This page is decicated to people that want to visit Mainz and have not much time (e.g. when you are here for business or the city is part of a trip).
When you are in the Rhein-Main Area (second largest metropolitan region in Germany, with a total population exceeding 5.8 million with the larger urban zones Frankfurt am Main, Darmstadt, Wiesbaden and Mainz) it’s worth to stop by in Mainz, even for one day or evening. Since we hosted a lot of Pentaho events in Mainz (including the first, back in 2008, and 10th anniversary Pentaho Community Meeting in 2017) with international people, I decided to write about some famous places here. Please be aware that this is a pure subjective list and nevertheless I hope this will make Mainz a beautiful place to remember.
Short Facts about Mainz
Mainz (population is around 200.000) is located at the nice Rhine river and about 30 minutes by train from Frankfurt/Main, close to the Airport and has a very cosy old town (Altstadt) located around the marketplace (Marktplatz) with the Mainz Cathedral (Mainzer Dom) and Augustinerstraße with a lot of restaurants, small shops and wine taverns. When construction works take place, a lot of ancient things (like roman ships) can still be found.
Links: Official Site, Wikipedia, Worth Seeing, Discover Mainz
Restaurants, Wine taverns
- Heilig Geist is a very nice location situated in a converted medieval hospital church with gothic vaults. It get’s crowded after 8pm and coming in there at around 6pm is a good choice. Reservations are not accepted with the exception of groups with more than 10 people.
- Zum Beichtstuhl is a very small wine tavern with Mainzer gastronomic specialties (see below). Since this is very small one, only a small group of people should go there or ask for reservation, but its worth to go there.
- Bastion von Schönborn (Mainz-Kastel) has a beautiful view to Mainz from the opposite side of the Rhine river (sunset-time and nice weather is the best combination for choosing this one!). Go to the first floor or sit outside and remember to reserve.
- Eisgrub-Bräu is suitable for those that want to drink some self brewed beer.
Regional Gastronomic Specialities
- Mainzer Handkäs mit Musik (also very well known in the Frankfurt area)
- Spundekäs mit Brezelchen
- Weck, Worscht un Wine (Brötchen, Fleischwurst und Wein in short: WWW 🙂 )
- When you don’t know it, I strongly suggest buying some Marzipan in a store even when this is not a local speciality here.
Worth to Visit (small selection)
- Altstadt / Old Tow – City Walk Compact Mainz
- St. Stephen’s – Chagall Windows – mysticism of blue light (Wikipedia)
- Mainzer Dom / Cathetral
- Experience the history of printing, writing, and books in the Gutenberg-Museum (next to the Cathetral)
- Römerschiffmuseum / Musuem for ancient ships – you can smell some spirit from the roman warships (Neutorstraße 2b, 55116 Mainz)
- Sektkellerei Kupferberg – guided tours into the cellars are very impressive (the first Pentaho Community Meeting took place at this location in 2008)
- Oberes Mittelrheintal / The Upper Middle Rhine (Weltkulturerbe / World Heritage) – when you like impressive nature and castles and have some spare time, this should be on your agenda. It is about 30 to 60 minutes away from Mainz by car. It’s also possible to take the train or boat, e.g. to St. Goar. It’s also nice to take the boat down the river and the train back.
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