2 Best Sights in The Rhineland, Germany

The former Cistercian monastery is idyllically set in a secluded forest clearing 3 km (2 miles) west of Kiedrich. Its Romanesque and Gothic buildings (12th–14th century) look untouched by time—one reason why the 1986 film of Umberto Eco's medieval murder mystery The Name of the Rose was filmed here. The monastery's impressive collection of old winepresses bears witness to a viticultural tradition that spans nearly nine centuries. The wines can be sampled year-round in the atmospheric wine cellar (or on a roving tasting around the abbey), in the Vinothek, or in the popular restaurant on the grounds; in warmer months, you can enjoy them outside at Kloster Eberbach's premier vineyard, the Steinberg, which is surrounded by a 3-km (2-mile) stone wall (dating from the 13th–18th centuries). The church, with its excellent acoustics, and the large medieval dormitories, are the settings for concerts, wine auctions, and festive wine events. English audio guides are available for self-guided tours.

Aachen's town hall sits behind the Dom, across Katschhof Square. It was built in the early 14th century on the site of the Aula Regia, or "great hall," of Charlemagne's palace. Its first major official function was the coronation banquet of Emperor Karl IV in 1349, held in the great Gothic hall you can still see today (though this was largely rebuilt after World War II). On the north wall of the building are statues of 50 emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. The greatest of them all, Charlemagne, stands in bronze atop the Karlsbrunnen in the center of the market square.