Oberwesel, Germany

Some 5km north of Kaub, and back on the left bank, the charming wine-town of OBERWESEL boasts the best-preserved medieval fortifications in the region. A 3km-long medieval wall, dotted with guard towers, surrounds most of the Altstadt and would be picture-perfect, were it not for the railway lines that clumsily separate the town from the river.

The Altstadt is quickly explored, but its local history museum, the Kulturhaus, Rathausstrasse 23 (Tues– Fri 10am– noon & 2–5pm, Sat & Sun 2–5pm; € 2.50; Tel:06744/71 47 26), is worth a closer look for its collection of nineteenth-century engravings that romanticized this stretch of Rhine and a series of photos that celebrates a quirky local tradition: a local lady has been crowned a Weinhexe – a good witch who protects the wine harvest – every April since the 1940s.

The town's tourist office, Rathausstrasse 3 (April– June, Sept & Oct Mon– Fri 9am–1pm & 2–6pm, July & Aug also Sat 10am–2pm; Nov– March Mon– Fri 9am–1pm & 2–5pm; Tel:06744/71 06 24, Web: www.oberwesel.de ), is just up the street and close to the Rathaus, while opposite is one of the best places to stay: the Hotel Römerkrug, Marktplatz 1 (Tel:06744/70 91, Web: www.hotel-roemerkrug.rhinecastles.com ; Price: € 81-100). This dignified half-timbered residence has old-fashioned rooms with wooden beams and four-poster beds, as well as all the usual modern amenities. The restaurant (closed Wed; Sat & Sun only in winter) has much the same atmosphere and a fairly predictable range of German favourites, most priced around € 15.