jenblase

14 nights in Austria and Germany in Nov./Dec. Flying into Munich and out of Frankfurt and we want to make a loop around, visiting the Romantic Road towns. But I am not sure where to stay on these nights. Any suggestions?

Nov. 27: Munich
Nov. 28: Munich
Nov. 29: Berchtesgaden
Nov. 30: Berchtesgaden
Dec. 1: Salzburg
Dec. 2: Salzburg
Dec. 3: Head to Fussen but stop in Wattens to visit Swarovski factory. Should we stay 1 night in Innsbruck?
Dec. 4: Fussen area
Dec. 5: ??
Dec. 6: ??
Dec. 7: ??
Dec. 8: Stuttgart
Dec. 9: Stuttgart
Dec. 10: Frankfurt (one night since we depart early from airport on Dec. 11)

AisleSeat

Depending on which way you go from the Salzburg area to Fussen you could go through Mittenwald, Garmish, Ettal Monastary, Linderhof, Oberammergau, Wieskirche then to Fussen for the castles. Driving straight through would be 2-3 hours but you could easily spend a couple of days exploring.

While you are in Salzburg you can daytrip to Hallstatt. While in Berchtesgaden daytrip to Herren Chiemsee. Hall austria is also worth a visit and very close to Innsbruck. While you are in that area you could even make a long day-trip to the dolomites in Italy.

DAX

Adding to the empty days if you want to come to Stuttgart from the south: Lake Constance (Meersburg), Blackforest,Tuebingen, with a daytrip to Hechingen for the hilltop Hohenzollern castle www.preussen.de/en/today/burg_hohenzollern.html

Or you can come from the east: Schwaebisch Hall, Bad Wimpfen, Heidelberg. Heidelberg should be your last night stay before departing from Frankfurt airport since Heidelberg is only an hour away from the airport.

magoo57

For Lodging near Fuessen I would recommend Hotel- Pension Waldmann. I stayed there seveal years ago, plenty of parking, reasonable prices and a terrific Restaurant. The 'Hirschbraten' (venisson) was just heavenly. It is located only two minutes drive from the ticket office where you have to purchase your admission tickets for both Schloss Neuschwanstein and HohenSchwanGau. Don't forget to visit LinderHof, Ludwigs Country retreat it is much smaller then Neuschwanstein but georgeously deccorated. He practically bankrupted the Bavarian Treasury when he build it. But then only used it a few times before he became a recluse and lived in his hunting cabin before he misteriously drowned one night.
Here is a link to the Hotel.

http://www.hotel-waldmann.de

ira

Hi J,

Is there a reason for staying 2 nights in Stuttgart?

Add at least 1 more night in Fuessen.

Drive to Rothenburg from Stuttgart - 1 or 2 nights - on the way to Frankfurt.

Enjoy your visit.

jenblase

So you think I should do it:
Stuttgart
Then Rothenburg
Then Frankfurt?

Does that make the most sense, as far as routing?

wolfmisc

Stuttgart/Rothenburg oT/Frankfurt is doable, but doesnt make much sense regarding your route.
I would also go from Fuessen via Lake Constance and Black Forest to Stuttgart and then over Heidelberg to the airport.
Or after Fuessen skip Stuttgart and follow the Romantic Road and then over Wuerzburg to Frankfurt.
And keep in mind that end of November to December is a lousy time to visit Austria and Germany. If it not snows it rains or vice versa.

DAX

If you've never been to Nurnberg & Rothenburg, then you should just add them for day 5,6,&7 then you can drive down to Stuttgart with a stop in Schwaebisch Hall.

If you don't have a special reason to be in Stuttgart, then you may even consider replacing it with nearby Bamberg & Wurzburg.

jenblase

We are going for the Christmas Markets mainly, so I don't think it's a "lousy time" to go to Germany and Austria since it's the only time!

And I chose Stuttgart for two nights because I know my husband wants to do the Porsche and Mercedes museums, and I hear they have a good Xmas market there as well. Plus the Le Meridien is supposed to be very nice and I can use points, which is always a plus.

I know I can't do everything and go everywhere but it's just so difficult to choose!!

hausfrau

There's no such thing as a lousy time to visit Germany and Austria!

But yes, it could be raining, snowing, or just really dreary and cloudy. My suggestion is to focus on scenic towns rather than scenic landscapes, because if you are looking for the latter and get rained/snowed on, you will be disappointed. I think your plan so far is a good one.

Someone suggested Hall - that's a good alternative to Innsbruck if you need a stopover, but I think you could do Salzburg to Fuessen easily in a day (not sure exactly where the Swarovski factory is or how much time you want to spend there).

I have traveled the Romantic Road in the winter and while the towns are gorgeous, the "road" itself is not the major attraction...just keep that in mind. The entire stretch of the Romantic Road is within a few hours' drive of Stuttgart, so you could certainly spend 2-3 nights on that route before heading to Stuttgart. Rothenburg is certainly worth a visit and is magical at Christmastime - but not for the market, which is tiny. (If you don't mind staying a bit outside of town, another awesome castle-hotel is Burg Colmberg (www.burg-colmberg.de, but it looks like they are updating their website right now). We also enjoyed Dinkelsbuehl and others rave about Noerdlingen, which we didn't get to. Landsberg-am-Lech is wonderful but far better in the summertime, in my opinion. Heidelberg is a tourist favorite and has its charm (and a great castle) but I would personally avoid it - too many Americans crowding the streets.

I wouldn't recommend the Bodensee (Lake Constance) in the wintertime. Save it for a spring or summer trip.

For something a bit more off the beaten path, you could look at some of the towns that DAX suggested: Tuebingen, Schwaebisch Hall, and Bad Wimpfen are three of my favorite towns in the region. They are different sizes (I've listed them from large to small) and have beautiful architecture; all would make for lovely day visits or overnights. Burg Hohenzollern is one of my favorite German castles (up there with Burg Eltz in the Mosel Valley) and is spectacular at any time of year.

You are going to Stuttgart for all the right reasons - the Christmas market is my personal favorite in Germany (and no, as I've said before, I am not saying that just because I lived there). It is HUGE and has tons of character. The decorations on the booths alone are worth the visit! The highlight is Schillerplatz, the oldest and most atmospheric square in the city, but the market spills out into the Schlossplatz, Rathausplatz, Koenigstrasse, and nearby Calwerstrasse. The new Mercedes museum is incredible and the new Porsche museum should be open by the time of your visit.

Of course I haven't even gotten to the Hotel auf Schoenburg, which you found on the Valentine's Day thread. If you wanted to stop on the Rhine I would definitely recommend this hotel, but again, bad weather could really ruin a trip to the Mosel and/or Rhine valleys so I'm not sure that winter is the best time to go.

Whew, any questions? ;-)

jweb

Fab advicej !

DAX

jenblase: Nurnberg is among the most well known for its christmas market and there is actually a classic style Le Meridien just across the street from the Hauptbahnhof and the old town medieval gate & wall. If you do stay there, beg for the 2 room junior suite on the top floor or even pay the extra 30 eur to upgrade, it's really worth it.

The modern Le Meridien in Stuttgart is indeed much nicer, I just wished the location is not so far removed from where the livelier parts of the city. You have to walk across a major boulevard (Willy Brandt), then trek through a large park just to reach the edge of the central area. We actually had to take taxis all the time to commute to the hotel especially at night when the park was dark. There is a lot of live music cafe/bar hopping scene in Stuttgart. Plenty of nightlife if you understand German. Stuttgart is a comfortable rich city but it doesn't have the typical Bavarian appeal that most american/japanese tourists seek. The only thing Bavarian that I can think of is the Fransiskaner Restaurant, not a bad place to eat.

jenblase

Thanks so much for the valuable advice, Hausfrau. I think we're going to stick with the two nights in Stuttgart, especially as we have much we want to see and do in that area.

As for the Schoenburg, I showed my husband the website and said "I want to stay HERE!" and his concern is that it will be difficult to get up to the hotel in the winter with our rental car, if we should have bad weather. Do you think that's something to be concerned about?

hausfrau

My reaction was pretty similar when I first visited the Schoenburg's website!

I really don't think the road should be a problem. It would be rare indeed to get enough snow so early in the winter to cause you difficulties in the Rhine Valley.

ira

Hi J,

>So you think I should do it:
Stuttgart
Then Rothenburg
Then Frankfurt?

Yup, if you must visit Stuttgart.

Plot your trip from Fuessen to Frankfurt at www.viamichelin.com