Copyright: Eifel Tourismus GmbH, Dominik Ketz
Top 15 excursion destinations
Discover nature, history and culture
The Eifel is a place for real experiences. When you are out and about here, you will encounter a landscape that tells stories: of volcanoes and monasteries, of artisan architecture and quiet retreats, of nature that touches and culture that remains.
Our top 15 selection shows you excursion destinations that allow you to experience the Eifel in different ways. Many of them can be easily combined with a hike or bike tour, others are ideal starting points for a day trip. They invite you to take a closer look. From the mysterious Laacher See lake to the imposing Eltz Castle, from the spiritual power of Maria Laach Abbey to romantic half-timbered towns such as Monschau and Bad Münstereifel and the wild beauty of the national park - each place is special in its own way.
Take your time, get involved - and get to know local stories and special features.
Top 15 excursion tips
15 results
Vogelsang IP
SchleidenOpen today
In September 2016, the new visitor’s and exhibition centre, the Forum Vogelsang IP, was opened. The two main exhibitions are the documentation of the National Socialist period, “Destiny: Master Race. National Socialist Ordensburgen - Both Fascination and Crime” and the adventure exhibition “Wilderness Dreams” organised by the Eifel National Park Centre.
Nürburgring
NürburgOpen today
The Nürburgring Green Hell - racing, business, adventure, holiday
Maare der Vulkaneifel
DaunOpen today
Powerful natural forces created these unique natural beauties. The "eyes of the Eifel", as they are commonly known, shimmer deep blue and captivate their visitors.
Laacher See
Maria LaachOpen today
With around 3.3 km² and a depth of 53 m, Laacher See is the largest lake in Rhineland-Palatinate. The area around the lake has been a nature reserve for almost 80 years. The last eruption of the former “Laacher volcano” occurred around 10,930 BC. B.C., about 13,000 years ago. Traces of volcanic activity can still be found in the form of volcanic outgassing, the so-called mofettes, on the eastern shore of the lake. The total ejection quantity of the outbreak at that time was about 16 km³. The eruption was one and a half times as strong as that of Pinatubo in 1991, or 6 times as strong as the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. Although Laacher See is widely regarded as the largest maar in the Vulkaneifel, it is scientifically not a maar and also not a real crater lake, but a water-filled caldera - a burglary crater that resulted from a collapse after the magma chamber was emptied below the volcanic cone. The volcanic mountain collapses and only the ring bead on the outer edge remains. Over time, the remaining boiler fills up with water. The Laacher See is in the Eifel, next to the neighboring Wehrer Kessel, the largest caldera and the only water-filled one in Central Europe.
"Teufelsschlucht" (Devil's Gorge)
ErnzenOpen today
A natural monument of extraordinary fascination: a narrow gorge with metre-high rock faces, cool and dark. Cracks and crevices, weathered and overgrown with mosses and lichens. Anyone walking through this eye of a needle in the sandstone is walking through a 200-million-year-old seabed that harbours many secrets.
