How much does it cost?

From £1,999 per person, the operator's advertised from-price, read on its own page on 12 Sept 2026. About $2,700 at ECB reference rates. Departures, room types and dates can price differently; the operator's page is the final word.

Is this tour escorted or independent?

It is fully escorted. Great Rail Journeys provides a UK Tour Manager from London St Pancras to Assmannshausen, guiding group excursions and dinners. However, Days 5 and 7 are free days at leisure.

Which hotels are included?

Four nights at HKK Hotel Wernigerode (4-star) in the Harz Mountains, one night at a central Cologne hotel (4-star), and three nights at Alte Bauernschänke Hotel in Assmannshausen (4-star, a traditional 15th-century wine tavern). All are 4-star properties.

What meals are included?

Breakfast is included every day. Eurostar light meals are served outbound and return. Five dinners are included: at Cologne (Day 1), Wernigerode (Days 2 and 4), and Assmannshausen (Days 6 and 8). Lunch and dinners on Days 3, 5, 7 and 9 are independent.

When do departures run?

Great Rail Journeys offers nine departures across April, May, June, August, September and October 2026 and 2027. Confirm your preferred date directly with the operator.

Great Rail Journeys · Escorted tour

Harz Mountains & Rhine Gorge

Nine-day escorted tour through Harz Mountains and Rhine Gorge by rail and coach.

Great Rail Journeys' nine-day Harz Mountains and Rhine Gorge tour departs London St Pancras via Eurostar Plus and ends at the Rhine near St Goar. The journey unfolds across two German regions: the first four days centre on Wernigerode in the Harz Mountains, with excursions on the narrow-gauge Brocken Railway (climbing to 1,142 metres) and the historic Selketal Railway, plus visits to the medieval UNESCO sites of Goslar and Quedlinburg. Days six through eight shift to Assmannshausen, a village on the Rhine, where a cruise navigates the UNESCO-listed Rhine Gorge past castles and the Lorelei Rock. Throughout, the tour combines First Class rail travel with 4-star hotels, a UK Tour Manager, breakfast daily and five arranged dinners. Two free days (Day 5 in Wernigerode, Day 7 in Assmannshausen) allow independent exploration. The tour suits history lovers drawn to medieval architecture and Cold War heritage, repeat rail travellers keen to ride historic narrow-gauge lines, and couples seeking a structured yet leisurely pace across two distinct landscapes.

Price history

Across 5 checks, this price has risen £300 since 4 Jul, to £1,999.

Each point is a day we checked this operator's own page, not a weekly average, and the line holds flat between checks rather than guessing at movement we did not see. 3 of 5 points are a live read of the operator's page. Hollow points are values shown when the trip was first listed here and never confirmed with the operator.

What to know before you look closer

Single supplement is GBP 350 above half the double room rate (GBP 2,049 versus GBP 1,699 base); confirm the final single price with Great Rail Journeys
Days 5 and 7 are entirely free with meals independent; four of nine days offer no guided structure
Maximum group size is 30 people
Travel insurance is not included and must be arranged separately

Day by day

Day 1railovernight: Cologne
An overnight stay in Cologne
Meet the Tour Manager at London St Pancras and take the Eurostar in Plus class to Brussels with a light meal, then First Class rail to Cologne for an overnight stay with time to explore the cathedral city.
Day 2railovernight: Wernigerode
Exploring Goslar on our way to Wernigerode
First Class rail from Cologne to Hanover, then coach across the Harz Mountains, stopping in UNESCO-listed Goslar with its half-timbered houses and Imperial Palace, before continuing to Wernigerode to check in for four nights.
Day 3railovernight: Wernigerode
Harzquerbahn Railway and a free afternoon in Quedlinburg
Ride the narrow-gauge, steam-hauled Harzquerbahn from Wernigerode to Eisfelder Talmühle, then continue by coach to UNESCO World Heritage Quedlinburg for a free afternoon, before returning to Wernigerode by coach.
Day 4railovernight: Wernigerode
The Brocken Railway
Board Germany's highest narrow-gauge railway to the summit of Mount Brocken, with free time to visit the Brocken House Museum, before the return journey to Wernigerode.
Day 5railovernight: Wernigerode
Wandering in Wernigerode
A free day to explore Wernigerode independently, including its castle, the 16th-century town hall, the Harz Narrow-Gauge Railway, or the Museum für Luftfahrt und Technik aviation museum.
Day 6railovernight: Assmannshausen
To Assmannshausen in the vineyards of the Rhine Valley
Coach to Hildesheim, First Class rail to Frankfurt, then local train to the vineyard village of Assmannshausen on the Rhine, checking into a characterful 15th-century family-run hotel.
Day 7overnight: Assmannshausen
A day at leisure to discover our new surroundings
Free day to explore Assmannshausen's medieval village centre, or take a cable car to Niederwald and on to Rüdesheim for Drosselgasse and Siegfried's Mechanical Music Museum, or a wine tasting.
Day 8overnight: Assmannshausen
A cruise through the UNESCO-listed Rhine Gorge
Coach to Boppard, then a Rhine cruise past medieval villages and fortresses to St Goar beneath Rheinfels Castle, before cruising back through the Rhine Gorge past the Lorelei Rock to Assmannshausen.
Day 9rail
Homeward Bound
Coach to Cologne, First Class rail to Brussels, then the Eurostar in Plus class back to London with a light meal.

The moments this trip is built around

Day 2Visit Goslar, a UNESCO World Heritage site with over 1,000 years of history and 1,500 half-timbered houses, including the Imperial Palace and Rammelsberg mining museum
Day 3Board the Selketal Railway, the oldest narrow-gauge railway in the Harz Mountains, on a steam-hauled journey past the River Selke, forests and waterfalls to Alexisbad
Day 4Journey on the Brocken Railway to the summit of Brocken Mountain on Germany's highest narrow-gauge railway, climbing at gradients up to 1 in 30, with views across the national park
Day 8Cruise through the UNESCO-listed Rhine Gorge from Boppard to St Goar and back to Assmannshausen, passing medieval villages, fortresses and the legendary Lorelei Rock

Included

Expertise of a UK Tour Manager from start to finish
8 nights' 4-Star hotel accommodation
Eurostar Plus & First and Standard Class rail travel
All rail, cruise and coach travel throughout the tour
Eurostar light meal
Breakfast each day, 5 dinners
Group luggage transfers between hotels from Wernigerode to Assmannshausen
All guided tours and excursions

Not included

Cancellation & Travel Insurance

Questions travellers ask

How much does it cost?: From £1,999 per person, the operator's advertised from-price, read on its own page on 12 Sept 2026. About $2,700 at ECB reference rates. Departures, room types and dates can price differently; the operator's page is the final word.
Is this tour escorted or independent?: It is fully escorted. Great Rail Journeys provides a UK Tour Manager from London St Pancras to Assmannshausen, guiding group excursions and dinners. However, Days 5 and 7 are free days at leisure.
Which hotels are included?: Four nights at HKK Hotel Wernigerode (4-star) in the Harz Mountains, one night at a central Cologne hotel (4-star), and three nights at Alte Bauernschänke Hotel in Assmannshausen (4-star, a traditional 15th-century wine tavern). All are 4-star properties.
What meals are included?: Breakfast is included every day. Eurostar light meals are served outbound and return. Five dinners are included: at Cologne (Day 1), Wernigerode (Days 2 and 4), and Assmannshausen (Days 6 and 8). Lunch and dinners on Days 3, 5, 7 and 9 are independent.
When do departures run?: Great Rail Journeys offers nine departures across April, May, June, August, September and October 2026 and 2027. Confirm your preferred date directly with the operator.