From the platform in the tower of the Electoral Castle, the view stretches across Eltville, the Rheingau and Rheinhessen as far as the Rhine-Main region. Other themes associated with the town include the art of printing, Late Gothic architecture, roses and routes through diverse landscapes. You can tailor your stay to whether you want to focus on individual cultural sites or on the combination of the old town and its surroundings.

Castle, Views and the Art of Printing

The Electoral Castle is Eltville’s historic landmark. It comprises the castle tower, courtyard, moat and official garden; the museum can be visited in the tower. The complex therefore brings together several distinct highlights: the historic site, the museum and the viewpoint.

The viewing platform in the castle tower is reached via 123 steps. Allow time for this climb if you want to take in the views across the landscapes mentioned above. The view complements the museum visit with a vantage point of its own.

The Gutenberg exhibition in the castle tower offers a different focus. Public printing days are held several times a year, when original prints are produced on a historic Florentine printing press, just as in Gutenberg’s time. Visitors can learn about the “black art” as it was practised then. While the platform is all about the views, the printing days focus on the historic art of printing. Check the current dates before your visit.

Church and Town Fortifications

The Catholic parish church of St. Peter and Paul is a Late Gothic place of worship. It was built approximately between 1350 and 1440 and houses significant works of painting and sculpture. Remains of Eltville’s town fortifications, built after the town was granted its charter in 1332, can also be found at the lower end of Leergasse. The two sites have different historical focuses: the church highlights architecture and works of art, while Leergasse is notable for the surviving parts of the fortifications.

Rose Garden and Routes Through the Landscape

In Eltville’s rose garden, the blooms are especially impressive in the moat and along the banks of the Rhine. A distinctive feature is the Japanese bed in the moat, where unusual Japanese rose varieties grow. The garden therefore offers a different thematic focus from the architecture, collections and town history of the cultural sites.

An easy-to-walk route connects Eltville’s districts of Martinsthal, Rauenthal, Hattenheim and Erbach, as well as the neighbouring municipality of Kiedrich, with Eltville’s old town. It passes through vineyards, forests and meadows, follows the banks of the Rhine and leads to wine estates, winery taverns and restaurants. Unlike a visit to individual attractions, this route focuses on connecting the places mentioned and taking in the changing landscape. If you don’t want to choose only cultural sites, you can include this route in your plans.

Getting There in the Rheingau-Taunus District

For regional orientation, Eltville can also be considered in terms of rail connections in the Rheingau-Taunus district. The right-bank Rhine railway runs from Koblenz via Rüdesheim am Rhein and Wiesbaden to Frankfurt am Main. Regional connections in the Rheingau-Taunus district also include the Rheingau towns of Lorch, Geisenheim, Oestrich-Winkel, Eltville and Walluf, which are connected to Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance rail network.

Discover more destinations: Hattenheim, Martinsthal, Rauenthal, Erbach, Niedernhausen, Kiedrich, Taunusstein, Rüdesheim am Rhein.

Return to the main travel overview: Rheingau-Taunus district.