Camping och Moselviner i Traben-Trarbach, Tyskland

Traben-Trarbach in Germany's Moselle Valley is beautiful and has world-famous Moselle wines. This is a cosy little town surrounded by green nature and opportunities for hiking, cycling and boating. There are also plenty of vineyards where you can sample and buy the region's delicious Moselle wine.

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Traben-Trarbach

The small German town of Traben-Trarbach is located in the Moselle Valley, about 40 kilometres northeast of Trier and 60 kilometres southwest of Koblenz. The municipalities of Traben and Trarbach were merged with several others in 1904 to form the new town of Traben-Trarbach. The town is really cosy with many nice houses, even though there was a lot of road works going on in the middle of the town.

Traben-Trarbach is located in the district of Rhineland-Palatinate and is widely known as a health resort and spa. Around the city, the Moselle River flows like a big u-curve. You look up at the mountain Mont Royal, which we went up for beautiful views and winding roads.

The mountain is also home to a sports airfield built in 1956. Unfortunately, Peter could not fly his drone as intended, but we got a beautiful view. The area is also very popular for hiking and cycling.

Traben actually means trot in German, but the word comes from the original Celtic population and has nothing to do with trotting. Traben-Trarbach is the largest town in the centre of the Moselle and is situated among several smaller villages in the Crossroads. Motorboat races have been held in the Moselle Valley in the past, but this ended in 1996, when the last and 32nd race was held.

READ MORE: Trier in the Moselle Valley - Germany's oldest city
READ MORE: Facts about Germany - 30 things you might not know

Moselle valleys

The Moselle Valley is Germany's most important wine region and many people refer to Moselle wines as gold. The Moselle Valley has a microclimate, with the river as its base and the slate mountains trapping the heat. Together with all the slopes, this provides perfect drainage for all the vines, and the intense green vegetation shows that the landscape is thriving.

Everywhere in the area there are knight's castles, ruins overgrown with ivy and beautiful palaces. The entire Moselle valley is a paradise for vines, which climb all the hills. What makes the Moselle Valley so special is all the small picturesque villages and it is almost like travelling back in time. The Moselle Valley is like one big castle park!

Moselle rivers

The Moselle River (Moselle in French) winds its way through France, Luxembourg and further into Germany. It flows into the Rhine after Koblenz, over a distance of 520 kilometres (52 miles) in south-west Germany.

The Moselle Valley is Germany's longest tributary and is the second most important shipping route after the Rhine. The word Moselle also comes from the Celts and was then called Mosea. The Moselle River flows into the Vosges Mountains in France, west of Colmar, Luxembourg and on through Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate.

In the Middle Ages, the difference in altitude was difficult and had to be adapted to different seasons. Today there are 15 dammed levels with 14 locks, thanks to a total height difference of 676 metres. From 1964, it became possible for passenger ships to travel between Metz and Koblenz. This allowed tourists to travel between the wine districts and all the beautiful small towns along the Moselle Valley.

READ MORE: What to do in Germany - 26 experiences and attractions

Boat trips on the Moselle River

Several different boat trips depart from Traben-Trarbach, and from all the small towns along the Moselle River. Among other things, you can go to the small town of Bernkastel-Kues, and it looked like it would be fantastic to take the boat here. We chose instead to drive the car to Bernkastel-Kues to have a look around, but we couldn't find a car park so a boat would have been a better option!

READ MORE: By motorhome in the beautiful Moselle Valley in Germany
READ MORE: 6 picturesque towns in Germany - along holiday routes

Moselvinvägen

The Moselle Wine Route runs along the Moselle River and is accessible by car, and there are also cycle routes from Metz to Koblenz. Here you can experience authenticity, from Roman times, medieval castles, palaces and half-timbered houses to vineyards and wineries. The wine region is also called Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and is probably the northernmost vineyard in the world with quality wine, which says something about the climate. It is also home to the Saar and Ruwer tributaries.

You can drive or cycle along the Moselle wine route, but keep in mind that each town is about 35-50 kilometres apart. In addition to Traben-Trarbach, you can also discover Cochem and its 11th century castle, Treis-Karden and nearby Eltz, Germany's most well-preserved medieval castle. You also have the chance to see Koboltz where the Moselle Valley and the Rehn River meet and the 700-year-old spa town of Bernkastel-Kues with its half-timbered houses.

Zell is one of the largest wine communities in the Moselle Valley Trier is Germany's oldest city created by the Romans, where you can see the 100th century Porta Nigra (Black Gate). You can also boat hop, or island hop as the Norwegians say, between the cities. Stop at the vineyards to taste different Moselle wines and enjoy a fabulous holiday in the Moselle Valley!

Moselle wines

If you want to visit a vineyard around Traben-Trarbach, you don't have to look far. There really are vineyards everywhere! We chose to check out the wine cellar. Axel Emert which is located in the centre of town, right next to the tourist office.

Here we could walk around the cellar and we also had a long nice chat with the owner before we took the chance to try some of the wines. We liked the semi-dry wine, which was not so sweet, and bought a bunch of bottles.

Moselle wines are world-famous and they make mostly white wines, Riesling wines. They also have the Muller-Thurgau grape and also Elbing. Riesling wine is known for its high acidity and is very fruity, with a greenish-yellow golden colour. These wines are fresh and elegant. The Moselle Valley is Germany's oldest wine region since the Roman Empire.

Moseldalen och Moselviner — sweeter wines or dry wines? We went for the middle ground!

The owner told us that this winery, together with three other wineries in town, organises a Christmas market in the cellars every year for a whole month. We got to see pictures and it looked incredibly nice, and apparently also attracts a lot of people. Sometimes there are also guided tours of the city's wine cellars, you can find the current programme for this and other activities in the city at Moselle meeting point Traben-Trarbach.

Vinkällare Mosel — White wine around the river Moselle

Video from "Traben Trarbach"

READ MORE: Wine festivals in Germany - experience autumn wine festivals
READ MORE: Beautiful roads in Germany - themed holiday routes

Camping in the Moselle Valley

Just outside Traben-Trarbach is both a caravan park and a campsite. We stayed at Moselcampingplatz Rissbach, which is a nice campsite right next to the river, with a mini shop and small restaurant. However, we couldn't get WiFi to work, so we had to use our own.

There are hundreds of pitches and campsites in the Moselle Valley, and it feels like every other vehicle is a motorhome or caravan. If Germany is motorhome country, the Moselle Valley is motorhome valley.

Since our fridge was completely empty, it was a meal at the campsite's restaurant, where you could choose different kinds of burgers and schnitzels. We each got a burger, really good! All campsites have Mosel wines in their receptions, so you don't have to go shopping for your dinner.

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

Below you will find more articles with suggestions for things to see and do around Germany.

Facts about Traben-Trarbach

Country: Germany
Language: German (some also speak English)
Currency: Euro
Price mode: A bit cheaper than Sweden
Residents: Traben-Trarbach ca 5600 (2017)
Time difference: None
Emergency number: 112
Religion: Christianity
El: Like Sweden
Water: Drinking beard
Tourist OfficeAm Bahnhof 5 56841 Traben-Trarbach.

Travelling to Traben-Trarbach

Flight: with Ryan Air from Skavsta to Frankfurt Hahn and rent a car, driving via L190 which takes about 20 min and is 20,9 km.
Car: Coming from Hamburg, take the A1 which takes just over 6 hours and is 571 km to Traben-Trarbach. Coming from Munich, take the A8 which takes about 5 hours and is 502 km to Traben-Trarbach.

Restaurants in Traben-trarbach

Storcke Stütz/Historiche Kellerschänke at Brückenstrassee 4, German food.
Alte Zunftscheune at Neue Rathausstrasse 15, German food.
Harry's Restaurant at Augustastrasse 7.
The Graifen Wiene-Leben-Essen on Wolfer Weg 11.
Bauers Restaurant at Moselstrasse 1, Michelin Restaurant.

Accommodation in Traben-trarbach

Hotel Trabener Hof at Bahnstrasse 25, 3 stars
Romantik Jugendstilhotel Bellevue at An der Mosel 11, 4 stars
Park-hotel Traben-Trarbach at Enkircher Str. 1, 3 stars
Alte Schmiede zu Trarbash at Mittelstrasse 2, 5 stars

Pitches and campsites

Mosel Parking Traben-Trarbach on Dr. Ernst-Spies-Allee is a car park.
Wohnmobilstellplatz Traben-Trarbach on Rissbacherstrasse is also a car park.
Mosel Campingplatz Rissbach at Rissbacher Str. 155. Camping that we wrote about in the post.
Camping Wolf Sigrid and Rolf Sausen at Wedenhofstrasse 25.

READ MORE: Travel to Germany - your guide to Germany's top destinations

14 Comments

Add yours →

Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:

Moselle a good destination for us in southern Sweden, there are always places to stay.

30 August 2018 - 8:44

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  A little closer if you live in southern Sweden of course. But reasonable distance from Sweden regardless, and super nice! 🙂
  
  30 August 2018 - 9:53
  
Ama de casa says:

It's annoying when a promised wiffi doesn't work - it's nice to have a backup plan in the form of your own food 🙂 .

There seems to be many cosy places in Germany. Have not been around much there, mostly passed through to get to France which was the favourite destination on our summer campsites 🙂.

30 August 2018 - 9:25

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Our experience in Germany is that wifi is relatively often poor. On the other hand, it does not matter as much anymore, now that roaming charges are gone and you can bring your own internet. We have also often just passed Germany, but there are many nice things to experience! 🙂
  
  30 August 2018 - 9:55
  
OnTripDK says:

It looks really cosy 🙂 The Mosel area must be visited one day.

/Annette

30 August 2018 - 9:31

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Very nice! Recommended!
  
  30 August 2018 - 9:56
  
Maria/ Magnolia Magis says:

Moselle Valley! Mum and dad are going there next week! A recurring favourite with them! Sunny and nice you have too! Here is raining today but still shorts heat. Have a good time!

30 August 2018 - 9:36

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Oh great! They will be fine! 🙂 And yes, the weather is lovely! Warm during the day and a little cooler at night (nice).
  
  30 August 2018 - 9:57
  
Mr Steve says:

So enjoyable to quietly glide along the river and look at the vineyards that follow each other. Is there any restriction on private boat traffic on the river, in view of all the excursion boats?

30 August 2018 - 10:43

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  I don't think there is any restriction. We saw ordinary private boats too. But you do have to lock in some places to get on.
  
  30 August 2018 - 12:11
  
Anonymous says:

Wonderfully beautiful!
And so funny not to see a single "tick".
"åbäke" on the river! 🙂

But it's a shame to allow so many rolling homes.
right on the riverbank.

It has been a very pleasant journey - all the way.

30 August 2018 - 19:17

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  It's so great that you've come along on the journey Ruth! And I'm so glad you can comment again! 🙂
  
  31 August 2018 - 14:17
  
BP says:

Absolutely wonderful pictures from the Moselle Valley and the nice campsite. But as I said wifi and internet is not as "developed" in Germany as here at home. Oh it will probably never be either.

PS. I have a feeling that Peter will have to go on a "Swedish diet" when he comes home - like seafood without fries;-) DS.

31 August 2018 - 1:14

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  WiFI really does not always work. Today it is a minor problem, now that the roaming charges are gone and you can bring your own internet. And haha yes, we probably both need to go on a diet after this trip .... 😉
  
  31 August 2018 - 14:18

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Trier in the Moselle Valley - Germany's oldest city | FREEDOMtravel

Camping and Moselle wines in Traben-Trarbach, Germany

Traben-Trarbach

Moselle valleys

Moselle rivers

Boat trips on the Moselle River

Moselvinvägen

Moselle wines

Video from "Traben Trarbach"

Camping in the Moselle Valley

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

Facts about Traben-Trarbach

Travelling to Traben-Trarbach

Restaurants in Traben-trarbach

Accommodation in Traben-trarbach

Pitches and campsites

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14 Comments

Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:

Helena says:

Ama de casa says:

Helena says:

OnTripDK says:

Helena says:

Maria/ Magnolia Magis says:

Helena says:

Mr Steve says:

Helena says:

Anonymous says:

Helena says:

BP says:

Helena says:

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