Trier - your city experience!

Trier has several museums to offer with special collections and exhibits, first and foremost theRheinisches Landesmuseum and the Museum am Dom. Here you will find important finds from the ancient UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the Trier region, such as the Constantinian ceiling paintings.

In the Stadtmuseum Simeonstift at the Porta Nigra, you can learn everything about the history of the city and its cultural heritage.

There are, however, two very special treasures that you also need to see. The medieval Egbert Codex an the Ada Gospels which are listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, are on display alongside other rare books at the Treasury of the Trier City Research Library. The Egbert Codex is considered to be the most important work of the Ottonian era and the oldest and most comprehensive cycle of images on the life of Jesus. The Ada Gospels is a masterpiece of Carolingian book illumination that gives us an insight into the cultural heyday under Charlemagne. 

Did you know that Karl Marx was born in Trier? His birthplace, Brückenstraße 10, houses a museum with a permanent exhibition where you can find out about Karl Marx as a person, his achievements as a 19th century critic of society and capitalism, as well the legacy of his ideas into the present day.

The European Academy of Artis a great choice for modern art. Working together with the University of Trier and the Trier University of Applied Sciences, the academy has also created a database of art in public spaces and has designed accompanying tours that can be accessed by smartphone. These are available online and the convenient thing is that Trier's pedestrian zone offers free Wi-Fi. The city centre features various galleries with interesting temporary exhibitions, such as the Galerie Netzwerk mit Garten (Neustraße 10), the Galerie KM9 ( Karl-Marx-Straße 9) and the Galerie Junge Kunst ( Karl-Marx-Straße 90). Directly adjoining Neustraße is an iconic former kiosk that now serves as a modern exhibition showcase (Südallee / corner of Saarstraße).

And another tip: You should also check out the modern church of St. Michael in the Mariahof district, a stepped pyramid structure designed by architect Konny Schmitz in 1968/69. Otto Herbert Hajek designed the church’s altar island as a walk-in sculpture, and created the image sequence "Zeichen am Wege" as well as twelve vault panels in intense primary colours. These explore the divine hope of salvation, the New Jerusalem, and the seven angels described in the Book of Revelation.

One star in the Michelin Guide and 17 points in the Gault Millau; if you’re looking for a top culinary venue in Trier, then Becker’s in the Olewig district is the place for you. Directly opposite Trier Cathedral is where you’ll find the restaurant "Schlemmereule", where cuisine is inspired by nearby France and Luxembourg. Its wine list includes over 200 wines from the best Mosel wineries.  

Another recommendation is the restaurant at Castle Monaise. The grand neoclassical building is a delight in itself! It was built around 1780 as a summer residence for the dean of Trier Cathedral, Philipp Franz von Walderdorff, and is believed to be the only Louis XVI building on German soil. The name is derived from the French "mon aise", which translates as "my comfort". The restaurant’s menu offers a successful mix of classic French, Mediterranean and regional cuisine.

A new addition to the Michelin-starred sky since 2023 is the Bagatelle directly at Zurlauben with chef Gerald Schöberl. With a unique view of the Mosel, he spoils his guests with modern cuisine shows classic French influences and interesting Japanese accents.

If you want to get a good impression of the best wines available in the Mosel region, there are numerous vinotheks and wine taverns to choose from. The vinothek Das Weinhaus (Brückenstraße 7) has an extensive selection of Mosel wines from renowned wineries on its list, true to the saying, “Life is too short to drink bad wine”. Other great choices for wine lovers include the Weinstube Kesselstatt across from the Liebfrauenkirche, the extensive selection of wines at Weinhaus Oechsle (Palaststraße 5-7) and the Weinwirtschaft Friedrich Wilhelm (Weberbach 75). A wander through the city is guaranteed to present you with even more quality options.
 

A city like Trier naturally also offers a great nightlife. We’d like to recommend one club in particular: the VillaWuller, Ausoniusstraße 2. There’s house music to lose yourself in and regional DJs spin their discs alongside those from cities such as Cologne, Leipzig, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Strasbourg, Brussels, London and Bristol.

Trier offers great concerts and festivals!

Particularly atmospheric are the open-air concerts in front of a great backdrop, such as Porta³ on the Porta Nigra forecourt, the concert series in the inner courtyard of the medieval Simeonstift right next door or the programme of the Zurlauben cultural harbour on the banks of the Moselle.

In autumn, you can look forward to the Trierer Unterwelten festival, which takes you into an unknown world of cellars and catacombs, tunnels and basements, excavations, garages and crypts. Every two years, the Illuminale light art festival transforms Trier above ground into a mysterious, magical world.

The organ concert series in Trier Cathedral transforms the venerable cathedral into a powerful sound space.

The moselmusikfestival also uses this UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as other historic venues, including Trier Cathedral, the Liebfrauenkirche, St. Gangolf and the Electoral Palace (courtyard and rococo hall) for outstanding concerts.

There are so many really good accommodation options to recommend. But we’d like to make you aware of two hotels in particular.
The 4-star superior Park Plaza hotel is situated in the centre of Trier’s pedestrian zone. The hotel’s interior design and décor reflect the city’s unique character, i.e. its ancient heritage. Even the Relaxarium wellness facilities have a Roman look and feel. So, it’s a great starting point for exploring Trier’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The 4-star superior Hotel Villa Hügel ranks among the 10 best hotels in Germany on rating sites, which is pretty impressive. The white Art Nouveau villa formerly belonged to a rich wine merchant family from the Mosel region and has been beautifully renovated. Its “Gastraum” restaurant is something of a food lovers’ insider tip, and Hotel Villa Hügel also has a lot to offer where wellness is concerned. Thanks to its hillside location, it offers a fantastic rooftop pool with panoramic views over the city. The city centre is easily reached on foot or by public transport.