A Weekend Getaway in Monschau, Germany, Monschau, Germany

If you’re up for beautiful hikes, exploring castles and walking along cobblestone streets as if you landed yourself into some German fairytale… Monschau will be your perfect weekend escape.

Monschau, Germany is located in North Rhine-Westphalia in the hills of Northern Eifel. The little town is covered with romantic half-timbered houses, narrow alleys and the beautiful River Rur running through the center, much of which hasn’t been changed for over 300 years. You can take a short 10-minute hike up to the castle for a picture perfect panoramic view, or you can explore the little alleyways and timbered houses up close.

The drive from Düsseldorf to Monschau shouldn’t take you more than an hour and a half (approximately 110 km). If you’re up for it, you could even make it a day trip to explore the old town and hike a few hours before the sunset.

While it is possible to get there by train, it will take you a few hours, so I would suggest to check out all other possible options to get to Monschau. Try and check out BlaBlaCar or hop on billiger-mietwagen.de and rent a car for the weekend (that’s what I did).

Despite the small size of the town, there is plenty to do to keep yourself busy. I spent a couple days in Monschau, but wish I had stayed a few more nights so that I could have really explored a number of the hiking trails while visiting. However, if you only have the weekend, here are a few highlights you can’t miss out on. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).