The Best Things to Do in Mainz, Germany: Roman Ruins, Riesling, and Rhine River Views

The Top 5 Things to Do in Mainz

Claire’s Tip: These are the absolute best, can’t-miss, tippity top attractions in Mainz that you HAVE to see. They’re all located within the city center and are within walking distance of one another. I recommend starting your visit to Mainz at the tourist information office (address: Markt 17) to grab a paper map and see if there are any seasonal events taking place during your stay. 

Visit the Market Square (Marktplatz)

The market square in Mainz is picture perfect in every way. On one side of the square you can see the colorful row of houses (numbers 11 – 15) that were reconstructed after World War II. And on the other side you’ll get your first glimpse of the soaring Romanesque cathedral. 

And smack in the middle of the square is a 1,000-year-old sandstone column, called the Heunensäule. The column was first discovered near the Bavarian town Miltenberg and was one of reportedly 14 columns discovered altogether. It’s believed that the columns were intended for the rebuilding of the Mainz Cathedral, the original structure having burnt down the day that it was consecrated in 1009 AD. The Heunensäule was erected in the center of the square in 1975 to celebrate the cathedral’s 1,000th anniversary. 

Mainz’s market square is the beating heart of the city, with a weekly market taking place three times per week (Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 7am to 2pm). During the summer months, as many as 30 vendors sell a variety of fresh produce, wine, meats, and cheeses from the region, making this the perfect starting point for your visit. 

Tour St. Martin’s Cathedral (Dom St. Martin)

The Mainz Cathedral was built between 975 and 1009 CE. For such an old church, I’m sure it comes as no surprise to hear that it’s been destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries.

During the Middle Ages, the Mainz Cathedral was a big deal. The Archbishop of Mainz had the sole right to crown German Monarchs, and six monarchs were crowned at this very place.

The Late Gothic cloisters are a main feature of the cathedral, as are the massive tombs of the archbishops. 

Claire’s Tip: You can also pay to visit the Cathedral Museum, which is located right next to the cathedral itself. 

See the Original Bibles at the Gutenberg Museum

Bookworms will love the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz! This compact museum walks you through the history of books and printing, with an emphasis on Johannes Gutenberg’s legacy and work. You can either tour the museum on your own or as part of a 60-minute guided tour. 

The star attraction of the museum are the two original Gutenberg bibles, which are sealed inside a massive vault and watched by a security guard. For reference, there are only 48 Gutenberg bibles left in the world, so definitely take your time examining the two (!!) in the Gutenberg Museum. It’s unlikely that you’ll see another for a long time!

In addition to the Gutenberg Bibles, the the museum is primarily a collection of old books, manuscripts, and printing presses — all of which were lovely to look at, but the accompanying text was quite dry to read (and it was all in German!). Give yourself an hour to 90 minutes to walk through the entire museum. 

Claire’s Tip: The Gutenberg Museum is mostly in German, but you can download an audio guide to your smartphone for a couple Euros. 

Explore the Old Town (Altstadt) 

The Old Town (Altstadt) is hands down one of the BEST places to visit in Mainz. It’s sadly teeny tiny — it’s just one street with a small square — but it’s one of the prettiest old towns that I’ve visited! If you like half-timbered houses, Mainz will be your new favorite city.

Two main attractions in the Old Town that are of note include: 

• Kirschgarten — This is a gorgeous square where the oldest half-timbered house in Mainz is located. The 15th-century structure is now home to a dental practice. 
• St. Augustine’s Church (Augustinerkirche) — This Baroque-style church was built in the late 1700’s and is now used as a seminary. 

Participate in a Wine Tasting or Tour

Mainz is the wine capital of Germany, so as you can imagine there are a variety of excellent wine tours and tastings to participate in.

There are a few different wine tour and tasting providers in Mainz, but the one I recommend is BottleStops. I was treated to a tasting and day tour with the founder, Jerome, in 2024 and it remains one of my all-time favorite memories of my time in Mainz. 

Depending on your timing and budget, I suggest signing up for one of the following BottleStops offerings: 

• Wine & Food Tasting — This is my top recommendation if you have just a day in Mainz and aren’t able to venture outside the city limits to experience the beauty of the local vineyards first hand. BottleStops offers small group tastings in a lovely wine cellar near the city center, during which you’ll learn about the winemaking history of the region and taste various Rieslings and Spätburgunder wines. 
• Castles & Abbeys Tour — This is the day tour I did with BottleStops and I’m hoping to take my own family on it the next time they visit me in Germany! Highlights of this tour include a visit to Eberbach Monastery (where Riesling wine was first created), plus a custom wine tasting in the quaint town of Rüdesheim am Rhein. Read my full review of the BottleStops all-day vineyard tour before booking so you know what to expect! 
• BottleStops Private Wine Tour — If you’re traveling with up to 6 people who are die-hard wine lovers, it might be worth it to book a private day tour with BottleStops. When you select this option, you get a fully custom experience tailored to your precise interests and wine preferences.  

More Things to Do If You’ve Got Extra Time

Claire’s Tip: Despite being on the smaller side, there’s a surprisingly large number of fun things to do in Mainz. The activities and attractions shared below are more of my personal favorites, but they don’t fall into the “must see” category if you’re a first-time visitor. Many of these attractions are also further out from the city center, which means there will be zero crowds and you’ll get to see more of Mainz from a local’s perspective! 

See the Chagall Windows in St. Stephan’s Church (Stephanskirche)

The interior of St. Stephan’s isn’t spectacular — with one major exception. The church is surrounded by blue stained glass windows! 

They were created by the Jewish artist Marc Chagall in the 1970s. He made them as a means of illustrating the Jewish-Christian bond, and they’re without a doubt the highlight of St. Stephan’s.

Visit Another Museum (or Two!)

Mainz has quite a few museums, with the Gutenberg Museum being my personal favorite since it has those two big, beautiful Bibles. 

If you’re looking for more even things to do in Mainz — especially on rainy or snowy days — consider visiting one of the following museums as well: 

• Kunsthalle (Art Hall) — Rotating contemporary art exhibitions.
• Mainz State Museum (Landesmuseum Mainz) — One of Germany’s oldest museums, with an art collection largely donated by Napoleon in 1803.
• Museum of Natural History (Naturhistorisches Museum Mainz) — Specimen collection of animals and fossils.
• Mainz Carnival Museum (Mainzer Fastnachtsmuseum) — Teensy museum sharing the history of Carnival in Mainz alongside a variety of historic costumes. Note that the museum is currently cash-only.  

See the (Many!) Roman Ruins

Like much of present-day Germany, Mainz was settled by the Romans. They called the city “Mogontiacum” and lived there for roughly 2,000 years. The city of Mainz is still uncovering Roman ruins to this day, most of which have been left exactly as they were found and are free to enter. 

There’s a high chance you’ll accidentally stumble across some Roman ruins during your time in Mainz, but here are my personal favorite spots to see them: 

• Roman Aqueduct Ruins (Römische Aquäduktruinen) — The remains of an aqueduct that fed water to a legionary camp in Kästrich still stands in a small park area between apartment blocks. In the summer, sheep graze on the small meadow of this park. I suggest bringing a good book with you to read in the shade of the aqueduct. Note that the aqueduct remains are just 5 minutes from the Jewish Cemetery. 
• Isis- und Mater Magna-Heiligtum — This exhibit within the Römerpassage (Roman Passage) Shopping Mall was created on the site where a sanctuary for the goddesses Isis and Mater Magna was uncovered in 1999. 
• Roman Theater (Römisches Theater) — It took me several visits to Mainz before I realized that the train station called “Roman Theater” was called that for a reason! The remains of the Roman theater are the largest that survive north of the Alps. Unfortunately, you can only walk around the theater on a guided tour, but you can get a good look at it through the glass partition on the upper level of the “Römisches Theater” train station. 

Claire’s Tip: The locations of all of these Roman ruins have been marked on the map at the top of this travel guide. Some of the ruins are hard to find on your own if you don’t know the German terms for them! 

Discover Jewish Mainz 

Mainz boasts one of the oldest Jewish communities in the country, called Magenza. 

Together with Speyer and Worms, Mainz is one of the historic “ShUM” cities — a name derived from the first letters of their medieval names in Hebrew. Mainz, Speyer, and Worms were once the centers for Jewish culture in the Rheinland, although the old Jewish quarter in Mainz no longer exists. 

The two key Jewish sites that I highly recommend visiting in Mainz are the New Synagogue and both the Old and New Jewish Cemeteries. 

Jewish Mainz: New Synagogue (Neue Synagogue) 

Inaugurated in 2010, the New Synagogue in Mainz was designed by Manuel Herz. The building looks incredibly modern — if you look at it from the side, you’ll see that it’s built to represent the Herbew term “kedusha,” which is a type of blessing for sanctifying secular objects. 

You can’t enter the New Synagogue, but it’s well worth viewing from the outside! 

Jewish Mainz: New and Old Jewish Cemeteries (Alter Jüdischer Friedhof and Jüdischer Friedhof)

With a history stretching back to the early 1000s, the Old Jewish Cemetery in Mainz is thought to be the oldest in Europe. Since the cemetery’s founding, the city of Mainz has sadly experienced several pogroms, which contributed to the destruction of the tombstones over time. 

You can visit the memorial portion of the old cemetery along Mombacher Straße, or head to Untere Zahlbacher Straße to walk through the beautiful (New) Jewish Cemetery. It’s located next to the Main Cemetery, and I highly suggest combining the two for a joint visit. 

Explore the Grounds of the Mainz Citadel (Zitadelle) 

Overlooking the Old Town from Jakobsberg Hill, the Citadel was built in 1660 as part of the city’s defense network. 

You can’t go inside any of the buildings of the Citadel since it houses municipal offices these days, but the grounds are free to explore and are worth visiting if you’ve been to Mainz before and are looking for something to do that’s a little more off the beaten path. 

There are some nice views of Mainz from Jakobsberg Hill, and I especially loved seeing the thick stone walls that once made the Citadel a formidable fortress. 

Claire’s Tip: There are Roman ruins at the citadel, too! On the southwest side of the Citadel you’ll find the Drusus stone (Drususstein). It’s a 30-meter-tall monument that was erected in 9 AD to honor General Drusus, thought to be the founder of Mainz. 

Explore the Main Cemetery (Hauptfriedhof) 

Yet another personal favorite place to visit in Mainz (and a totally underrated attraction, to boot) is the main cemetery on Untere Zahlbacher Straße. 

The cemetery dates back to 1803 and is a large, park-like space with memorials dedicated to those who fell in the Napoleonic Wars and both World Wars, as well as beautiful tombstones and mausoleums in various styles. 

I know visiting cemeteries isn’t for everyone, but I personally enjoy seeing how different cultures around the world honor their dead. 

Take a Day Trip

There are far too many tourist attractions in Mainz than you can see in a single day. However, if you find yourself in Mainz for a few days, then you absolutely must take a day trip or two to experience the best that the Rheingau has to offer. 

To see vineyards and taste the local wines: 

• Rüdesheim am Rhein — This tiny half-timbered town is one of the prettiest along the Rhine. If wine tasting is on your itinerary, I recommend Vinothek RheinWeinWelt, which has several rooms of wines that you can “pay for” using tokens purchased from the main cash register up front. 
• Eltville + Hattenheim — You can spend half a day in Eltville seeing the sights, then take the train (or bike!) to Hattenheim to sip Riesling along the Rhine at one of its small wine tasting stalls. 
• Eberbach Monastery — True wine lovers have to visit the birthplace of the Riesling! 

To see half-timbered buildings and get a taste of German culture: 

• Heidelberg — This is yet another gorgeous city on the water (the Neckar River this time, not the Rhine). A visit to Heidelberg Castle is a must, as is a stroll through the Old Town. 
• Wiesbaden — Just 15 minutes from Mainz is one of my all-time favorite cities in Germany! Make sure to see the Neroberg, the Market Church, and grab a slice of cake from the historic Cafe Maldaner. 
• Frankfurt am Main — This is Germany’s financial capital, which offers a totally different vibe from laid-back, wine-drinking Mainz. I suggest spending most of your day trip in the Old Town, which was rebuilt after WWII and is very pretty.  

🚂 The Best Places to Visit Near Mainz (Easy Day Trips by Train) 🇩🇪

Bonus Seasonal Event: Visit the Christmas Market

The Mainz Christmas market runs from the end of November through December and takes place in front of the cathedral. The quality of goods for sale here is incredibly high, and the atmosphere was one of the best I experienced during my holiday travels!  

🍪 What to Do, See, and Eat at the Mainz Christmas Market 🎄

Auf Wiedersehen, Mainz!

If you’re considering a trip to Mainz, do it! There’s so much to do and see here, and it’s a wonderful city to visit no matter the season.

(And if you just read through this entire Mainz travel guide and have no clue where to begin your trip planning, consider booking a 90-minute guided walking tour that will take you to the top attractions in the city center OR just follow my detailed Mainz day trip itinerary 😉)

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• Top Things to Do in Heidelberg
• What to Do, See & Eat in Düsseldorf
• 13+ Fun Things to Do in Cologne
• What to Do in Bonn (Former Capital of West Germany!)
• All of my Germany recommendations!