The Eifel in the rain: 14 things to do on a wet day

Introduction

The Eifel in the rain is not a lost holiday day, it is a different one. That comes down to the geology: where a volcano erupted 13,000 years ago, slate, tuff and basalt were later quarried. What remains are galleries, cellars and mines you can visit today. Underground, the weather makes no difference.

Add to that museums, two thermal baths, an indoor pool, climbing walls and indoor play centres within about 40 kilometres of the Riedener Waldsee. This guide sorts them by category, says who each one suits, and is honest about the places where rain really is a problem.

One thing first: Rieden lies in the Osteifel, in the Mayen-Koblenz district, in the volcanic region around the Laacher See. Some of the places listed here are on the Rhine or the Moselle and so, strictly speaking, not in the Eifel at all. Where that is the case, we say so.

The overview

All prices and times are as of August 2026 and subject to change. Please check the relevant website before you set off.

Museums and underground: the most reliable rainy day options

When it rains in the Eifel, you go underground. That is not a fallback, it is the best the region has to offer.

Deutsches Schieferbergwerk Mayen slate mine: 13 km

The visitor entrance is beneath the Genovevaburg. From there you go 16 metres underground into a 340-metre labyrinth of galleries. Not a replica, but a real mine.

Worth knowing when you plan: inside the mountain it stays at a constant 8 °C all year round. Even if you have just come in out of the August rain, you will still need a jacket. For children, this is usually the day out they remember from the whole week.

Opening times 2026: Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–17:00, closed on Mondays, winter break 15 January to 15 February. (Note: until March 2026 the closing day was Friday, and older guidebooks still give the old times.)

→ All about the Schieferbergwerk Mayen slate mine

Eifelmuseum Mayen: 13 km

A common misunderstanding: the “Eifelmuseum", the “Schieferbergwerk" and the “Erlebniswelten Grubenfeld" are not three separate museums but three sections under one roof. The slate mine is part of it.

Two of them matter in the rain: the permanent EifelTotal exhibition on the region’s history, from the birth of the volcanoes to the present day, and the mine itself. The Erlebniswelten Grubenfeld are above ground and are a write-off in persistent rain.

Prices 2026: adults 6.00 €, concessions 3.50 €. Combined ticket for two sections 9.00 €, premium ticket for all three 12.00 €.

→ All about the Eifelmuseum Mayen · What else Mayen has to offer

Lava-Dome Mendig: 15 km

The German volcano museum explains what happened here 13,000 years ago, with a multimedia staging of a volcanic eruption and hands-on stations. The second part is the real reason to make the trip: 150 steps down into the lava cellars, a cooled lava flow that was later used to store beer.

Opening times 2026: Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–17:30, last admission 16:45. On Mondays too during the school holidays in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia. Closed from 2 December to 31 January and over carnival.

Prices: Lava-Dome on its own 8.50 € for adults, 6.50 € for children under 16. Combined ticket with the lava cellars 10.50 € and 8.50 €. The cellar tour lasts around 60 minutes and is only possible with a guide: outside the holidays Tuesday to Friday at 13:30, at weekends and during the holidays at 12:00, 13:30 and 15:00.

→ All about the Lava-Dome Mendig

Römerbergwerk Meurin in Kretz

The largest surviving Roman tuff quarry north of the Alps, and it stands entirely under a covered hall. That makes it one of the very few places in the region that work without any reservations in the rain. Alongside it is the Antike Technikwelt, with working replicas of Roman machinery.

Opening times: 15 March to 31 October 2026, Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays 10:00–17:00, closed on Mondays. Winter break from 1 November 2026 to 14 March 2027.

Prices: adults 7.00 €, concessions 4.50 € (children up to 16, students), children up to 5 free. Small family ticket (1 adult) 8.00 €, large family ticket (2 adults) 15.00 €.

A tip from the operators that works the other way round as well: on hot days it gets warm under the roof, so mornings are more comfortable. On rainy days that is precisely the advantage.

Thermal baths and swimming pools

Vulkaneifel-Therme Bad Bertrich

The nearest true thermal spa with real thermal water. Bad Bertrich is in the Cochem-Zell district, but for tourism purposes it counts as part of the Gesundland Vulkaneifel.

Opening times: Monday to Friday 9:00–20:00, Saturday 9:00–18:00, Sundays and public holidays 10:00–18:00. Last admission one hour before closing.

Prices for the baths: day ticket 16.50 € for adults, 12.00 € for children aged 3 to 16. Shorter tickets: 2 hours 12.00 €/9.00 €, 3 hours 13.50 €/10.00 €, 4 hours 15.00 €/11.00 €.

Check before you set off: the baths are closed for annual maintenance from 15 to 28 June 2026, and the steam room is being refurbished from 8 June until early September 2026.

Römer-Thermen Bad Breisig

Bad Breisig is on the Rhine rather than in the Eifel, but it is within easy reach. You bathe in thermal water drawn from around 600 metres down, and there is also an outdoor lap pool, a gym and a sauna area with five saunas.

Prices from January 2026: baths 12.00 € for two hours, day ticket 26.00 €. With sauna (“Therme PLUS") 18.00 € for two hours, day ticket 30.00 €. Children aged 7 to 17 pay a reduced rate. The thermal baths are open daily from 9:00 to 21:00, the sauna from 10:00 to 21:00.

Nettebad Mayen: with one big caveat

The closest pool of all: around 13 kilometres. The indoor pool has five 25-metre lanes, a non-swimmers’ pool 1.35 metres deep, a teaching pool at 30 °C and a children’s area with a water slide, plus a whirlpool bath and a volcano grotto.

The catch: the indoor and outdoor pools take turns. The 2025/26 indoor season ended in early May 2026, and the outdoor season has been running since 30 May 2026. If you were hoping for the indoor pool on a rainy day in summer 2026, you are out of luck: what is open is the outdoor pool, daily 11:00–19:00.

Prices: indoor pool adults 8.00 €, children and young people aged 4 to 17 3.50 €; on the family rate 6.40 € and 2.80 €. Outdoor pool 7.00 € and 4.00 €, children under 4 free, family rate 20% off. Sauna 17.50 € and 16.00 €.

When the indoor season starts in autumn 2026 had not been confirmed as we went to press. Experience suggests the indoor pool opens between mid-September and early October, once the outdoor season has ended; Stadtwerke Mayen, the town’s utility company, announces the exact date at short notice.

For children: indoor play centres and climbing walls

Tollipark Mayen: 13 km

More than 40 attractions across 30,000 square metres, indoor and outdoor combined. In the rain you are left with the covered part, which is large, but it is not the whole park.

Prices: adults 14.90 €, children 19.90 €. Yes, in that order: children pay more. Under 2s go free.

Opening times: closed Monday to Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 14:00–19:00, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 10:30–19:00. The rides close at 18:30. Pony rides and shows run at weekends only.

→ All about Tollipark Mayen

Trampolino Andernach

A pure indoor play centre with trampolines, a drop tower, mini dodgems, a climbing maze and its own toddler area, at Stadionstraße 89 in Andernach.

Prices: children and young people aged 2 to 17 18.00 €, adults from 18 12.00 €, under 2s free. During the Rhineland-Palatinate summer holidays Tuesday to Sunday 10:30–18:30, otherwise Wednesday to Friday from 14:00 and at weekends from 10:30, closed on Mondays. #### Freiraum Basecamp Andernach

A bouldering and climbing centre right next door, at Stadionstraße 77. Children can climb from the age of 3, and there is a separate beginners’ area.

Funclimbing prices, valid from 1 April 2026: adults 19.50 €, children and young people under 18 16.50 €. Important: tickets have to be booked online in advance for a set date and time slot, so turning up on the off chance does not work. Summer season Thursday and Friday 14:00–18:30, weekends and public holidays 10:00–18:30, closed Monday to Wednesday.

Castles: culture and geology

Maria Laach Abbey: 8 km

The closest destination of all, and underrated in the rain. The Romanesque abbey church, dating from 1093, is freely accessible and a place where half an hour passes quickly. There is also the monastery shop and the bookshop, both under cover, both good for a rainy day.

→ All about Maria Laach Abbey · The Laacher See all around it

Geysir Andernach: approx. 20 km

The tallest cold-water geyser in the world. The visitor centre on the bank of the Rhine is a museum and therefore weatherproof; the geyser itself sits on the Namedyer Werth peninsula and can only be reached by boat.

Opening times: 22 March to 31 October 2026, daily 9:00–17:00. Prices: adults 21.50 €, concessions 17.50 €. On the family rate (from one adult with a child) adults pay 18.00 € and children up to 16 pay 12.50 €; children under one metre tall go free.

The price covers the museum and the boat trip; a museum-only ticket is not listed on the official price page. In storms or high water the sailing can be cancelled, so it is worth ringing ahead.

There is no reduced ticket for the visitor centre on its own. The operator states explicitly that a visit is only possible with the geyser boat. The only parts open without a ticket are the KaffeeBar and the museum shop.

Eltz Castle: approx. 30 km

The most famous castle in the region, in the same family for over 850 years and never destroyed. It can only be seen on a guided tour, and that tour takes place indoors. The walk from the car park to the castle does not, so in persistent rain sturdy shoes are essential, or the shuttle bus is the better choice.

→ All about Eltz Castle

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, Koblenz: 41 km

Koblenz sits where the Rhine and the Moselle meet and is not in the Eifel, but it is easy to reach. The fortress is the second-largest surviving fortification in Europe, with a museum and exhibitions under cover. Adults 10.00 €, children aged 7 to 17 4.00 €, combined ticket with the cable car 21.90 €. Summer 10:00–18:00, winter 11:00–16:00.

What honestly does not work in the rain

So that nobody makes the trip for nothing: these places are wonderful, but in persistent rain they are the wrong choice:

• Teufelsschlucht dinosaur park in Ernzen, more than 160 reconstructions along a 2-kilometre circular route in the open air. An excellent day out for families, but an outdoor one. It also lies in the Südeifel and so a good deal further away than everything else here. The nature park centre next door has a free exhibition under cover, but it will not fill a whole day.
• Neuwied Zoo, 1,800 animals across 13.5 hectares, mostly open-air enclosures. The animal houses open from 10:00 and are dry, but you walk outside between them. Manageable in waterproofs, not in heavy rain. Neuwied, incidentally, is on the Rhine, not in the Eifel.
• The Riedener Waldsee itself and the lakeside path at the Laacher See — walking in the rain can be lovely, swimming in it rather less so.

Staying put at the holiday home

The most honest bad-weather tip is sometimes not to set off at all. A holiday home is not a hotel room.

• your own outdoor sauna on the terrace, in every one of the three homes
• a whirlpool bath in the bathroom, again in every home
• a wood-burning stove with firewood ready and waiting, which you do not have to buy separately
• free Wi-Fi in every room
• the partly covered terrace

Always worth it: the shift from a rainy day to a clear autumn evening is one of the loveliest moments this region has to offer, and there is more on that in The Eifel in autumn.

Which of the three homes is best for a rainy day

All three homes share the features listed above, and the difference between them shows on days exactly like these. At Tommy the sauna area is covered and linked to a lounge corner, so you can sit outside without getting wet. Annika and Tommy spread three bedrooms and two bathrooms over two floors and 100 square metres, which counts when six people spend a whole day indoors and not everyone wants the same thing. Susi, at 82 square metres, is the home for two to four guests and has a reading corner with an armchair.

Every home also has a fully equipped kitchen with a dishwasher, plus a washing machine and tumble dryer. A rainy day can be spent that way too, without anyone having to drive off anywhere. Photos, floor plans and the full details of what is included are under Holiday Homes, and any dates that have come free at short notice are under Special Offers.

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