Middle Rhine - Tourism

Tourism

Young British aristocrats on their Grand Tour to Italy discovered the Middle Rhine in the 18th Century. With the German romance of the Middle Rhine in Germany was also a dream destination. Tourism, which had been induced by the Rhine romanticism, in turn promoted, which was provided by the Köln-Düsseldorfer company, which was founded in 1827, and the construction of the West Rhine Railway between the 1840s and 1870s. This brought a new economic boom to the Middle Rhine area, which continued well into the 20th Century. The only paddle steamer still remaining on the Rhine is the Goethe, running between Koblenz and Rudesheim.

German and the foreign tourists never quite lost interest in the Middle Rhine. Interest, however, decreased noticeably since the 1980s. In an attempt to make the Middle Rhine more attractive in the 21 Century, two new long-distance trails, the Rheinsteig on the right side of the Rhine and the Rheinburgenweg Trail on both sides of the Rhine, were opened which allow a particularly intense experience of the cultural landscape. Cyclists can ride the entire Middle Rhine Valley between Bingen and Bonn on the Rhine bike route. On the left bank, this provides a continuous bike path along the river, separate from any roads accessible to cars. On the right bank, there are still some small gaps where cyclists have to use regular streets.