What’s on in Wiesbaden
49th Rheingau Wine Week
Ten days, one wine region, over 100 booths — from Friday August 14 to Sunday 23, 2026, the area around the Marktkirche, Schlossplatz, and the Dern’sche Gelände will once again be transformed into the “longest wine bar in the world.” Local winemakers will offer their finest wines in a unique atmosphere at the 2026 Rheingau Wine Week
Culinary Delights
This year, you can look forward to around 120 booths offering not only Riesling and other wine varieties but also other beverages and many culinary delights. On Schlossplatz, “Hessian delicacies,” potato chips, and chocolate-covered strawberries are the perfect accompaniment to a glass of wine. At the Dern’schen Gelände, you’ll find galettes and crêpes, tarte flambée, and grilled skewers. The “Käsereich”—known for its Dutch cheeses—and Wiesbaden’s “Hofköche” are teaming up for the first time to serve the perfect specialties to pair with Riesling, Pinot Blanc, and other wines. You can find the exact locations of all the food and drink stands on the map.
Refreshment for a Good Cause
ESWE Versorgung has been providing this for decades during the Rheingau Wine Week. The Wiesbaden-based energy provider always presents a new, limited-edition collectible glass at its water stand (Stand 54), where you can enjoy a free drink. This year’s design, created by graphic artist Mirjam Pönisch, features a stylized woman with a wreath of flowers and flowing hair, enjoying a glass of water—loosely based on the motto “It’s time for ZwiWa – Zwischenwasser.” The water glass is available there for a donation of one euro. The proceeds from the donations will benefit the Wiesbaden/Rheingau-Taunus Stroke Initiative e.V.
On the three stages, numerous bands representing a wide variety of musical styles will once again create a great atmosphere and provide musical entertainment. In addition, you can once again purchase the coveted collectible glass at the ESWE Versorgung booth this year: It features a green parrot relaxing under a drinking fountain and enjoying fresh Wiesbaden water. The design by artist Barbara Fuhrmann was selected from among 129 submissions. Proceeds from the sale will go to the “Zwergendorf” project of the Wiesbaden-based Zwerg Nase Foundation.
To make it easier for families with children to attend the wine festival, there are accompanying services — such as childcare provided by Evangelische Familienbildung at the Haus an der Marktkirche on weekends. It is open on Saturdays from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and on Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.; on Sundays, the service is even free of charge. In addition, a nursing and diaper-changing room is available to families at City Hall Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; the key can be obtained at the front desk.
Sustainability is also a focus of the Rheingau Wine Week: Once again, stall operators are foregoing plastic dishes and cutlery. For safe and climate-friendly travel to and from the event, you can purchase the popular Wine Festival Ticket from ESWE Verkehr, which—as every year—can be redeemed as a voucher for a glass of wine at participating wineries.
© wiesbaden.de / Foto: Schlachthof Flea Market at the Schlachthof
Beautiful items, delicious treats, and a colorful array of goods will be on offer at the open-air flea market in Kulturpark am Schlachthof, the next event will take place Saturday and Sunday, September 5 and 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.. This secondhand paradise will be complemented by food trucks and the imaginative program from KULTUR im PARK.
Nerobergbahn – Wiesbaden’s quirky landmark
The oldest water ballast-driven cog-and-rack railway in Germany
Open Daily: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The Nerobergbahn – takes visitors up the state capital’s local mountain every 15 minutes from 9 am to 7 pm. The valley station of the cable car is located in the north of the city of Wiesbaden, very close to the Nero Valley facilities. You can reach the excursion destination by bus, train or car. Enter the following address in your sat nav or navigation app: Wilhelminenstraße 51, 65193 Wiesbaden.
Rheingau Music Festival 2026
You can look forward to a “summer full of music” at the Rheingau Music Festival from June 20 to September 5. 158 concerts at 26 venues in Wiesbaden and the Rheingau await you! Advance booking has started!
39th festival season from June 20 to September 5
The Rheingau Music Festival 2026 will open its program this year with two festive concerts on June 20 and 21, 2026. On both concert evenings, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra will perform under the baton of Alain Altinoglu. The opening concert will be given by trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary at Eberbach Abbey, who will perform the trumpet concerto by Armenian composer Alexander Arutjunjan.
At the second opening concert, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra will share the stage with this year’s Artist in Residence at the Rheingau Music Festival, Hayato Sumino. At the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden, he will perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s virtuoso Piano Concerto No. 2 as a soloist. On both the first and second concert evenings, the orchestra will also perform Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances” and Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” at the Kurhaus.
Meet friends, enjoy a day out, take a little time to relax . . .
Charming Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a green and elegant city of parks, gardens and villas. Its hot springs have brought tourists to the city since Roman times.
The Kurhaus
Wiesbaden’s Kurhaus is a major focus point at the very center of the city. With its spa assembly rooms and elegant casino, built in 1907, the Kurhaus is an imposing building which is frequently used as a venue for national and international congresses, exhibitions and cultural events. English-style spa gardens extend behind the spa assembly rooms.
Historical old quarter
Narrow winding streets lined with 18th and 19th century buildings run through Wiesbaden’s old quarter. Bäckerbrunnen fountain on Grabenstrasse is now a popular meeting place. The oldest structure in Wiesbaden is the Heidensmauer, or Heathens’ Wall, which is close to the Roman gate. 15 different springs flow into the Kochbrunnen drinking fountain and in the 19th century it was the main place in Wiesbaden to take the waters.
Perfect for shopping
The elegant Wilhelmstrasse is the place to go for exclusive and luxury goods, haute couture, jewellery, accessories for the home and many international designer brands. Taunusstrasse is at the heart of Wiesbaden’s antiques quarter where countless out-of-the-ordinary antique shops are located. The romantic passageways in the old quarter are full of boutiques offering curiosities, the nostalgic and the unusual.
Culture
As a regional capital Wiesbaden enjoys a diverse cultural scene. From the European Circus Festival, the Caligari municipal cinema, one of the most beautiful picture houses in Germany, the Wiesbaden School of Music and Art to the Women’s Detective Fiction Prize, Wiesbaden covers pretty much every aspect of vibrant, innovative cutting-edge culture.
Opera, drama and ballet productions form part of the State of Hesse Theater’s comprehensive cultural offering that includes classical works as well as modern music theatre. Because all three of the theater’s stages can be used simultaneously, it is not unusual for four performances to take place on one day.
Getting out of the city
Virtually the whole of Wiesbaden can be seen from Neroberg hill, which is a good starting point for longer walks. Its beautiful lawns are ideal for a picnic and it is a wonderful place to escape from everyday life. Neroberg hill is an ideal starting point for walks through the town forest and is itself an extensive recreation area.
With around 50 animal species and many rare plants, Fasanerie Zoo and Gardens is a popular day out for families.
Tours of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site, leave daily from the Wiesbaden-Biebrich jetty.
Thanks: www.germany-tourism.de and www.wiesbaden.de
Wiesbaden Flea Market
The Wiesbaden flea market season is open March through October at “Am Parkfeld” in Wiesbaden-Biebrich. Flea markets take place every third Saturday of the month from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. along a flea market mile where useful, artistic, as well as curios and bric-à-brac and quite a few odd things change hands.
Wiesbaden Kultur
Zeitfenster – Window of time
“Time Window” is the title of the exhibition in which sculptor Stephan Balkenhol meets Old Masters. It can be seen at the Museum Wiesbaden until June 2.
Wiesbaden Entertainment Center Lounge
The Wiesbaden Entertainment Center features a series of live bands performing upstairs in the Lounge on the following dates:
Sept. 20, 2024 — Joe and Friends — Enjoy another evening of dance music at the WEC Lounge
Coleman Aero Club
The Coleman AeroClub (CAC) is a nonprofit aviation enthusiast group and approved private organization of the Wiesbaden Military Community.
The CAC operates a fleet of two Cessna 172’s and one 152 out of the Mainz-Finthen Airport and is open to new membership. If you have a specific question or would like to join, please click the banner and visit our website:
World premiere of the Freudenberg Gong
Gongs are truly impressive instruments; hammering and shaping a nickel silver gong can take up to half a year. After the intensive hammering comes a period of rest and fine-tuning, during which the gong can harmonize its internal tensions.
The friendship and collaboration between the visionary, multidisciplinary artist, and gong maker Johannes Heimrath (SONA GONGS) and Jörg Brandt of Freudenberg (gong player and guardian of the sound space) have resulted in two new gongs being added to the Experience Field. These two instruments are unique because they can be played—even by children—without instruction.
Anyone wishing to purchase one of these special gongs for a school, a retreat center, or their own sound space can do so exclusively through Freudenberg Castle. The instruments are crafted upon request.
Gong Presentation on September 20 – Gong Day
On “Gong Day,” we at the Erfahrungsfeld will devote the entire day to sounds. Sounds can move us, make us sad, calm us, entice us, heal us—but they can also make us sick. We can tune in, tune out, or listen attentively; the whole person is always involved. There will be activities and guided tours for all guests of the Erfahrungsfeld; these are a gift from the house and included in the day pass.
For anyone interested, the new Freudenberg gongs will be presented at the castle on September 20 at 12 p.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. Admission to the presentation is free; registration is requested and can be done via the link.
Freudenberg Gong Day Registration
The Freudenberg Smithy
© e.V. Schloß Freudenberg
Marius, a young man from Frauenstein, came to the Freudenberg one day and told us that he was the only European training to become a katana swordsmith and was looking for a place to work. So we started to “forge” this project with him. Now the idea has matured and the forge is ready. Experience how heat energy is transferred and how metals behave when they are heated, cooled or shaped. If you want to swing the blacksmith’s hammer yourself and forge a nail to then “hang something on the nail…”
OPENING HOURS
For free visitors. Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (included in the day ticket)
For groups: Tuesdays to Thursdays bookable as part of a guided tour
GUIDED TOURS & WORKSHOPS
You can now book guided tours (1.5h) or workshops (3h) in the new Freudenberg Forge – for your school class, your company, your club or simply because it’s nice!
CHILDREN’S BIRTHDAY PARTY
Forge the iron while it’s hot! In the birthday forge workshop, birthday children and their guests can look over Marius’ shoulder, swing the hammer and get down to business. Always bookable on Sundays, suitable for people aged 10 and over.
OlioCeto – Delicatessen
The Culinary Gift Shop in Wiesbaden
For those who love life, for gourmets, and for people who know and appreciate the pleasures in life!
International and regional specialties from OlioCeto make a perfect gift for any occasion!
Located on the Mauritius Square in the heart of Wiesbaden you’ll find a wide range of delicious and original culinary gifts from the Mediterranean countries, Australia, USA, Germany as well as exclusive local items!
