Those who set out to experience the Große Rüdesheimer Runde will be rewarded with breathtaking views and sights. Mostly, the hiking trail runs on paved vineyard paths. At three sections, stairs must be overcome, and once you cross a narrow path onto a longer section of natural forest path.

It starts at the Burgstraße parking lot at Brömserburg. The exact start date of the construction of the massive, cuboid building is not precisely documented. It is recorded that in the 13th century the Brömser family were the castle lords. After partial destruction in the Thirty Years' War and a long period of decay, the castle was romantically rebuilt at the beginning of the 19th century. Today, a citizens' consortium is striving to reopen the ensemble and invites visitors to the castle garden on summer weekends.

Our path first leads us up Burgstraße to Oberstraße and to the nearby 'Feldtor' gate. The next 200 meters up to the vineyards are very steep. At the following crossing path, we turn left towards Assmannshausen. Shortly after, we reach a small chapel. Here you have the option to visit the Ramstein viewpoint at the very beginning of the route (turn right) or save the rest there for the end of the route (continue straight). After about one kilometer, both paths meet again.

If you follow the lower route, you pass the “Krähennest,” a project managed by students from Geisenheim University. Old vineyard terraces that lay fallow for decades were recultivated here. At the Krähennest, you get an impression of how the vineyards looked before the major land consolidation in the mid-1960s.

Our path takes us through the Rüdesheim vineyards. Below, the Rhine flows towards the Binger Loch, and above, the Germania statue towers on its pedestal. We follow the hiking signs until we can look down from our path to the Ehrenfels ruins. The castle was built in the 13th century and served with the Mäuseturm in the river as a customs station. The 4.6-meter thick, 20-meter high shield wall with its two 33-meter high corner towers, as well as remains of the palace and a gate building, are preserved. The elaborately restored ruin is locked because a peregrine falcon regularly nests here.

Where the Rhine changes its previous direction almost at a right angle to the north, we discover a wine depot. Here, thirsty hikers can buy wines as well as non-alcoholic drinks and relax.

Now we leave the area of the land-consolidated vineyard slopes; the landscape changes. The old vineyard terraces are overgrown with bushes, and remains of walls can be seen on the hillside. At the vineyard at Rhine kilometer 531, some terraces have been recultivated, and a viewing platform invites you to rest. Buddhist prayer flags on the wild fence offer a colorful picture.

We follow the markings and enter the vineyards of the Frankenthal, one of the three sites of Assmannshausen. The village was first documented in 1108. Since the beginning of the 19th century, numerous writers, poets, artists, and composers visited the village. Today, Assmannshausen is part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Site and a tourist magnet.

Our route leads steadily downhill through the vineyards to the former elementary school and under the cable car track to Niederwaldstraße. Here we turn left and walk down to the Catholic parish church from the 14th century with its 43-meter-high bell tower and octagonal pointed spire.

Here we turn right and enter a path (coinciding with the Rheinsteig) that leads upward between a row of houses and a dry-stone wall into the vineyards. After a few stairs, we turn left onto a paved farm road, which we now follow uphill again. Shortly after, the route sharply turns right and reaches the sign 'Höllenberg.' The world-famous red wine site has nothing to do with hell but derives from the Middle High German word 'helda,' meaning a 'steep slope.' Here, there is a wonderful view into the Rhine Valley and to the castles Rheinstein (directly opposite) and Reichenstein (above the Clemens Chapel on the Rhine shore).

We now leave the Rhine Valley and walk directly into Höllenberg. In 2019, large cross-terraces were created here in a viticulture project. Unlike valley-facing vineyard rows, they can be farmed by machines and better retain precipitation.

This leads us coincident with the Klostersteig to the grounds of the König winery and shortly afterwards to a fork where we keep right and descend to Aulhausen. The former potters' village originated as a clearing settlement. The oldest documented mention dates from 1108. At that time, craftsmen settled here who made jugs and bowls in the area of the local clay pits. Pottery had a heyday from the 13th to the 16th century. Besides everyday items, floor tiles with ornaments for monasteries and castles were also produced, for example for Eberbach Monastery and Ehrenfels Castle. At the parking lot at the fire station, we find a replica of an old pottery kiln.

We now follow the main road to the left past the Catholic parish church St. Petronilla to the street 'An der Schule.' Here, the marking points us right uphill (also marked as a Rheinsteig access path). The steep road leads to a path we follow uphill. At its end, we briefly turn left before turning right and walking straight into the forest.

We accompany the path during the ascent to the so-called Sandallee. It once connected the Geisenheim noble residence of the Counts of Ostein with their hunting lodge, today's Hotel Jagdschloss. We cross the avenue via two staircases and continue beyond to the road that leads from Rüdesheim to the hunting lodge. After crossing this road, it is not far to the imposing Niederwald Monument, which commemorates the "victorious rise of the German people (in the war against the French 1870/71) as well as the reestablishment of the German Reich."

The area around the monument invites you to linger and offers a magnificent panoramic view. After enjoying it extensively, we turn left and reach the renovated Niederwald Temple. The temple was built in 1788 and attracted poets, philosophers, and artists in the 19th century. It was destroyed in an air raid towards the end of World War II. Thanks to the initiative of an association, it was rebuilt and ceremoniously handed over to the public at Pentecost 2006. Since then, it shines in new splendor. Above the temple, the terrace of the restaurant on the Niederwald invites you to dine.

We now take the stairs down to the Rebenhaus. Those who want can stop there and enjoy the magnificent view. Now we are back in the vineyards above Rüdesheim. Our hike leads down to Ramstein, the previously mentioned rest and viewpoint. From here, there is another magnificent panoramic view. It extends from the Germania statue at your back over the towers of St. Hildegard Monastery to the world-famous Schloss Johannisberg and across the Rhine far into the Rheinhessen hills.

After enjoying the panoramic view extensively, the final descent begins. It passes another rest stop (Ingelheimblick) down to the chapel we already know from the beginning of the route. Now it is not far to the starting point at Brömserburg.

Rüdesheim station (0.2 km to the starting point)