Spending a vacation in Germany becomes more and more attractive, especially in the current times. There are also very beautiful places in Germany that we hadn’t heard of although we live in Germany. Since Luca’s family has a holiday home in the Eifel we looked for beautiful places in this area and came across the castle Eltz. It is becoming more famous, especially through Instagram where the castle has already become a little star. We also wanted to visit the probably most beautiful castle in Germany and therefore we made our way to the castle Eltz at the end of May, on a Saturday.
It is worth getting up early
Due to the relatively high publicity of the castle we expected a lot of people to visit it. Therefore we decided to leave at sunrise around 5 o’clock. From the holiday home in the Eifel we needed about one hour until we arrived at the parking space at the castle Eltz. There are three different parking possibilities. Firstly, there is a parking lot for hikers which is however very far away and only recommended if you really want to make a long hike. We followed the road further and at the end there are two more parking places. We took the first one on the right, from where a footpath leads directly to the castle. The path runs through a forest and it took us about 15 minutes to follow it. It was a little bit spooky walking alone through the forest so early in the morning but at the same time beautiful. The last parking place would be at the very end of the road. From there you walk along an asphalt road to the castle and during opening hours there is a shuttle bus that drives this road for a fee. The opening hours are daily from 9:30 to 17:30 from March to November. Due to Corona, however, the castle was closed until mid May.
Taking great photos
When we arrived at the castle it was shortly after 6 a.m. and another photographer was already there. But he left after a short time because he apparently took pictures much earlier. Then we had almost a whole hour alone in front of the castle and could take super nice pictures. Especially with the light in the morning we could try out a lot and take good pictures in different outfits. Around 7:30 a.m. more and more photographers came and we slowly started to go back to the car so that the others could take great pictures. At the asphalted road as well as at the footpath there are also very nice views of the castle. Then we put most of our camera equipment in our car and slowly walked back to the castle.
The castle tour – recommended experience
When we were back at 8:30 a.m. at the castle Eltz a lot of employees of the castle already came and set up barriers. At the latest from that time on it is much more difficult to take nice photos without other people. So we had something to eat and waited until the castle officially opened at 9:30 am. Because we were there so early, we could enter the castle at 9:30 a.m. At this time there were about 40 people in front of the castle. The castle is currently visited due to Corona in the one-way street system. This means that when you enter the castle you will be led around the castle to the courtyard. This is where the guided tours start which currently can only take place with a maximum of 10 people. Masks must also be worn on the entire castle grounds. The advantage of these very small groups during the castle tours is that you can take your time and look at everything very closely. Individual questions can also be put to the tour guides at any time. The tour which lasted approximately 30 minutes, was very exciting and impressive for us. We learned a lot about the history of the castle, the family that now owns it and many other interesting facts. We can therefore recommend not only to go there for photos but also to combine this with a guided tour of the castle.
When we came out of the castle at 11 o’clock, it was already full. Therefore we think it is worthwhile to be there as early as possible. Especially if you want to take pictures, but also to avoid waiting for a guided tour very long.
We can recommend a visit to the castle Eltz in any case. It is a real highlight for us in Germany!