Trier

Germany's oldest city, with UNESCO-listed Roman sites including the Porta Nigra, Imperial Baths and Basilica of Constantine; Karl Marx's birthplace and a starting point for Moselle wine trips.

Trier lies in western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate, on the upper Moselle, about 40 km east of Luxembourg. Billed as Germany's oldest city, it was founded by the Romans in 16 BC as Augusta Treverorum, and in the 4th century it served as one of the imperial residences of the Western Roman Empire, earning the name "the second Rome." Its Roman monuments — the Porta Nigra, the Basilica of Constantine, the Imperial Baths, the amphitheater and the Roman Bridge — are UNESCO World Heritage Sites together with the cathedral and the Church of Our Lady, forming the greatest concentration of Roman remains north of the Alps. Trier is also Karl Marx's birthplace, and his family home draws a steady stream of Chinese visitors. The climate is temperate maritime, with mild summers and damp, chilly winters; May–Oct is the best time to visit, Sep–Oct brings the Moselle grape harvest and wine festivals, and December has the Christmas market. Getting around: the old town is very compact — from the Porta Nigra at its northern end, follow Simeonstraße and the Hauptmarkt to the cathedral, the Basilica of Constantine, the Palace Garden, the Imperial Baths and the amphitheater, covering the main sights in a day on foot. Allow another half day in the southwest for the Karl Marx House, the Viehmarkt Baths, the Barbara Baths and the Roman Bridge. For panoramic views, head to the Mariensäule viewpoint on the west bank. Outside town, visit the Igel Column and Saarburg on the Saar, or follow the Moselle downstream for wine tasting (for wine villages like Bernkastel, see Cochem & the Moselle Valley). Getting there: about 2.5 hours by road from Frankfurt Airport, or 45 minutes from Luxembourg Airport; trains run to Koblenz, Saarbrücken and Luxembourg. Plan on 1–2 days. The Antikencard combo ticket for the Roman sites offers better value; some museums are closed on Mondays.

Top sights

• Porta Nigra – The best-preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps, built around 170 AD from massive stones without mortar. It is named for its darkened…
• Trier Cathedral – Germany’s oldest cathedral, its core built in the time of Constantine in the 4th century, with Romanesque, Gothic, and Baroque layers stack…
• Basilica of Constantine (Aula Palatina) – The palace throne hall built by Constantine the Great in the early 4th century. Its column-free interior, 67 meters long and 33 meters high…
• Imperial Baths – One of the largest bath complexes of the Roman Empire, with towering red-brick semicircular halls and intricate underground passages well p…
• Karl Marx House – The 18th-century Baroque townhouse where Karl Marx was born in 1818. Its permanent exhibition presents his life, ideas, and global influenc…
• Hauptmarkt – The old town’s central square, ringed by half-timbered houses with colorful façades. The market cross, St. Peter’s Fountain, and the Gothic…
• Church of Our Lady – One of Germany's earliest Gothic churches, beside the cathedral. Its cross-shaped plan, supported by twelve columns, resembles a rose.
• Electoral Palace & Palace Garden – A pink Rococo palace beside the Roman cathedral, fronted by a palace garden with a pond and Baroque sculptures. It links the cathedral with…
• Roman Amphitheatre – A Roman amphitheatre built around AD 100 that could hold nearly 20,000 spectators. You can walk into the underground chambers where gladiat…
• Barbara Baths – The remains of Trier's first large Roman bath complex, built in the 2nd century. Visitors can look down on the foundations and underfloor h…
• Viehmarkt Baths – A Roman bath discovered beneath Viehmarkt Square and enclosed in a large glass box designed by Oswald Mathias Ungers. Visitors can see laye…
• Roman Bridge – Germany's oldest bridge still in use. Its basalt piers, built in the 2nd century AD, still carry traffic across the Moselle.
• Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier – One of Germany's most important Roman archaeology museums, with the Neumagen wine ship relief, mosaic floors and Europe's largest hoard of…
• House of the Three Magi – A 13th-century early Gothic tower house on Simeonstraße. Its original entrance was on the second floor for defense, making it a rare mediev…
• Stadtmuseum Simeonstift – A city museum in the 11th-century Simeon Monastery beside the Porta Nigra, with Germany's oldest double-storey cloister and 2,000 years of…
• Museum am Dom – A diocesan museum beside the cathedral. Its treasure is a painted ceiling from a 4th-century Constantinian-era palace, excavated beneath th…
• St. Matthias' Abbey – A Benedictine abbey that holds the tomb of the Apostle Matthias, the only apostle's tomb north of the Alps, and a major pilgrimage site for…
• St. Paulin – A Baroque church designed by Balthasar Neumann, often called one of the most beautiful Baroque churches in the Rhineland, with a lavish cei…
• Mariensäule Viewpoint – A memorial column to the Virgin Mary on red sandstone cliffs on the west bank of the Moselle. It is the best viewpoint over Trier's Old Tow…
• Igel Column – A roughly 23-meter Roman tomb column in the village of Igel outside Trier. Its reliefs depict the life of a cloth merchant's family, and it…
• Trier Christmas Market – A Christmas market spread across the central square, framed by the cathedral. It is often ranked among Germany's most beautiful Christmas m…
• Saarburg – A small town on the Saar where a roughly 20-meter waterfall tumbles between houses in the old town. A hilltop castle ruin overlooks the val…

Where to eat

• Wirtshaus Zur Glocke – Said to be Trier's oldest restaurant, serving since 1803, with Viez apple cider and authentic Trier home cooking.
• Weinstube Kesselstatt – Tasting tavern of the VDP estate Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, facing the Cathedral and Liebfrauenkirche, where you can e…
• Kartoffel-Restaurant Kiste – A budget-friendly Old Town restaurant themed around potatoes, famous for Trier's stuffed potato dumplings and the natio…
• Zum Domstein – Old tavern on the Hauptmarkt whose cellar preserves 4th-century Roman wine presses, serving dishes recreated from ancie…
• Becker's Weinhaus – Family wine-estate restaurant in the wine village of Olewig, recommended by the Michelin Guide, with chef Wolfgang Beck…

Itineraries

• Car-Free Moselle Valley – From Eltz Castle to Trier, explore wine villages and ancient Roman ruins at a leisurely pace by train, bus, and boat.
• Rhine, Moselle, Saar & Heidelberg – A grand self-drive loop starting from Frankfurt, winding along the Rhine, Moselle, and Saar rivers to Heidelberg.