Mainz
UNESCO World Heritage Site: ShUM Sites Of Speyer, Worms And Mainz (2021); A Roman And Electoral City With A Romanesque Cathedral, The Gutenberg Museum, Chagall Windows At St Stephan And A Loud Carnival · Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate
Mainz is the capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, a Roman garrison town that grew into the seat of an archbishop-elector, and it sits on the Rhine about twenty minutes by local train from Frankfurt airport - which is the practical reason most visitors end up here at all. The old town around the Markt is largely a rebuilt one, because the city was bombed flat, but the six-towered red sandstone cathedral came through, and the lanes around the Kirschgarten kept their timber frames. Three things give the place its character: Gutenberg, who printed his Bible here in the 1450s and has a museum facing the cathedral; the ShUM inscription of 2021, which Mainz shares with Speyer and Worms for its medieval Jewish heritage; and Fastnacht, the Carnival Mainz runs with as much seriousness as Cologne and a good deal more political satire. It is also a wine town, in the middle of Rheinhessen, where bars pour Riesling and Silvaner by the glass until late. One day covers it, and it works better as a first or last stop in Germany than as a trip of its own.
Mainz old town on the Rhine opposite Wiesbaden, around the cathedral and the Gutenberg Museum, Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
The old town, the Rhine promenade and the cathedral square are open streets with no ticket at any hour. The cathedral nave is free and open daily with a long midday stretch, but it closes to sightseers during services and on Carnival days - confirm. Museums here follow the German pattern: open Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays, last admission roughly half an hour to an hour before closing. St Stephan's keeps shorter afternoon hours in winter and the Chagall windows want sunlight, so go before mid-afternoon. Wine bars in the Altstadt open early evening and run late; the Saturday market on the cathedral square packs up around early afternoon. Confirm all current times with the operators before travelling.