After the Bonn Marathon: The Moselle and Trier

The Route: Bonn Hauptbahnhof → Koblenz → Trier Hauptbahnhof → Bonn Hauptbahnhof Logistics: Regional train via Koblenz, typically one change, roughly 2 to 2.5 hours total. Not fast, but the Moselle valley scenery on the approach makes the journey itself worthwhile. Marathon Month: April Duration: 3 nights

Bonn Hbf ──(RE, ~1 hr)──> Koblenz ──(RE, ~1.5 hrs, Moselle valley line)──> Trier Hbf
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                                                                Bonn Hbf ◄──────┘

Trier calls itself Germany's oldest city, founded by the Romans as Augusta Treverorum around 16 BC, and it has the ruins to support the claim rather than merely the marketing. For a runner with three nights to spend before flying home, it is reachable by an unhurried but scenic regional rail journey along the Moselle, a river valley that trades the Rhine's grandeur for a quieter, more intimate version of the same vineyard-terraced landscape.

April on the Moselle is early in the growing season: vines are only beginning to show leaf, and the valley's wine-tourism infrastructure, tasting rooms and boat trips among them, is still building toward summer opening hours. The trade-off is a quiet approach to a city that gets considerably busier in high summer.

Nights One Through Three: Trier

The Porta Nigra, the best-preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps, stands at the edge of Trier's old town and is the natural starting point for a low-effort first day. It is a flat, five-minute walk from Trier Hauptbausteig. Entry to climb inside the gate itself involves stairs, easily skipped in favour of viewing it from ground level, which costs nothing and gives an accurate sense of its scale.

The primary recovery-friendly walking route is the old town itself: a compact, largely pedestrianised and flat network of streets running from the Porta Nigra down to the Hauptmarkt and on to the Cathedral of Trier, one of the oldest churches in Germany, parts of it dating to the fourth century. The full walk from the Porta Nigra to the Rhenish State Museum, which holds an extensive Roman collection including mosaics and everyday artefacts, covers perhaps 1.5 km on level pavement.

The Roman Imperial Baths (Kaiserthermen) and the Amphitheatre sit a short distance further out, both partially open-air ruins with some uneven ground underfoot; a combined ticket covering Trier's main Roman sites runs approximately €13 (£11) for adults, worth checking for current pricing before visiting.

Where to stay: the Hotel Porta Nigra, named for and positioned directly beside the Roman gate, is the obvious choice for proximity to the old town's main sights. The Mercure Hotel Trier Porta Nigra, a short walk further into town, offers a reliable mid-range alternative with similarly easy access on foot.

Where to eat: Zum Domstein, in the old town near the cathedral, serves regional Moselle cooking in a building that itself sits above Roman-era remains; a Winzerteller or a simple Flammkuchen with a Moselle Riesling suits an evening that does not require much more walking after a day among the ruins.

Getting Home

Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (HHN) is the closer of the two realistic options from Trier, though it serves primarily budget and charter routes; Luxembourg Airport (LUX), roughly an hour away by bus or car, offers a wider range of connections for UK travellers. Both require checking current bus or rail links from Trier, since neither airport has a direct rail connection into the city centre. For a straightforward return to a UK flight, retracing the outbound route to Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN) via Koblenz and Bonn, a journey of roughly 2.5 to 3 hours, remains the most reliable option.