Many famous people have visited Bacharach, including Victor Hugo the prominent French novelist. He was widely travelled and knew Paris well, yet he
was especially enamoured of Bacharach, calling it “one of the most beautiful
towns in the world”. This wine-growing town is often described as the “secret
centre of Rhine Romanticism”, and it does indeed have all the attributes of one of the loveliest towns on the whole of the Middle Rhine. On first entering the picturesque little place one is immediately impressed by the well preserved town wall with its battlement walks and towers. Situated around the old parish church of St. Peter’s are some magnificent halftimbered buildings, such as the “Altes Haus”, which are among the best known medieval half-timbered houses on the Rhine. A host of artists and men of letters have immortalized Bacharach in their work. A stroll through the narrow lanes of the old town to the Malerwinkel (‘Artists’ Corner’) or up to Stahleck Castle or the Gothic Werner Chapel are among the highlights of any trip to the Rhine.