Rick Steves, the American travel guru, highlights the fairy-tale world of legends and robber-baron castles along Germany’s Rhine River. A Rhine cruise offers a captivating blend of natural beauty, history, and timeless charm, leaving an indelible impression on all who embark on this enchanting voyage.

Marksburg Castle, the best-looking of the bunch, stands bold and white, and is restored to look like most Rhine castles once did, with their slate stonework covered with stucco to look as if they were made from a richer stone. Perched above the pleasant town of St. Goar, the mighty ruins of Rheinfels Castle, which ruled the river for more than 500 years, still exude a hint of menace. Near Bingen, Rheinstein Castle has a medieval-as-can-be, 13th-century exterior with a 19th-century duke’s hunting palace inside.

The shipshape Pfalz Castle (built in the middle of the river in the 1300s) worked effectively to tax medieval river traffic, raising its chains when boats came, and lowering them only when merchants had paid their duty.