Riol Germany Rhineland-Palatinate
Frequently Asked Questions
Right at the foot of the houses, on the Moselle bank. Riol is a winegrowers' village: a few streets take you around it, and the church, the old courtyards and the trailheads are all minutes from the gangway.
Yes for the village and the vineyards, no for Trier. The village, the Römerberg vineyard and the Roman villa at Longuich, about two kilometres along the riverside path, are within walking or cycling range. Trier, a dozen kilometres away, calls for the organized excursion.
The best plan has three parts: a walk through the village and its Saint Martin church, a climb into the Römerberg riesling rows for the view over the bends, then a tasting in a grower's courtyard. That still leaves time to walk to Longuich.
Its documented antiquity. Tacitus names the site Rigodulum: this is where Rome's troops fought the Treveri on the heights above the river in the year 70. Few Moselle villages can cite a Roman historian in their birth certificate.
Two, both close by. At Longuich, roughly two kilometres along the bank, a partly reconstructed Roman villa shows the baths of a large farming estate. In neighbouring Mehring, another villa rustica has been raised again with its colonnades.
Yes, several family estates open their courtyards when passengers are ashore, but nothing is guaranteed: it depends on the grower's availability. Ask on board. In June, festival weekends turn the main street into one long shared table.
More so than you would expect from a wine village. Behind the last houses, the Triolago lake serves as a leisure park: swimming in summer, a cable water-ski tow, an alpine coaster running down the slope year round, and minigolf.
It takes some breath without being demanding. Marked trails leave from the last lanes and climb the south-facing Römerberg slope. The reward comes quickly: the valley, its meanders and the villages of Longuich and Mehring on either bank.
The euro, and bring cash: in a village this size, small shops and cellars do not all take cards. German dominates; a few words of English get through with growers used to river ships, but do not count on it.
June through October. June brings the wine festival and open courtyards, September and October the harvest and the colours of the slope. Off season the village is still lovely but very quiet, and several cellars stay shut.
