Back Roads Germany (Dk Eyewitness Travel Back Roads)

159

Rhein

Rhein

WESTHOFEN

OPPENHEIM

NIERSTEIN

NACKENHEIM

MAINZ

SPEYER

WORMS

Osthofen

Böhl

Mutterstadt

BodenheimTrebur

Laubenheim

Hassloch

Iggelheim

Limburgerhof

Dudenhofen

Oberhausen-

Rheinhausen

Lambsheim

Hessheim

Maxdorf

Neuhofen

Schifferstadt

Bobenheim-

Roxheim

Hochheim

Guntersblum

Schwegenheim

Bellheim

Rülzheim

Hochstetten

Linkenheim

Wörth

Leopoldshofen

Dettenheim

Philippsburg

Hamm

Gernsheim

Hessloch

Weinolsheim

Köngernheim

Alsheim Biebesheim

Offstein

Geinsheim

Frankenthal

Germersheim

Lampertheim

Bürstadt

Rüsselsheim

Ludwigshafen

Mannheim

DRIVE 15: The German Wine Route

PLAN YOUR DRIVE

Start/finish: Deutsches Weintor

to Speyer.

Number of days: 5 days, allowing half

a day to explore Oppenheim.

Distance: 162 miles (260 km).

Road conditions: The region has well

paved minor roads with gentle gra di-

ents. The Deutsche Weinstrasse is well

marked; look for the grape symbol.

When to go: The tourist season begins

with the Mandelblütenfest in March

and con tinues until the end of October.

Some attractions close for winter.

Opening times: Most attractions open

daily, while shops are open 9am to 5pm

Monday to Friday, but close early on

Saturdays. Shops and services are closed

on Sundays. Most restaurants close

their kitchens by 10pm.

Major festivals: Neustadt an der

Weinstrasse: Deutsches Weinlesefest

(wine festival), Oct; Gimmeldingen:

Mandelblütenfest (almond blossom

festival), Mar/Apr; Bad Dürkheim:

Wurstmarkt (sausage festival), Sept;

Mainz: Mainzer Fastnacht (pre-Lent

carnival), Feb; Worms: Nibelungen

Festspiele (theater festival), late Jul;

Backfischfest (folk festival), late Aug/

early Sept.

KEY

Drive route

Below View of the rocky outcrop from Burg

Trifels, Annweiler, see p161

DAY TRIP OPTIONS

Lovers of fine food and wine will

find the Weinstrasse at its most chic

between Edenkoben and Freinsheim

and enjoy the drive from Mainz to

Worms, which is famous for wine-

growing villages. For the lost-in-time

charm of sleepy villages and hilltop

castles, a drive from Bad Bergzabern

to Burg Trifels is particularly magical.

For full details, see p167.

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Above Busy street, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse,

see p163