MaryPeterson

Will be in Germany in Sept and plan to drive from Frankfurt to Berlin. How long a drive? Want to stay in hotel on edge of city and use public transportation to go into Berlin to see sights. Any suggestions on where to stay at reasonable cost to 2 adults?

traveller1959

Driving time by car will be 5:00 to 5:30 (from center to center), the train takes 4:10.

I would strongly recommend to stay in the center of Berlin - you will be in the midst of things.

Otherwise, stay in Potsdam which is a sight in itsself (with magnificent castles and park and nice pubs in old town).

Hotels: In Potsdam the NH Voltaire is quite nice, has good rates and a good location. But check by yourself. www.hrs.de is an excellent site to look for hotels

treplow

Why do you want to drive? Unless you have the time to do some sightseeing off the autobahn (your question about the driving time implies to me that you are pressed for time)the trip really isn't particularly interesting. The train is faster and you don't need, in fact you don't WANT the nuisance of a car in Berlin with its excellent public tranport system

MaryPeterson

We're driving because we do want to do some sightseeing off the autobahn and were wondering how long the basic trip would take. That way we can figure out how much time we can add and still get to Berlin that day, or the next, if there is more to see on the way. After Berlin we plan to go north (Hamburg, etc) and then work our way back toward Frankfurt. Any help with where to go and what to see after Berlin would be welcome also. Thanks!!

traveller1959

On your drive from Frankfurt to Berlin, I would recommend to stop at Eisenach and visit the Wartburg. The Wartburg is typical medieval castle and was the place where Martin Luther translated the bible. It belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Another stop could be Erfurt. Erfurt has a beautiful old town with a covered bridge across the river.

A third option is Weimar, a town with architecture in classical style. Weimar was the town where Goethe and Schiller spent much time. Weimar is also UNESCO World Heritage.

I forgot to add to my first reply that Potsdam has a convenient train location to Berlin. I would not recommend other places in the outskirts of Berlin. They are too remote.

Here some weblinks:

http://www.potsdam.de/cms/ziel/26822/EN/
http://www.wartburg-eisenach.de/frame_st.htm
http://www.erfurt.de/ef/en/sightseeing/
http://www.weimar.de/en/tourism/home...orld-heritage/