Germany is the land of castles with no mistake but not all castles are created equal. Living in Frankfurt affords me the convenience of popping in on my favorite fairy tale castle for the day like this one in Cochem. After talking to some locals, they told me I had to head a few towns down to a much more picturesque and quaint castle at Burg Eltz. Locals always know best and I was not disappointed.
This is without a doubt one of the most idyllic castles in Europe, and lesser known that the ultimate Disney castle in the Neuschwanstein in Southern Bavaria. It’s nestled deep into the woods atop a 75m high rock surrounded by nothing but forest. When you think of beautiful, mysterious, romantic castles, this has to be near the top of the list. We came here after spending the morning and afternoon in the equally as beautiful town of Cochem along the Mosel river.
In fact, every village along the Mosel just screams cute with their churches, traditional houses, vineyards, castles on the top of a hill, and the surrounding greenery. I’ve written about them in detail and overall, the Rhineland Pfalz part of Germany is just simply fantastic.
HISTORY OF BURG ELTZ
This medieval castle was built in the 12th century and has been owned by the same family for over 850 years. The castle was named after the stream Eltzbach, which in old German Els/Else is the name for Black Alder a tree that is found along the river.
Eltz is one of only three castles on the left bank of the Rhine River that hasn’t been destroyed over the centuries. Construction started in 1157 and building lasted 500 years, with ongoing maintenance to keep the castle up. There are over 100 rooms in the castle for family members, staff, and guests.
Nowadays, the descendants of the original owners still own this castle today. The owner does not live there full time but rather in Frankfurt. What they do with it outside of tourist hours is beyond me but I’m sure it would make for epic get togethers and events.
What to know before visiting Burg Eltz
The Burg Eltz is open from 9:30am but that doesn’t mean the surrounding areas are closed. You can park here at any time of the day and walk to the front entrance of the castle. While you can’t go inside, you can marvel at the beauty of this castle from all angles and take amazing photos with the morning sunlight.
This is the best way to get the crowds (visiting before or after it’s closed) depending on the images you want to get. The sun rises at 5am in the summer so you have plenty of time to plan and visit Burg Eltz before it opens.
No drones are allowed in Burg Eltz
I wish I could have flown my drown in Burg Eltz as I’m sure it would have produced incredible photos but alas it is totally banned. There are signs everywhere telling you not to fly your drone so don’t do it. I have seen some people fly their drones but do not make it worse for every one else!
There are restaurants in the Burg Eltzcastle
There are two restaurants in Burg Eltz Castle. One is a proper restaurant serving German favorites like schnitzel and flammkuchen. The other restaurant is more of a white bar serving beers, wines, and wursts.
Both restaurants open and close around the same time the castle is. Both restaurants are reasonably priced which is great considering they could totally take advantage of people at an establishment like this.
Guided Tours of Burg Eltz
Visitors can take a guided tour of the castle, which includes the Great Hall, the Knight’s Hall, the Chapel, and the Arms Room. You’ll also get to see the castle’s magnificent gardens and enjoy stunning views of the surrounding countryside.
The guided castle tour is only available between April and October and the run all throughout the day. The cost is roughly €10 per person and tours are available in German and English.
Getting to Burg Eltz
There’s not many castles like the Burg Eltz being located in the middle of the forest away from society. There are a variety of ways to access it”
By car
The easiest way is certainly to drive to the Burg Eltz. Just input the address into Google Maps and you’ll be there without much fuss. Once you arrive at the parking lot, you will need to pay a €2 fee to park. From the parking lot, it is a short 600m walk to the base of the castle. This is by far the quickest and easiest way to get to the Burg Eltz.
By Train
The train is the perfect method for those looking to day trip it from Cologne, Koblenz, Frankfurt etc. or for those that just don’t have cars. The train does not stop at the castle (it is in the middle of the woods after all) but rather to a nearby train station where you’ll then have to take a bus. In the summer months, the Burgen bus shuttle will take you from the Treis-Karden train station on the Moselle to the castle.
The bus only runs 4x a day so make sure you align your times properly otherwise you will be waiting for a long time. This shuttle is free of charge for those with train tickets.
Hiking to the Burg Eltz
Hiking the Burg Eltz is the perfect way to spend an afternoon in Germany. There are many ways to get to the castle depending on your starting point and many of the routes offer amazing views of the nearby forests and vineyards.
The award-winning dream hike “Eltz Castle Panorama” (12.6 km, 5 hours)
One of the most beautiful hikes in the Rhineland-Palatinate takes you around Eltz Castle, through the Eltzbach Valley, the Eltz Forest and the southern rises of the Maifeld.
“Up the Romantic Eltz Stream” (2.5 km, approx. 35 minutes)
This trail starts at the Ringelsteiner Mühle in Moselkern and in a light to medium ascent follows the Eltzbach through the nature reserve Eltz Forest to Eltz Castle. This is ultimately the one we did because it was the quickest route from the Moselkern train station.
“From Müdener Berg to Eltz Castle” (1.7 km, approx. 35 minutes)
This beautiful and sporty route is only for seasoned hikers. It is very steep in parts, but offers a unique view of the two castles Eltz and Pyrmont.
“From Karden to Eltz Castle” (7 km, 2 hours)
This challenging route is for seasoned hikers only. It takes you to Eltz Castle from Karden through vineyards, meadows and forests, offering spectacular views of the Moselle, the Hunsrück and Maifeld.
“From Pyrmont Castle to Eltz Castle” (9.5 km, 2.5 hours)
This hike between the two castles Pyrmont and Eltz reveals all the beauty of the Eltz Valley. Tipp: On weekends and public holidays there is a shuttle bus between these two neighbouring castles.
Hiking the Burg Eltz From Moselkern
As we were complete amateurs with our planning, we wanted to take the train + bus but did not research beforehand and took the train to Moselkern instead of Treis-Karden. We quickly realized no bus was coming, and there were no taxis around so we had to go by foot. It was already 4pm by this point and the prospect of hiking 75 minutes after having already drank so much Reisling in Cochem was unappealing. To make matters worse, there was a little wine festival happening in the town of Moselkern where we would have happily continued drinking our Reisling.
Castle or reisling was what it came down to. Oh Germany, how you make life so difficult for your visitors. In the end, we sucked it up and started walking.
Starting in Moselkern, which itself is a quaint little village, there are signs clearly marking the path for the Burg Eltz. As soon as you exit the Moselkern train station, you cannot get lost.
The hike from the train station takes about 70 to 80 minutes in total. It is quite an easy hike as most of it is flat. It’s certainly not the most scenic hike Germany has to offer but it is a great way to get to the castle if you are like us forgetting to do any sort of planning.
What To Do When You Arrive in Burg Eltz
After our unexpected 80 minute hike, we reached the castle and immediately went to the cafe in the castle for some refreshments., aka water and more wine. Not every day that you can drink wine inside a castle.
You can’t always guarantee when the next English-speaking tour will be taking place. It appears that they only take place if there is enough interest for them, we were lucky that even though we arrived late, there were enough people wanting an English Tour.
The tour was informative and took us through some lovely parts of the inside of the castle (unfortunately, no photos are allowed). The castle remains in it’s natural state as it avoided destruction over the centuries through various mechanisms. The tour is a bit short but is well worth the €8. We spent the rest of the time drinking more wine and walking around the castle grounds. By 6:00pm, most people had left the castle and we went outside to take some photos of the castle!
Best time of year to visit the Burg Eltz castle
The castle is open year round with visiting hours from 9:30am to 5:30pm. It can be visited year round and there’s no bad time to come. Each season will provide a different picture and I fully plan to revisit in the fall with the changing leaves as well as the winter for the prospect of seeing this castle covered in snow!
How to take the best photos of the castle
I’m perhaps one of the few bloggers that do not care about Instagram but I know how things go nowadays and many travelers need to take the best shots for the Gram. So if you’re looking to take that majestic, back to the camera shot with nobody in the photo like you own the castle, then simply do these things.
Visit in the morning before they open, or after they close
During the day time, hordes of tour buses come and go so this place will be packed. As soon as the castle closes, the crowds thin out quickly. The secret is the road leaving up to the castle is open 24/7 and the pathway into the castle is accessible at all times. This is where you’ll take the best pictures anyway with the castle in the background.
The sun rises well before 9:30am and sets well after 5:30 in the summer months so you’ll have plenty of time to take some fantastic photos. I left around 6:30pm and the only people left were others looking to do photo shoots. I’m talking people that brought change of clothes and a photographer to get their modern day princess in their castle shot. Oh Instagram…
Burg Eltz Castle in the fall
I came back to the Burg Eltz a few times because nothing screams Germany and castles more than the Burg Eltz in my opinion. It is also a short drive away from my home in Frankfurt and makes for the perfect Castle to showcase to out of town visitors!
The fall months are absolutely stunning. As the castle is entirely surrounded by trees, the changing colors add a dramatic effect to the majestic castle. We came on a cloudy November day and the pictures were absolutely stunning. It is so different than visiting in the summer months but totally worth it in my opinion. The castle is closed during the late fall and winter months but you’re still free to walk around it and take as many pictures as you’d like.
Burg Eltz Castle in the Winter
I came again in the winter on Christmas Day. Unfortunately, the castle was under renovation so there was a ton of scaffolding which blocked out a bit of the charm. Nevertheless, still an amazing place to take photos like the below!
Combine Burg Eltz with nearby attractions
Burg Eltz is located 1.5 hours away from Frankfurt but there is so much to see here besides just the castle. In addition to drinking wine along the Mosel, there is plenty more to do including the Geierley suspension bridge, visiting the nearby city of Koblenz, and more.
Follow my day trip from Frankfurt of the Rheinland Pfalz itinerary to plan your trip to Burg Eltz and more!
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[…] fantastic destinations which you can access via train or by taking a short drive. One of them is Burg Eltz. It’s just 30 minutes away from Cochem by train. This is a must-visit place in Germany. The […]