Discover Andernach on the Rhine

Andernach combines the Rhine with a remarkable natural attraction, historic buildings, and routes for walking and cycling. When choosing a hotel, it is worth considering the focus of your stay: the geyser expedition includes a boat trip, while hiking trails, cycling routes and architectural history appeal to other interests. The following points will help you decide which activities suit your trip.

Geyser, Boat and Natural Environment

The geyser expedition at the Geysir Museum Andernach takes visitors through six museum areas. Exhibits and interactive learning stations explore geysers, volcanoes and the related geoscientific processes. The Namedyer Werth is part of this natural environment: this nature reserve lies along a wooded stretch of the Rhine and provides habitats for numerous animal and plant species. These include the black kite, kingfisher, golden oriole and nine different species of bat. Alongside geoscientific topics, the landscape and its wildlife are also in focus.

Access to the Andernach geyser is exclusively by the geyser boat “MS Namedy”. It takes visitors to the Namedyer Werth and departs from the Andernach Rhine promenade. As operations are subject to seasonal and operational changes, check the latest access information before your trip. The Geysir Museum, the boat and the geyser site are certified as accessible for people with mobility impairments at Level 2; an accompanying person is recommended. Check the information on current certification before your visit as well.

Old Town and Architectural History

In Andernach, you will encounter a range of historic architectural styles. Mariendom, also known as Liebfrauenkirche, is a richly decorated, three-aisled Romanesque gallery basilica built around 1200. Koblenzer Tor, also called “Burgpforte”, is a restored four-storey medieval double-gate complex and one of the surviving city gates. Rheintor is one of the oldest double-gate complexes on the Rhine and invites you to walk through the historic city entrance. On the medieval town wall, Helmwartsturm is one of six fully preserved semicircular towers; nearby, a wooden structure recreates a historic battlement walk.

Churches and memorial sites also make their own mark. The Hospitalkirche, also known as Hospitalkapelle St. Nikolaus und Elisabeth, was the church of the Annunciationist monastery. The late Baroque complex was built between 1737 and 1739 and features extensive wall and ceiling paintings. Christuskirche is one of the largest and best-preserved Minorite churches in the Middle Rhine region. The Andernach memorial to “Aktion T4” is an accessible mirrored container that commemorates the victims of Nazi deportations and invites visitors to remember them. On the Rhine shore, the Bollwerk memorial commemorates those killed in the two World Wars and is also a historic stop along the Rhine promenade.

Hiking, Cycling and the Edible City

There are trails of different lengths to choose from. In Andernach’s Eich district, three marked circular hiking trails cover 4.1, 5.6 and 7 kilometres. They pass through fields, gentle hills and quiet woodland around the Nastberg. The Namedyer Weg follows a different route: it leads from the Namedy district through Andernach’s municipal forest up to the Krahnenberg and offers views across the Rhine and surrounding countryside. The stated distances make it easy to compare the route lengths.

Andernach lies directly on the Rhine Cycle Route. The city can be reached along the Rhine from Cologne/Bonn or Koblenz; well-signposted regional cycle routes also lead there from the Eifel and the Neuwied Basin. Another point of interest in the city is the “Edible City”: public green spaces are used to grow vegetables, fruit, berries, espalier trees and culinary herbs, and visitors are allowed to pick the produce. The plantings may vary by season. The main area is at Stadtgraben 1–27, directly beside the town wall between Koblenzer Tor and Ottenturm.

Getting There and Choosing a Focus for Your Stay

Andernach railway station is centrally located on the edge of the old town. Direct connections include RE5, RB26 and RB23 towards Koblenz, Mainz and Bonn/Cologne. As routes and timetables may change, check your connection before departure. When looking for a hotel in Andernach, you can first decide whether the geyser and nature, historic buildings, hiking or cycling should be the focus of your stay.

Discover more destinations: Hatzenport, Wierschem, Dieblich, Baar, Gering, Ettringen, Welschenbach, Nörtershausen.

Go to the main travel overview: Mayen-Koblenz.