Ehrenbreitstein Fortress and the Koblenz cable car: tickets, opening hours and tips
This article contains affiliate links to GetYourGuide. If you book through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
The Koblenz cable car takes about seven minutes to lift you from the Rhine embankment to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, one of the largest fortresses in Europe, with the Deutsches Eck and the meeting of two rivers beneath your feet the whole way. Here’s everything you need before you go: tickets and the combined ticket, opening hours for 2026 and winter 2026/27, what’s inside the walls and when the view is at its best.
Three experiences we recommend
The cable car and fortress, the Rhine castles from the water and the Deutsches Eck with a guide – three pieces that together make a really good day in Koblenz.
Koblenz cable car – with or without the fortress
A ticket for the cable car across the Rhine, with entry to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress as an option you choose yourself. Sorted in advance, nothing to work out at the ticket desk.
Check prices & dates →
Great value
Rhine boat trip past castles and palaces
Two hours on the Rhine from Koblenz into the World Heritage valley – with the fortress in view from the water on the way out and back.
Check prices & dates →
Top rated
Old town and Deutsches Eck with a guide
A historical walking tour that ends at the confluence – right below the cable car’s valley station, so you can ride straight up afterwards.
Check prices & dates →
The Koblenz cable car – 890 metres above the Rhine
The Seilbahn Koblenz was built for the 2011 Federal Garden Show (BUGA) and was originally meant to be temporary. It stayed, and today the gondolas over the Rhine are as much a part of the cityscape as the imperial monument down on the point. The valley station is on Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer, a couple of minutes’ walk from the Deutsches Eck and the Basilica of St Castor. The top station sits on the fortress plateau, right by the entrance.
For an urban cable car, the numbers are impressive. The line is 890 metres long and climbs 112 metres, and the span across the river itself is 850 metres with no supporting tower. It was built by the Austrian firm Doppelmayr as a so-called 3S system, with two track ropes in each direction and one haul rope. Eighteen cabins, each carrying up to 35 people, run roughly a minute apart, and with 7,600 passengers an hour in both directions it has, according to the operator, the highest capacity of any cable car in Germany. In practice that means queues usually move quickly, even on a sunny Saturday.
- Cabin 17 has a glass panel in the middle of the floor – it’s worth waiting an extra minute if you want to see the Rhine directly beneath you.
- Cabin 18 has room for a powered wheelchair or a double pushchair.
- The best spot is a window facing the Deutsches Eck – that way you keep the confluence and the mouth of the Moselle in view for the whole crossing.
Tickets and prices 2026: cable car, fortress and combined ticket
You can buy the cable car on its own and pay for fortress entry at the top, or get a combined ticket that covers both. If you plan to visit the museums, the combined ticket almost always works out cheaper. The prices below are those published by the operators in autumn 2026.
| Ticket | Adult | Child 7–17 |
|---|---|---|
| Cable car return | approx. €15.50 | approx. €7 |
| Cable car one way | approx. €12 | approx. €6 |
| Evening return (from 5.30pm) | approx. €9.90 | approx. €5 |
| Ehrenbreitstein Fortress entry (summer season) | approx. €10 | approx. €4 |
| Combined ticket cable car + fortress, 1 day | approx. €21.90 | approx. €8.90 |
| Family (2 adults + up to 4 children), combined ticket | approx. €48.50 | |
Children under 7 travel free, and there are concessions for seniors, students and disabled visitors (with ID). Family tickets – including a version for one adult with up to four children – are sold only at the station ticket desks, not in the operator’s online shop. The desks take cash and the usual cards. Dogs and bikes can come along for approx. €4 return.
On the fortress’s big event days – such as the Gauklerfest, the Historienspiele, Landpartie and the Horizonte music festival – the standard day tickets aren’t valid. Special event tickets are sold instead (combined with the cable car approx. €19 for adults). Check the fortress events calendar before choosing your day.
What’s included in the GetYourGuide ticket?
The ticket sold through GetYourGuide is called “Cable Car Tickets with Optional Entry to Ehrenbreitstein”. The basic ticket covers the cable car, and fortress entry is an add-on – so you decide whether the museums are included. If you want to see the exhibitions, choose the option with the fortress; if you only want to go up for the view and stroll the ramparts after 6pm, the cable car on its own is enough. Check what your chosen option covers at the booking stage, where the cancellation terms are also listed. The advantage is that the ticket is already on your phone and you can plan the day at your own pace, especially on summer weekends and during school holidays.
Opening hours 2026/2027 for the cable car and the fortress
Seilbahn Koblenz
In season the cable car runs daily from 10am until at least 7pm, and much later on some days. For the rest of October 2026 it runs 10am–7pm, with late opening until 10pm on a few dates. Then there’s a break:
- 2–18 November 2026: no service.
- 19 November 2026–10 January 2027: service linked to the Christmas season – weekdays usually 4pm–9.30pm, weekends and the days between Christmas and New Year roughly 11am–10.30pm.
- Closed on dates including 23–24 November, 30 November–1 December, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
Times after 10 January 2027 and for the 2027 season haven’t been published yet. The operator updates the timetable on seilbahn-koblenz.de – check it the day before you go.
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
- 29 March–1 November 2026: exhibitions open daily 10am–6pm.
- 2 November 2026–20 March 2027: daily 11am–4pm, with admission roughly halved. On weekdays only some of the exhibitions are open; at weekends and on public holidays the cultural history and archaeology buildings open too.
- 24 and 31 December: exhibition buildings closed.
- Evenings: after 6pm the fortress grounds and restaurants are generally free to enter until midnight.
What to see at Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
The fortress stands 118 metres above the Rhine and, according to Koblenz’s tourist office, is the second-largest surviving fortification in Europe – and the only preserved 19th-century Prussian fortress. The site has been fortified since around the year 1000, when a nobleman called Ehrenbert built a castle here; over time “Ehrenbertstein” became Ehrenbreitstein. French troops starved out the garrison in 1799 and blew up the fortress in 1801. What you see today was rebuilt by Prussia between 1817 and 1828, when Koblenz was to become a fortress town after the Congress of Vienna.
Inside the walls, the Landesmuseum Koblenz runs several exhibition buildings. Admission covers the fortress’s exhibition areas, and an audio guide with more than 40 stops helps you find your way around:
- Stationen der Festungsgeschichte – a trail through the fortress’s history, taking in the prison, the fortress church and the excavation at the Fahnenturm.
- WeinReich Rheinland-Pfalz in the Haus des Genusses – the wine culture of Rhineland-Palatinate, the Moselle included. A natural stop if wine is what’s brought you to the Moselle Valley.
- Geborgene Schätze in the Haus der Archäologie – archaeological finds from the Middle Rhine and the Moselle, with the Historische Zeitgärten period gardens on the roof.
- Schaffensland – the new permanent exhibition in the Haus der Kulturgeschichte.
- Vogel Greif – a giant cannon once reckoned to be the largest in Europe.
- Temporary exhibitions, including photography and art.
In autumn 2026 part of the exhibition on Ehrenbreitstein’s 5,000-year history (the upper floor of the Turm Ungenannt tower) is closed for refurbishment. There’s also a guided fortress tour lasting about an hour. For food, Restaurant Casino has a Prussian-inspired menu, there’s a beer garden in the upper courtyard and a kiosk by the cable car’s top station.
If the wine exhibition whets your appetite, carry the theme on down in the valley. Read about the grape that shaped the region in our guide to Riesling.
The view over the Deutsches Eck – and the best time for photos and sunset
The classic picture of Koblenz – the equestrian statue on the point, the Moselle on one side and the Rhine on the other – is taken from up here. The best spot is the Rhein-Mosel-Blick viewing platform, a triangular wooden deck jutting out over the slope with a clear view of both rivers, the Deutsches Eck and the city. There are more places along the ramparts to sit for a while.
The fortress is on the east bank of the Rhine, so you’re looking west towards the city. In the morning the sun is behind you and the Deutsches Eck is in full light – the best conditions for crisp photos. In the evening the sun sets behind Koblenz, giving you backlight, silhouettes and church spires against a coloured sky. Two things to bear in mind if you’re aiming for sunset:
- In high summer the sun sets well after 7pm, and the cable car doesn’t always run that late. Check the day’s last ride down before you go up.
- Spring and autumn work better: the evening ticket (from 5.30pm) is cheaper, the fortress grounds are generally free to enter after 6pm and the sun sets while the cable car is still running.
The cheapest way to get the view: ride up on the evening ticket just after half past five, head straight for the Rhein-Mosel-Blick and stay on the ramparts once the museums close. If you miss the last cabin down, take the fortress lift down to the Ehrenbreitstein district – according to its operator it runs until late at night.
Down on the point, the Deutsches Eck awaits with its 37-metre Kaiser Wilhelm monument. For more on the history, the old town and what else you can fit in, see our guide to Koblenz.
Other ways up to the fortress
The cable car is the easiest and most scenic way up, but not the only one. It’s worth knowing the alternatives, especially during the November closure or if you’re coming from the east bank of the Rhine.
- The fortress lift (Festungsaufzug): an inclined lift from the Ehrenbreitstein district on the east bank (Vor dem Sauerwassertor) up to the fortress entrance by the youth hostel. Opened in 2011, it takes about three minutes, is wheelchair accessible and has ticket machines at both stations. It’s run by Koblenz’s public transport company and operates all year. Older guidebooks mention a chairlift from the same district – today it’s the lift.
- Rhine ferry: the small passenger ferry “Schängel” usually shuttles back and forth frequently during the boating season between the Koblenz side and Ehrenbreitstein. Combine it with the lift and you’re up without the cable car. Times and fares vary by season – check with the Gilles boat company in Koblenz.
- Bus and train: buses stop at “Festungsaufzug/Jugendherberge” and at Ehrenbreitstein station, about ten minutes’ walk from the lift. The railway along the east bank of the Rhine is closed for upgrading until mid-December 2026, with replacement buses running. For the cable car’s valley station, buses 1 and 11 run from the Hauptbahnhof to the “Deutsches Eck/Seilbahn” stop; on foot it’s about 30 minutes from the main station.
- On foot: the fortress lies on the Rheinsteig long-distance trail, and steep paths climb up from Ehrenbreitstein. Sturdy shoes are a must.
- By car: set your satnav for Greiffenklaustraße. The visitor car park costs approx. €2.50 for the first hour and approx. €2 for each hour after that during the day. Motorhomes and caravans aren’t allowed – see our guide to touring the Moselle by motorhome for alternatives. There’s no dedicated parking at the valley station; the nearest multi-storeys are Görresplatz, Schloss, Schängel-Center and Weißer Höfe.
If you drive up to the fortress and want to take the cable car down to the old town, you’ll need a single in each direction – or a return from the top station. It’s often easier to park in a city-centre car park and start at the valley station.
Rhein in Flammen: fireworks over Ehrenbreitstein
Once a year the fortress becomes the backdrop to Koblenz’s biggest festival. Rhein in Flammen (“Rhine in Flames”) in Koblenz ends with a huge aerial firework display over Ehrenbreitstein Fortress; in 2026 the festival ran from 7 to 9 August with a drone show and fireworks. The organisers give 13–15 August 2027 for the next edition, with the big fireworks night on the Saturday – check the confirmed programme on rif-koblenz.de nearer the summer.
Because the fireworks are launched over the fortress, the best views are from the Koblenz side of the Rhine: the Rhine promenade, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer and around the Deutsches Eck. Entry to the festival area in Koblenz is free, although access to the Deutsches Eck may be restricted while the event is being set up. Hotels in the city fill up early – ideally book several months ahead. For more summer and autumn festivals along the river, see our overview of Moselle wine festivals.
Combine the fortress with a Rhine or Moselle boat trip
The cable car and a boat trip go together almost perfectly: the valley station and the landing stages on Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer are only a few minutes apart. A good plan is the fortress in the morning, lunch in the old town and a boat trip south in the afternoon. Just south of the city the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Site begins, with Stolzenfels Castle the first one along the way. When water levels are low in late summer and autumn, boat trips can be shortened or cancelled, so check the day before.
Koblenz is also a regular stop on Rhine and Moselle river cruises. If your ship calls here, the cable car and fortress are one of the easiest things to fit into a few hours ashore – just keep an eye on where your ship is moored and on your all-aboard time, and allow for queues on busy summer days.
Prefer to head up the Moselle? Both boats and regional trains run from Koblenz towards the wine villages, Burg Eltz and Cochem. Read more about the castle in our guide to Burg Eltz, and about spending several days on the river in our guide to a Moselle river cruise.
In winter: Christmas Garden and a mulled-wine cruise
From 19 November 2026 to 10 January 2027 the fortress turns into the Christmas Garden Koblenz illuminated trail, which opens at dusk and needs its own ticket (bought in advance from the organiser, also as a combination with the cable car). During this period the cable car mainly runs in the afternoons and evenings. Down in town the Christmas market is on at the same time – more in our guide to Moselle Christmas markets. If you’d like to get out on the water, try a short Christmas cruise with mulled wine from Koblenz/Lahnstein (★ 4.5, about an hour).
During the Christmas Garden period, regular visitors aren’t admitted between 4pm and 4.30pm, and after 4.30pm you can only enter the fortress with an event ticket. If you want to see the museums in December, arrive before 4pm.
Accessibility: wheelchairs, pushchairs and dogs
For a fortress, Ehrenbreitstein is surprisingly accessible. The cable car is step-free, and staff can briefly stop a cabin for boarding if needed. Almost the entire fortress, toilets included, can be reached via ramps and lifts, and the fortress lift from Ehrenbreitstein is accessible too. There’s Braille, raised pictograms, tactile guidance strips and three-dimensional models, and the site has been assessed under the German “Reisen für Alle” accessibility label. Pushchairs fit in every cabin. Dogs can ride the cable car but must be kept on a lead on the site and aren’t allowed into the exhibitions.
How to plan your visit
- Arrive early on a summer weekend. The cable car opens at 10am, when you’ll have the cabin and the viewing platform almost to yourself.
- Allow 2–4 hours if you want to see the exhibitions; a quick trip up for the view takes a good hour.
- Bring a jacket – it’s often windier on the plateau than down by the river.
- Check the event days, when different tickets apply and it gets crowded.
- Combine with the Deutsches Eck and the old town before or after – it’s all within walking distance of the valley station.
Wondering which season suits a trip to the region best? Read our guide to the best time to visit the Moselle Valley.
FAQs about the Koblenz cable car and Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
How long does the Koblenz cable car take?
A one-way trip takes about seven minutes. Cabins depart roughly every minute, so the wait is usually short even when it’s busy.
How much do the cable car and fortress cost in 2026?
A return on the cable car costs approx. €15.50 for adults, and the combined ticket with entry to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress approx. €21.90. Children under 7 travel free, and there’s a cheaper evening ticket after 5.30pm. You can also book the cable car with optional fortress entry in advance.
Does the cable car run in November and in winter?
Not continuously. In autumn 2026 the cable car is out of service from 2 to 18 November. From 19 November to 10 January 2027 it runs mainly in the afternoons and evenings (also during the day at weekends), with closures including Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Always check the timetable on seilbahn-koblenz.de.
Can you get up to Ehrenbreitstein without the cable car?
Yes. The fortress lift runs from the Ehrenbreitstein district on the east bank of the Rhine and takes about three minutes. You can get there by bus, on the Rhine ferry during the boating season or on foot. You can also drive to the fortress car park or hike up along the Rheinsteig.
Is the fortress open in the evening?
The exhibitions close at 6pm in the summer season and at 4pm in winter, but the fortress grounds and restaurants are generally free to enter between 6pm and midnight. Exceptions apply during events such as the Christmas Garden.
Where’s the best place to watch the Rhein in Flammen fireworks in Koblenz?
The closing fireworks are launched over Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, so the best view is from the Koblenz side of the Rhine – along the Rhine promenade and around the Deutsches Eck. The organisers give 13–15 August 2027 for the next festival.
- Seilbahn Koblenz – technical data – length, height difference, span across the Rhine, cabins, capacity, manufacturer, station locations
- Seilbahn Koblenz – ticket prices, combined ticket and family tickets – prices, age limits, evening ticket
- Seilbahn Koblenz – timetable – service October 2026–January 2027, closure 2–18 November 2026
- Seilbahn Koblenz – FAQ – journey time, cabin size, accessibility, dogs and bikes, event tickets
- Seilbahn Koblenz – getting there – bus routes, multi-storey car parks, walking times
- Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe – Festung Ehrenbreitstein (and English version) – opening hours 2026/27, admission, exhibitions, fortress lift, parking, accessibility, restaurants, Christmas Garden rules
- Koblenz-Touristik – Festung Ehrenbreitstein – history, height, size, Rhein-Mosel-Blick, Vogel Greif, guided tour, fortress lift
- Transportbahnen.at – Festungsaufzug Ehrenbreitstein – year built, operator, operating hours (supporting source)
- Rhein in Flammen Koblenz and rhein-in-flammen.com – 2026 and 2027 dates, fireworks over the fortress, free entry
- Christmas Garden Koblenz – 2026/27 dates, combination with the cable car
- Personenschifffahrt Gilles – the “Schängel” ferry and boat trips from Koblenz
Last updated: October 2026. Facts checked against the sources above; prices and opening hours may change.