Things to Do in Europe

The lands on either side of the Rhone River in western Provence have some of the most fertile terroir in France, giving rise to the prestige of the Rhone Valley Region of over 1,000 vineyards. If you're visiting France and want to explore a wine region that also has plenty of history and beautiful villages to boot, then you want to come to the Rhone Valley.

Because the long region runs north to south along the river's path, there are two separate sub-regions. The northern of the two are greatly affected by the Massif Central mountain range, and this the soil is tougher and the temperature swings are greater from season to season. The southern sub-region, on the other hand, is generally more mild throughout the year, but daily temperature swings are a factor in the terroir; its pebbly soil helps to retain the heat of the day to protect the vines at night.

The Cotes du Rhone classification is popular worldwide; surely you've seen this on your own wine store shelves, and there are great deals to be had with these labels, particularly the Cote du Rhone AOC. If you see “ Cotes du Rhone” on the label along with the words “Villages AOC” and a village name – for example, Saint-Gervais or Laudun – then you're in for a real treat, as these are a cut above your average Rhone wines. But the highest level also known as the “crus,” will simply be a village name and the acronym AOC, which stands for appellation d'origine contrôlée. A good example of this is the Chateauneuf-du-Pape AOC; it is a  Rhone Valley wine, but its name is enough as to not need further explanation on its label.

The busy riverside promenade of St. Goar is lorded over by the sprawling ruins of Burg Rheinfels, once the mightiest fortress on the Rhine and a must-see. Built in 1245 by the local counts of Katzenelnbogen as a base for their toll-collecting operation, it withstood attack from 28,000 of Louis XIV's French troops in 1692, just one of the many attacks made on it. Eventually it was Napoleon and his French Revolutionary army who destroyed the place in 1797 with the help of explosives.

The castle's size and labyrinthine layout is astonishing. Not just children love exploring the gigantic vault cellar, subterranean tunnels and mine galleries, while keeping an eye and ear out for ghosts. In the only complete room of the castle there is a museum.

The Rheinisches Landesmuseum is the archaeological museum in Trier, Germany. It is one of the most important archaeological museums in the country and documents 200,000 years of history. Exhibits show the cultural development of this region starting with prehistoric times until the end of the 18th century. There are around 4,500 objects on display, including the largest mosaic collection north of the Alps. Visitors can also see vivid scenes of daily life on the huge stone burial monuments from Neumagen. The world's largest Roman gold coin collection with over 2,600 gold coins can be found here as well.

The museum has an impressive permanent collection as well as space for temporary exhibitions. Free audio guides are available, and twice a day visitors can experience “In the Realm of Shadows,” a theater production among the Roman burial monuments. The museum is also an important research facility, and almost everything on display here was excavated by the museum itself.