The Altes Haus (Old House) on the Marktplatz is the most photographed building in Bacharach — a half-timbered structure dating to 1568 with the steeply angled gables and overhanging upper storeys typical of Rhine Valley late-medieval construction. The carved beams and the painted decorations between the timbers have survived remarkably intact. It currently houses a wine tavern, which makes it an easy place to linger over a glass of Riesling while looking up at the facade. Whatever the guidebook says about its age, standing in front of it still produces the intended effect.