The last stop of our 5-day trip to the beautiful Moselle was the small town of Cochem. Here we spent 2 nights to explore the city and the surrounding area a little more.
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The WellnessHotel Keßler-Meyer
For the two nights we stayed in the 4-star wellness hotel Keßler-Meyer, which is very close to Cochem and not far from the famous Reichsburg. A 20- to 25-minute walk along the Moselle promenade provides easy access to both the city and the Reichsburg castle from the hotel. The hotel is located in a very quiet residential area and has free parking.
We stayed in one of the brand new double rooms Riesling and were more than enthusiastic about it. There are a total of eight rooms of this category, all of which are located in the main house. We were absolutely convinced of the design of the room: The comfortable furnishings of the room, which is almost 30 m2 in size, provide a pleasant atmosphere and offer ample space for a relaxing break: be it the real wood floor, the warm colours or the comfortable box spring bed. With details such as a Nespresso coffee machine, a wine fridge with a chilled wine bottle as a welcome gift, and a Dyson hairdryer in the bathroom, the room can also score points. The icing on the cake of our room was the large glazed window front with a fantastic view of the Moselle and the Reichsburg – it is no better 😊
For breakfast we had to register for a breakfast time until 8 p.m. the night before via the “guest friend” software, so that it doesn’t get too crowded in the restaurant. This worked without any problems and we got our desired time confirmed on both days. In the restaurant there is a mask obligation until you are at your table and when you go to the buffet – this is now common in Corona times, but easy and easy to implement. At the breakfast buffet, the selection was very large, so that we could strengthen ourselves well for the day. From a wide selection of breads and rolls to cereals, hot food and fresh fruit, to plenty of cold cuts and cheese slices, jam, honey and Nutella, there was everything there was for every taste.
After a busy day of sightseeing, we enjoyed some peace and relaxation in the wellness area of the hotel. Like our hotel room, the wellness area is very modern in a great design. Since in our room already our packed wellness bags incl. Towels, bathrobe and bathing shoes stood, we could walk directly in the bathrobe down into the wellness area. After a short registration at the reception, which is required due to the Corona-related hygiene measures, we were able to go to the wellness area.
Surprisingly, there wasn’t much going on here, even though the hotel was well booked. The Well & Wine Spa area of the Hotel Keßler-Meyer has an indoor pool, whirlpool, various saunas (Finnish sauna with colour and light therapy, steam bath with starry sky, bio sauna with pine scent), a spacious relaxation room, a spa bistro with free water and tea, a small sunbathing lawn and an exclusive spa villa. For two hours we just let our soul dangle here 😊
Things to know about Cochem
Cochem is located directly on the Moselle and with its almost 5,200 inhabitants is the smallest district town in Germany. The first settlements of Cochem existed in the times of the Celts and Romans. In 886 it was first mentioned as “Villa cuchema”.
Cochem used to be an important city in viticulture. This has changed a lot in recent decades. The number of winegrowers engaged in full-time business has fallen from several hundred to less than 10. And this can also be seen in the landscape: Where in the past many slopes in the city area were planted with vines, most of the locations have now been recaptured by nature. Today, the city is strongly influenced by tourism, which is due to the many leisure and sightseeing opportunities, but also to the beautiful location of the city. A lot of Moselle cruises depart from Cochem. Especially popular is the boat trip to the romantic Moselle village of Beilstein with lock passage. Tickets can be purchased directly on the Moselle promenade.
One of the most beautiful views of the city is from the opposite side of the Moselle in the Cond district. From the Moselle promenade you can take the colourful house scenery of the city with the Reichsburg perched above it and take beautiful photos ❤
The town of Cochem on the Moselle
The sights of Cochem
The old town of Cochem is not so big. This way you can easily reach all major sights on foot and on your own. Parking is available, for example, directly on the banks of the Moselle (link in Google Maps), from where it is only a few meters walk to the city center.
Particularly impressive are the many well-preserved remains of the historic city wall, where you can still discover the three preserved city gates (Enderttor, Martinstor, Baldwin Gate). The centre of the old town is the centrally located market square, on which are the Martinsbrunnen, the Baroque-style town hall built in 1739 and many old half-timbered gables covered with Moselle slate. From the market square, stone stairs lead up to klosterberg. Here is the Capuchin monastery, built between 1625 and 1628, which was a monastery until 1802 and now functions as the cultural centre of the city.
From the old town we walked over the Endertstraße to the Cochemer chairlift. On the way you pass the historic mustard mill, where you can watch how old recipes are created with very special gourmet mustard. After we had bought our return tickets for the chairlift for EUR 6.90 per person (as of June 2020), we went high: between the valley and mountain station we covered a height difference of 155 m, the length of the track is 360 m. At the top our destination was the 255 m high altitude Pinnerkreuz viewpoint. From here you can enjoy a fantastic view of the Moselle and the town of Cochem with the Reichsburg. Simply fantastically ❤
The view from the Pinnerkreuz viewpoint on Cochem & the Moselle
The Imperial Castle of Cochem
The most visited attraction and THE highlight of the city is the Reichsburg, which towers over the city. From the market square you can reach the castle within 10 to 15 minutes on foot – either via the Schlossstraße or via the “Tummelchen”.
The medieval castle, which has been badly damaged over time, has a history of more than 1000 years. After the destruction, it was lovingly restored in the 19th century by a Berlin merchant in the style of the castle romanticism and rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style. In 1942, the castle became state-owned and since April 1978 it has belonged to the citizens of the city of Cochem.
Once at the top, we were able to choose between two different types of tickets: if you only want to visit the courtyards of the castle, you pay 3.50 EUR per person. If you are interested in an additional guided tour of the castle, where you can also see some of the interiors, 7 EUR admission is due. We chose the second variant and had enough time until our tour to look at the courtyards.
Due to the Corona pandemic, the groups were much smaller than usual during the castle tour, which we found to be very positive. Normally 40 to 50 people take part in such a tour of the castle. Currently, there can be a maximum of 10 people, which makes the whole thing much more pleasant. Our tour of the castle, where we got to know the most beautiful rooms and thus the history of the castle became a little more vivid, lasted about 30 minutes. The last room we visited had a beautiful balcony from which you had a fantastic view of the Moselle.
We really enjoyed the small town of Cochem and the wellness hotel Keßler-Meyer and we can only recommend a visit ❤