Late spring (May–June) and early autumn (September) are the easiest visits — warm days, cool evenings, and the Rheinhessen vineyards either flowering or harvesting. The biggest event of the year is the Nibelungen Festival in late July and August, an open-air theatre cycle staged on a giant temporary stage in front of the cathedral. Performances are in German with no surtitles but the spectacle alone is worth seeing.
The Backfischfest in late August/early September is the local wine and fish festival — twelve days of fairground rides, drinking tents, and parades along the Rhine. Winter is grey, quiet, and damp but the museums are at their least crowded.