great view of castle, town and the sea.

 

So many choices...

 

mtebor,

 

of course, you could fly into London, see the Tower of London, have a trip out to Windsor and get the train or fly to the continent. Board a river cruise ship at Amsterdam go down to Basel and make your way over to Bavaria in a rental car.

 

That way, both husband and wife should have a great trip indeed. :D

 

notamermaid

[rothbury]

check out this youtube video:

 

Udx6RXWPvo4

[hoosier74]

To England, I would add Warwick (not far from Stratford so could be combined with a Shakespeare thing).

And to German, Berg Eltz, still owned by the original family (33 generations). It might be doable from a river cruise as a day trip from Koblenz, but I'm not sure as we were on a land based journey when we visited there.

[notamermaid]

Hello,

 

To England, I would add Warwick (not far from Stratford so could be combined with a Shakespeare thing).

And to German, Berg Eltz, still owned by the original family (33 generations). It might be doable from a river cruise as a day trip from Koblenz, but I'm not sure as we were on a land based journey when we visited there.

 

both of your suggestions sprang to mind when I thought about my post above! I did not include them, mainly to keep it simple. I have heard that Warwick is great (just note that it is owned by an amusement park chain - that need not be bad).

 

Eltz castle is one of the finest as regards authenticity (I have been there), but is out of the way and not really accessible easily without a car. It is out in the countryside north of the Moselle river. The nearest stop on a river cruise, i.e. not the local boats, would be Cochem. You could check the itineraries for the Moselle and see if a cruise company offers an excursion to Burg Eltz. Other than that it would be a half-day trip by car from Koblenz.

 

notamermaid

Edited January 12, 2015 by notamermaid
clarification

[Fergus]

I'm a newbie on the river cruising boards, but wanted to jump in with an English castle recommendation.......Coughton Court, also in Warwickshire. It's still managed by the original family, the Throckmortons, so it's my husband's ancestral home. We had a lovely tour there!

[Hydrokitty]

Hello,

 

 

 

both of your suggestions sprang to mind when I thought about my post above! I did not include them, mainly to keep it simple. I have heard that Warwick is great (just note that it is owned by an amusement park chain - that need not be bad).

 

Eltz castle is one of the finest as regards authenticity (I have been there), but is out of the way and not really accessible easily without a car. It is out in the countryside north of the Moselle river. The nearest stop on a river cruise, i.e. not the local boats, would be Cochem. You could check the itineraries for the Moselle and see if a cruise company offers an excursion to Burg Eltz. Other than that it would be a half-day trip by car from Koblenz.

 

notamermaid

 

Warwick castle was very interesting...didn't like the torture chamber though...Dover castle has amazing views...like you I only listed my top choices but there are so many wonderful castles in England and Europe..Heidelburg for one. We never got to Wales...just not enough time and work got in the way!!

[mtebor]

Thanks everyone. Great information. It will take me a year to do my research but I think it will just be a land tour. My wife always wanted to go to England and I have a sister in law who was born there and visits every other year