Question 1

Mainz on Your Own

Accepted Answer

The cathedral and the market square are together in the center, and the Gutenberg Bibles are on show a short way off. If you have longer, add the church of St. Stephan for its Chagall windows. The cathedral: St. Martin's Cathedral is normally open to visitors from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays and public holidays, outside services. The Gutenberg Museum: The museum is currently shown as Gutenberg-Museum MOVED, in the Natural History Museum building at Reichklarastraße 1. In 2026 it opened daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., until 8 p.m. on Thursdays, and adult entry was €10. Check before you go. Market days: On Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays a farmers' market is held at the cathedral, and on Saturdays local winegrowers sell wine there too. St. Stephan: The church of St. Stephan has nine windows by Marc Chagall, made between 1978 and his death in 1985, in deep, glowing blues. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.

Question 2

Getting Around

Accepted Answer

The local transport company, MVG, runs the trams and buses in Mainz. A day ticket covers Mainz and Wiesbaden. MVG also runs a bike rental system, used through the meinRad app. Trains run from Mainz Hauptbahnhof to Frankfurt Airport at least every 30 minutes, and the ride takes about half an hour. Uber and Free Now operate in the city.

Question 3

What to Eat and Drink

Accepted Answer

Mainz is a wine city, and its traditional dishes come from the wine taverns. Wine is still often served as a Schoppen in the Mainzer Stange glass, and a small taster glass is called a Piffche. Spundekäs, Handkäs mit Musik and Mainzer Käse are the cheese dishes the taverns serve with wine. Weck, Worscht un Woi, a bread roll, sausage and wine, counts as a typical Mainz meal. Boiled potatoes with butter, liver sausage and salt survive from the city's poorer kitchens. Since 2008 Mainz and the surrounding Rheinhessen region have belonged to the Great Wine Capitals Global Network.

Question 4

Tipping

Accepted Answer

Tips are usual in German restaurants, bars and taxis, though never mandatory. They rarely go above 10 percent of the bill, and many people simply round the total up. Taxi drivers are typically given 5 to 10 percent, and at least a euro. Fast-food restaurants are not tipped.

Question 5

Carnival, Wine and Customs

Accepted Answer

Mainz has been one of the strongholds of Rhineland carnival since the early 19th century, and its organized carnival dates from 1837 and 1838. The high point falls in late February or early March. Each year the carnival season is proclaimed from the balcony of the Osteiner Hof on Schillerplatz. The Mainz wine market is held in August and September.

Question 6

History

Accepted Answer

Mainz grew from a Roman legionary camp into the seat of powerful archbishops, and it was here that Gutenberg printed with movable type. The Second World War destroyed most of the center, and the city was rebuilt as the capital of a new German state. A Roman camp, 13 to 12 BC: The Romans built a camp for two legions on the Kästrich hill, the start of Roman Mogontiacum. The cathedral, 975 to 1011: Archbishop Willigis built St. Martin's Cathedral, and most of what stands today dates from the 11th to the 13th centuries. A free city: From the 13th to the 15th century Mainz governed itself, until the archbishop took its freedom away in 1462. Printing, about 1440 to 1455: Johannes Gutenberg developed printing with movable type around 1440 and printed his Bibles in Mainz between 1452 and 1455. A university, 1477: The university was founded, and it reopened in 1946 as Johannes Gutenberg University. French rule, 1792 to 1814: The short-lived Mainz Republic was declared in 1792 and 1793, and Mainz belonged to France from 1798 to 1814. War and a new capital, 1945: About 80 percent of the inner city was destroyed in the Second World War, and in 1945 Mainz became the capital of Rhineland-Palatinate. Roman ships, 1981: Builders found the remains of eleven Roman ships from the late Roman Rhine fleet. World Heritage, 2021: Mainz, Speyer and Worms were listed together by UNESCO for their medieval Jewish communities, the ShUM sites. To learn more ashore: Gutenberg-Museum MOVED, at Reichklarastraße 1, shows two Gutenberg Bibles and fragments of the 36-line Bible in its treasure room, beside a model of the city that marks where Gutenberg worked.

Question 7

With Children

Accepted Answer

The Gutenberg Museum is the family highlight in Mainz, because children can do more there than look. It also shares a building with the Natural History Museum, which makes an easy second stop. Younger children: The farmers' market by the cathedral and the riverside promenade make an easy, low-key morning. School age: The museum's print shop, the Druckladen, lets visitors from age 6 print by themselves with lead and wooden type. It is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Teenagers: The exhibition has media stations, including one where you can take a selfie in a print-shop set. Tickets: In 2026 children aged 4 to 18 paid €4 and a family ticket was €16. Check before you go.

Question 8

Accessibility

Accepted Answer

Mainz was named a barrier-free city in 2005, and the tourist information office in the mainz STORE on the market square is a good first stop. It has step-free access from the Höfchen/Listmann bus stop, low counters and room to move in a wheelchair. The office lends a Braille city guide against a deposit and keeps information on accessible travel in Mainz. A two-hour step-free guided walk covers the cathedral, the old town and the modern center, and can be booked through the tourist office. Tactile paving guides blind and partially sighted visitors along key routes, and more and more traffic lights give sound and vibration signals. Buses and trams announce stops aloud, and displays at stops can read out the next departures on request.

Question 9

Shopping

Accepted Answer

The market at the cathedral is the place to buy food and wine from the region, and on Saturdays local winegrowers sell there. The mainz STORE on the market square has a wide range of souvenirs. The farmers' market is held on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The mainz STORE also hosts changing exhibitions by local artists on its upper floor, free to visit during opening hours.

Mainz

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