- Summits
- Koblenz Cable Car
Across the Rhine to the fortressKoblenz Cable Car
Not a mountain railway but a river crossing: 890 metres, a single clear span of 850 metres over the Rhine, 112 metres of height up to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. Four minutes that put the whole confluence of Rhine and Moselle beneath you.
with fortress entry €21.90
after 18:00 the fortress grounds are
usually open without an entry fee
- Length
- 890 m
- Clear span over the Rhine
- 850 m
- Height gained
- 112 m
- Cabins
- 16, 35 seats each
Checked on 21 September 2026 · Sources: Skyglide Event Deutschland, Interior Ministry of Rhineland-Palatinate · Photo: Wolkenkratzer, CC BY-SA 3.0
A cable car that crosses a river instead of climbing a mountain
Most of the railways on this site climb. This one crosses. It starts at the Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer behind St Castor's Basilica, a few steps from the Deutsches Eck, and ends right at the entrance to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. In between lie 890 metres of line – 850 of them without a single tower, straight over the water. The Rhine is 287 metres wide at this point.
Technically it is a 3S system: two track ropes per direction and one haul rope. It was built by Doppelmayr, designed by Werner Sobek of Stuttgart and is run by Skyglide Event Deutschland GmbH. Each track rope weighs 17 tonnes and measures 54 millimetres across. Construction took 14 months.
- Cabins
- 16 35 seats each
- Speed
- 16 km/h
- Capacity
- 7,600 people/hour
- Motor
- 1,300 hp, electric
Those 7,600 people an hour in both directions are, according to the operator, the highest capacity of any aerial cableway in Germany. Day to day that mainly means one thing: you rarely queue. Cabins come round every minute, boarding is step-free, and wheelchairs, pushchairs and bicycles all come along.
What the ride costs
There are three prices you need: the cable car on its own, the fortress on its own, and the combi ticket covering both. You only have to do the sum once.
| Ticket | Adults | School, students | Children |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cable car, there and back | €15.50 | €8.50 | €7.00 |
| Cable car, one way | €12.00 | €7.00 | €6.00 |
| Ehrenbreitstein Fortress alone (all museums included) | €10.00 | €5.50 | €4.00 |
| Combi ticket return ride + fortress | €21.90 | €11.20 | €8.90 |
| Evening ticket from 17:30, there and back | €9.90 | €6.00 | €5.00 |
| 2-day cable car ticket | €28.90 | €15.50 | €12.20 |
| 3-day cable car ticket | €38.00 | €21.00 | €16.00 |
| Dog or bicycle, there and back | €4.00 | ||
Rule of thumb: Bought separately, the cable car and the fortress come to €25.50; the combi ticket is €21.90. If you want both, you save €3.60 – €2.10 for children, €2.80 for school pupils and students. If you only want the ride and a walk round outside, you do not need it.
Honestly: The best price is at the bottom of the list. From 17:30 the return ride costs €9.90 instead of €15.50, and the museums close at 18:00 – after that the fortress grounds are usually open without an entry fee. Instead of €21.90 you pay €9.90 and get the view over the confluence at the best hour of the day thrown in. What you give up are the museums and exhibitions. Special arrangements apply during events – ask at the ticket desk before you count on it.
All the remaining fares – season tickets, groups, family cards, the Erlebnis-Ticket with a boat trip – are on Koblenz cable car prices.
“I want the ticket on my phone in advance, without queueing at the desk.”Koblenz: Cable Car Tickets with Optional Entry to Ehrenbreitstein Castle
Honestly: At the ticket desk the same return ride costs €15.50. The price shown here depends on the currency and country you browse from, so check it against the operator's own figure before you book. The operator runs its own online shop; if you are buying there anyway, you do not need the detour. It makes sense if your other excursions are already on one platform.
What is waiting at the top: Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
The top station sits directly at the fortress entrance. This is not a viewing platform with a railing but a sprawling site with museums, exhibitions, parkland and a climbing playground – and with the view most people come for: down onto the Deutsches Eck, where the Moselle flows into the Rhine.
An entry fee applies while the museums and exhibitions are open, daily from 10:00 to 18:00. After that the outdoor grounds are usually free to enter. During events this can differ.
Rule of thumb: For the museums you need the afternoon. For the view, the last hour before sunset is enough – and it is cheaper.
Honestly: The cable car is neither the only way up nor the cheapest. From the Ehrenbreitstein district a fortress lift climbs 94 metres in three minutes, all year from 06:00 to 01:00. Its combi ticket with fortress entry costs €11.00 against €21.90 for the cable car, and with a Deutschlandticket the ride is free. All four ways are set side by side on Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. Book the cable car for the crossing over the Rhine, not for getting up the hill.
Getting there and parking
The valley station is on the town-centre bank of the Rhine behind St Castor's Basilica, within sight of the Deutsches Eck. From the main station, bus routes 1 and 11 leave from stand D for the stop “Deutsches Eck/Seilbahn”; on foot it is about 30 minutes.
- Car parks near the valley station: Görresplatz, Schloss, Schängel-Center and Weiße Höfe.
- Parking at the top: the fortress car park costs €1.50 for each hour begun. Approach via Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein, Niederberger Höhe; for satnav, Greiffenklaustraße.
- By bike: bicycles are allowed in the cabin, €4.00 there and back.
- Park and ride: the operator recommends the car parks on the edge of town and the koveb buses into the centre.
The cable car and the World Heritage site
The cable car stands in the middle of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage site, and for years it was an open question whether it could stay. In 2023 the World Heritage Committee found that the status was not currently endangered; at the same time it asked for the location of the valley station to be examined, for the station to be designed as neutrally as possible, and for continued reporting. That was announced by the Rhineland-Palatinate interior ministry on 19 September 2023.
Honestly: We are not going to tell you how long the current operating permit runs. A year is doing the rounds in the press, but we could not find an official source dated 2026. The cable car is running; if you are travelling a long way and want certainty, ask the operator.
Is the ride worth it?
Go if …
- you want to see the confluence of Rhine and Moselle from above – there is no such view on foot.
- you are heading for the fortress anyway: €21.90 for the ride and entry is a fair day rate.
- you have time after 17:30. The same ride then costs €9.90.
- you travel with a wheelchair, a pushchair or a bike – boarding is step-free.
Skip it if …
- you expect a mountain ride. This is 112 metres and about four minutes, not an Alpine panorama.
- the Rhine is under fog. The whole point is the view.
- you only want to get across: a car reaches the fortress too, and parking up there is €1.50 an hour.
- you were counting on the museums after 18:00 – they are closed by then.
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The 3S cable car spans 850 metres clear across the Rhine in a single arc. What the ride costs, when the combi ticket with the fortress pays off, and why it gets much cheaper after 17:30.
Plan the rideWhere the figures come from
| Detail | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| All cable car fares, evening ticket, multi-day tickets, dog and bicycle, concessions, age limits | Seilbahn Koblenz, ticket prices (in German) | 21 September 2026 |
| Combi ticket €21.90, museum opening hours 10:00–18:00, free access afterwards | Seilbahn Koblenz, combi ticket (in German) | 21 September 2026 |
| Fortress entry €10.00 / 9.00 / 5.50 / 4.00 | Seilbahn Koblenz, fortress entry prices (in German) | 21 September 2026 |
| 890 m length, 850 m clear span, 112 m height gained, Rhine 287 m wide, 16 cabins of 35, cabin 17 with a glass floor, 3.5 t per cabin, track ropes 17 t and 54 mm, 1,300 hp, 16 km/h, 7,600 people per hour, 14 months' construction, manufacturer, designer, operator, step-free access | Seilbahn Koblenz, facts and figures (in German) | 21 September 2026 |
| Location of the stations, bus routes 1 and 11, car parks, fortress parking €1.50/hour, park and ride | Seilbahn Koblenz, getting there (in German) | 21 September 2026 |
| Operating hours daily from 10:00 until at least 19:00 | Seilbahn Koblenz, home page with the timetable calendar (in German) | 21 September 2026 |
| UNESCO World Heritage Committee 2023: status not endangered, review of the valley station location, neutral design, continued reporting | Interior Ministry of Rhineland-Palatinate, 19 September 2023 (in German) | 21 September 2026 |
| Offer price and ratings | GetYourGuide partner data | 21 September 2026 |