Koblenz is the natural base for the two UNESCO World Heritage river valleys that meet in the city. The Rhine Gorge to the south is forty kilometres of vineyards, terraced slate slopes, and a procession of medieval castles from Stolzenfels at one end to the Lorelei rock and Rüdesheim at the other. The K-D river boats and the parallel railway both make the trip in either direction; a half-day round trip by boat and train is the classic outing.
The Moselle valley, looping west through Cochem to Trier, is gentler and arguably more beautiful — narrower, more wooded, with the wine villages of Beilstein and Bernkastel-Kues along the way. Cologne to the north is an hour by train.
