The Moselle flows unhurriedly between two banks of vines, and Remich stretches along the water behind its shaded esplanade. River boats dock right at the foot of the promenade: ten steps are enough to go from the gangway to the café terraces. This small town in the Grand Duchy, set on the German border, has lived from wine since Roman times and sees no reason to change.

The esplanade, the town's living room

The riverside promenade is the port call's most immediate attraction. You stroll between flowerbeds and fountains, watch swans escort the pleasure boats, and sit down for a coffee or a glass of white facing the opposite hillside. Residents pass by on bikes, as a cycle path follows the river for kilometres. At the end of the day, the golden light on the vines alone justifies the detour.

The St Martin cellars, a kilometre beneath the hill

A few minutes' walk from the landing, an arched entrance opens in the hillside: these are the St Martin cellars, dug into the limestone in the early 20th century. The guided tour covers nearly a kilometre of cool galleries, kept at about twelve degrees, where crémants made using the traditional method mature. The tasting that ends the tour lets you compare Luxembourg bubbles with Rieslings, Pinot Gris and Elbling, a discreet grape variety grown on these slopes since Roman antiquity. A light coat is not superfluous, even in the middle of summer.

A bridge between two countries

The road bridge extending from the esplanade crosses the water to the German village of Nennig: a few minutes' walk is enough to change countries, always an amusing experience in the middle of the current. Here, the border looks more like a hyphen than a dividing line; residents of both banks share markets, wine festivals and cycle paths.

Old Remich and its lanes

Behind the esplanade, the old town climbs in narrow lanes toward the deanery church, whose origins go back to the Middle Ages. Winegrowers' houses with dated gateways, tiny squares and wrought-iron signs make up a discreet setting, with no museum-like pretensions, where daily life is lived in Luxembourgish, French and German. Bakeries sell plum tarts in season; butcher shops offer smoked specialties that traditionally accompany the new wine in the fall, when the presses are turning.

Scenic cruises and a nature reserve

From the central jetty, boats offer one-hour loops on the Moselle, between locks, wine villages and the country's only marina. Upstream, the Haff Réimech nature reserve spreads its ponds between the river and the vines: a visitor centre and trails on stilts let you observe herons, grebes and kingfishers. Wine lovers can also venture out to neighbouring villages, where family estates open their cellars by appointment.

Ideas by length of port call

1. One hour: the esplanade, an ice cream or coffee, and the lanes of the old town.
2. Two to three hours: the St Martin cellars with a tasting, then a walk along the water.
3. Half day: add the Haff Réimech reserve or a boat loop.

Before casting off

Then the boat casts off, and the rows of vines file past on either side like the pages of a well-kept book. Remich leaves the memory of a port call on a human scale: a shared glass, a cool gallery beneath the hill, a peaceful walk along the bank. It's often in these modest towns that the Moselle tells its story best, and you're already looking forward to the river's next bend.