Villa Rustica Weilberg — Attraction in Bad Dürkheim

I was confused about what this was exactly based on the Google Maps location information and reviews; I figured it was a ruin of a Roman villa and winery, but there were opening hours and a type of building that most ruins don’t have. Indeed, it is “JUST” a ruined Roman villa and winery, though there is a closeby winery, which seem to be a separate establishment from the ruin. That building is a covered/enclosed part of the ruin that that is inaccessible for entry unless you have a guided tour (though you can see inside pretty well), but the outdoor section is freely accessible 24/7.

I came here today on this hot August Monday afternoon with my three kids ages 6, 4, and 2 years. We parked at the lot about 100 meters south of the ruin - it can be seen on Google Maps via satellite view, but there is no Google Maps location there (though I did request the addition of one). The lot is large but very sunny with little shade. There was a paved path leading up a slight incline to the ruin; a stroller would have been fine but the walk is quite short, and my three kids did it in about 15 minutes (I'm sure less than 5 minutes for many adults). Once at the ruin, there are stairs you can climb but I think you can see most of it without, though the stairs and halls through the ruined foundations are quite fun to navigate through, and there are informational signs hidden throughout the ruin. There are tons of diagrams showing what things looked like back then, and lots of information only in German (I haven't yet had a chance to translate them, which is hard to do on the spot with three small kids). The area is quite sunny but has some shaded spots. An unexpected, very interesting find were the coffins with a listing of the bodies and accessories found in them. You could look into the inside and see most of it, if not read the signs on the walls - it looks like it is meant to show what the interior of the villa might have looked like. There was not much in the way of seats in terms of benches or picnic tables, but plenty of rock walls and stones to sit on. We spent about 30 minutes there (including having a snack that we brought with us) before moving on to the Romankelter, which was the Roman winepress maybe 100-200 meters along the path (I don't remember if signs pointed to it, as we used Google Maps, but it was just had to go down through the grapevines one section and make a right and there it was). There is an enclosed building there that you can look into to read the signs and see some artifacts. That was a very short visit, about 5-10 minutes, though I didn't take the time to translate all of the signs. Again, plenty of rocks to sit on to rest or picnic. We had the fun opportunity to see some alpacas being led along the path as we went back to our car. Overall it was about a 1 hour visit for both together, including having snacks and walking; it may be shorter for people who walk faster than my kids or maybe longer if you take the time to read all of the signs. I highly recommend visiting this place if you are close to the area - I'd drive up to an hour for this as it was beautiful, informative, and fun to explore. Or drive farther and make a day out of it visiting nearby wineries! There is also another Villa Rustica about 15 minutes north that may make a good addition to the day, though I haven't been...

Looks impressive from distance with Roman columns standing against the sky. Am I in Tuscany? Closer, the reconstruction looks quite cheap, almost plasticky. Still, there are the remains of walls, a selection of Roman sarcophagi and lots of information boards. Not worth a massive diversion, but nice to spend 30 mins. Offers grest views...

Waren am Wochenende da - es war ziemlich voll und einen Tisch zu bekommen war nicht leicht. Man kann jedoch auch schön auf den Mauern sitzen und dort seine Weinschorle trinken.

Das Ambiente ist toll - in den Ruinen einer Römischen Villa zu sitzen und den Ausblick genießen, bei herrlichem Wetter. Perfekt.

Das Essen ist sehr lecker und preislich in Ordnung. Schaut euch die Teller vorher an - die Portioen sind doch je nach Gericht sehr unterschiedlich. Da es auch Preisunterschiede zwischen den Gerichten gibt sollte eigenltich auch ziemlich die gleiche Menge auf dem Teller sein - das ist aber nicht so.

Getränke - für jeden gibt es was. Wein von 3 versch. Weingütern und Alkoholfreies. Bier habe ich nirgends gesehen :-) Dafür Weinschorle 0,5l für 5,50 Euro - die Mischung war ziemlich gut und eher Weinlastig....

Empfehlenswertes Ausflugsziel - vielleicht eher...