Koblenz and Rudesheim Christmas Market

 6/12/2025

Once again it t is overcast this morning, looking like it may rain as we head out at 9 am for our walking tour of Koblenz. At the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine Rivers, Koblenz has been a strategically placed trading port for over 2000 years, and with a population of around 114,000 is a sizeable city.



Across the river from our berth we can see the massive Erhrenbreitstein Fortress which has a chairlift taking you across the river to visit it and I am sure get a great view of Koblenz. Unfortunately time does not permit us to do this and we were initially told it was not running today, which is not the case.

Not far from our berth is the statue of Kaiser 1 mounted on a horse pouted in the direction of Berlin when came from. William 1 was King of Prussia from1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888.

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We then walked  through the nearby old city wall gate




Basilica of St Castor



We were able to have a brief look inside the Basilica before moving on.


In the same vicinity of the Basilica, is the Ludwig museum, a contemporary art museum, which is currently undergoing external renovations.


Ludwig museum
To get to the next highlight, we pass through one of the many city squares that have been taken over by Christmas markets at this time of the year. Rather than having one big Christmas markets, Koblenz has several spread around the city in different squares.


Passing through the yet to open fully, Christmas market en route to our next stop. This market is one of many in Koblenz. It has an interesting monument in the centre of the square.


The centre of this square has a very interesting sculpture depicting events over the 2000 year history of Koblenz
Some market stalls are beginning to open as apparently on Saturday, they open early at 10 am.



Another square emerges after a walkthrough a narrow alley, this time it is Jesuits Square, the home of City Hall , Citykirche, and a Statue of renowned Koblenz born Physiologist and Anatomist, Joseph Muller a pioneer of joint replacements.


Jesuit Square


In a small square just off Jesuit Square, there is more market stalls and the famous spitting boy statue. The statue is supposed to represent the independence and strong will of the people of Koblenz. Our guide explained that after the war there were a lot of children fathered by French soldiers, who were looked down upon. The spitting boy supposedly represents them.


More market food and drink, but Mulled Chardonnay !!!!




Spitting boy statue


Church of Our Lady Koblenz



By now we have seen enough Christmas Markets, had a mandatory Gluhwein and a heading back to the ship past one final market near a modern shopping mall. All aboard time on the ship is 12.15 pm, as we depart for scenic sailing up the Rhine towards Mainz.

Along the way there are plenty of castles, a steep gorge and the famous Lorelei rock to pass. Our final destination for the day is Bingen.

There are many attractive riverside villages along the way.



Those dedicated to making the most of this experience (including ourselves) are seated out on the bow “Sun” deck in about 5 C and cold winds. The crew feel sorry for us and delivery a cup of some sort of mulled wine, which was greatly improved by the waiter following the server with a bottle of rum and upgrading the drinks along the way.

Our first castle sighting was Sterrenberg and Liedenstein castles, quite close to each other.


Sterrenberg Castle

Liebenstein Castle is the highest castle on the middle Rhine and it’s tower now contains a restaurant and hotel.


Liebenstein Castle

Next is Maus Castle.


Maus Castle

Katz castle was not far away and apparently the used to refer to the much smaller Maus castle as “Mouse” castle.


Katz castle

The legendary Lorelei rock is now just ahead as we enter the narrowest part of the Rhine Valley Gorge. The Lorelei legend goes something like this. A beautiful nymph or siren sat on a rock high above the Rhine luring sailors to their doom with her enchanting song and beauty. 


The steep rock face on the left is Lorelei Rock as we approach the narrow channel



Schonburg Castle

The concentration of castles along this stretch of the Rhine was because it was narrow, it was the easiest place to tax trading ships passing through. Over the years the robber barons in the castles became too greedy and were eventually chased out.

By now the outside conditions are no longer bearable, we have seen enough castles, and seek the warmth of the lounge inside the ship.

So far it has been quite a big day, but there is more. We arrive in Bingen late afternoon and there is a shore excursion to the Rudesheim Christmas market planned. It requires everyone to have dinner at 5.15 pm, as the market is about 15 minutes away by boat, and a large transfer vessel will come alongside at 6.45 pm, to take us to Rudesheim. It was too early for dinner for us, so we had a pre dinner drink, and decided we would buy some good German street food at the market.

The transfer boat appeared on time and it was just after 7 pm when we arrived at Rudesheim. The town market is right next to the river so it was only a brief walk crossing a road and railway line and we were there.

The size and popularity of this market took us a bit by surprise. There were a lot more stalls, food and drink options, a live band and plenty of specialist shops for souvenir hunters.




City Hall



The Christmas markets a real family affair with fair rides intermingled with food, drink and live enterTainment

It was certainly a party atmosphere with a very good live band singing popular English songs to an enthusiastic local crowd, sharing their stage with a Nativity Scene.


We were quite hungry looking at all of the food on offer and settled on some curry wurst from the vendor below who was doing a roaring trade on a great cooking setup. We later found some potato pancakes to fill out the vegetable requirements of the meal and washed it down with some Gluhwein.









There is an over abundance of anything sweet. It is hard to see that sugar will ever be banned in Germany.


Our transport back to our ship was waiting for us at the dock from 9.30 pm, departing 9.45 pm. Fortunately they had a fully licensed bar so a nice cool beer after all of that wandering around was very welcome.

Tomorrow we are destined for Mainz.

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