The dramatic 40-mile stretch between Bingen, Rüdesheim and Koblenz is known as the Middle Rhine. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is dotted with ancient castles once owned by robber-barons that collected tolls from merchant vessels passing the river below. These fortresses stand sentry on lofty cliffs rising 400 feet above the watercourse. Of all the castle ruins, the most interesting is Burg Rheinfels, which stopped the armies of castles, vineyard-clad slopes, medieval towns and ancient villages. A Rhine cruise is full of enchantment from fairy-tale
Burg Rheinfels
Louis XIV, but was eventually blown up by Napoleon. The natural tableau of terraced vineyards that change colour with the seasons is augmented by storybook half-timbered villages folded beautifully between chalk cliffs of startling whiteness.
A cruise through the Rhine Gorge always includes a close encounter with the mystical Lorelei Rock. This natural formation at a dramatic curve in the river, once created an eerie echoing murmur when it amplified the sound of a nearby waterfall. This inspired the legend that a beautiful siren, known as Lorelei, had made her lair amongst the rocks and led sailors to their watery doom with her singing. A highlight of any cruise along the Rhine is Rüdesheim with its cobblestone Drosselgasse full of bustling cafés and ivy-clad weinstubes. There's the option of an excursion to the unique Siegfried’s Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum. From Mannheim tours visit the majestic ruined façades of the red sandstone castle at Heidelberg, the setting for Sigmund Romberg’s operetta 'The Student Prince'.
Rüdesheim
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