Rüdesheim has been a prosperous town for centuries. First nature made its luck and then it made its own.

Up to middle of the nineteenth century the Rhine was not navigable between Rüdesheim and Lorch due to the dangerous Bingen Loch. All down stream cargo disembarked in Rüdesheim and was carted over land to Lorch. This made Rüdesheim an important town and it prospered accordingly. Eventually dredging made the Bingen gorge navigable by which time Rüdesheim has already established itself as the heart of the Rhinegau wine trade. Tourism followed and Rüdesheim became the preeminent tourism town of the middle Rhine, a position it has never lost.

Being a tourist town brought Rüdesheim all the advantages and disadvantages of the trade. It has more restaurants, bars and hotels than any other town in the area. It also has the best transportation links with good rail connections as well as the starting point of many boat trips down the Rhine Valley. The downside is that it became very touristy, crowded on sunny weekends with limited expensive parking.

Nonetheless it remains a fun town to visit and explore. Although there are a couple of museums and historic buildings the emphasis in this town will always be on eating and drinking. The Drosselgasse is a famous narrow alley lined with bars all the way from the river promenade halfway up the hill. It is a fun place, but slightly overrated and nothing better than any of the other restaurant and bar lined streets in the town.

The roads are narrow, steep and mostly cobble stones making both driving and walking difficult and slow. It is however worth walking up higher for better views.

It is also possible to take a cable car to the Niederwalddenkmal or all the way to Assmannshausen on the other side of the hill and one bend downriver. The whole area is covered by vineyards, some on impossibly steep hills, some almost in town. Walking down the hill from the Denkmal to the edges of Rüdesheim takes less than half an hour on well-marked routes via the vineyards. There is no shade and I shudder to think what the losses are during those last days before the grapes are harvested. The two-seater cable car (Seilbahn) uphill takes about ten minutes and well recommended after a heavy meal. Parking at the Denkmal is cheap and sometimes free.

Parking in Rüdesheim, however, can be problematic especially on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Of course the only place to park your Porsche, BMW or Mercedes Cabriolet (and there will be lots of them) is right on the Rhine promenade but your average clapped out Polo or Golf will park nicely just 50 meters down the main road behind the Nassauische Sparkasse building for half the price.