odalysg215

Ok so my husband, friend and I will be traveling the first week of November to Germany as the middle part of our annual Europe Trip. We will be flying into Frankfurt from London and heading down to Munich. Since we are taking the train between Frankfurt and Munich we wanted to make a stop somewhere along the way (full day and night) just to see a bit more of Germany. Problem is we have no idea where to stop. I would like to visit a smallish town where we could walk around easily and explore at our leisure while having some good food and drinking at pubs. Does anyone have any suggestions and reasons why? We are all in our early 30s if that matters.

Thank you kindly in advance!

PalenQ

Well Heidelberg ain't far from Frankfurt but neither is Munich these days with high-speed trains and Heidelberg is one of the rare German towns not blitzed to bits in WW2 - not really small but not huge - a college town and with the castle of your dreams - head here from the airport - spend the whole day here - a really relaxed type of place.

Or how sabout the Rhine Gorge - cute little riverside towns like Bingen, Rudesheim, St Goar - settle down in one of those and watch the passing parade on the Rhine - or even take the short few-hour K-D boat tour thru the best part of the Rhine Gorge (www.k-d.com) - don't know of any nice smallish towns where a tourist could find things to do on the main Frankfurt to Munich mainline but maybe others do - Augsburg is a sweet town but a largish one but one you would walk around the town center easily.

Are you taking trains around Germany or just staying in Bavaria? If doing several inter-city trains check on the German Twin Railpass which lets you hop on any train just about anytime - fully flexible and gives a discount on the K-D boats. for lots of good info on German trains check www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. Check www.bahn.de/en the German Railways official site for schedules and discounted fares which however are train-specific, non-changeable, refundable vs a cancellation fee of about $20 I think and as sold in limited numbers must be booked in stone weeks in advance to guarantee.

PalenQ

Oops - well the Rhine towns are north of Frankfurt - sorry had a brain malfunction - yet if looking for something to make a lovely day head there then bullet train it to Munich the next day - Frankfurt Main to Munich is just over 3 hours.

Heidelberg is just over an hour from Frankfurt Airport and is on the way to Munich - if going there just buy a ticket upon arrival - no real great discounts on that short trip and you can take regional trains with a flat cheap fare right from the airport.

Trophywife007

You might look into Würzburg. It is a lovely town with a fortress on a hilltop.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...a_Bavaria.html

Rothenburg OdT is a bit out of the way but possibly doable and the same goes for Bamberg but both are worth a visit. Bamberg was not hit during WWII so much of what is there has always been there and is not rebuilt. Nuremberg isn't small but it has a nice old town area that might fit the bill for you.

Enjoy your trip!

dugi_otok

Rothenburg OdT, the famous jewel-like town,would meet your requirements( accessible by rail from Wurzburg with a change at Steinach) as would half-timbered Iphfen (accessible by rail from Wurzburg).

www.rothenburg.de/index.php?id=467

https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/...&hsimp=yhs-001

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A10RFI7E4FIYNW

PalenQ

rothenbrug is about 2.5-3 hours by train like dugi says change in Wurzburg and Steinach - and then about two hours to Munich (Bavarian Regional Pass or Lander Card can be used where two or more can travel on regional trains for about 30 euros total - unlimited regional trains and city transportation to boot - buy that at any Bavarian train station - like Rothenburg's.

flpab

Nuremberg is a great stop. We stayed at the http://www.hotelvictoria.de/en/bouti...que-hotel.html

Right inside the walled city as you pop out of the train tunnel. The breakfast was the best ever that came with the room. I got this tip from another poster. A beautiful walled city with a lot of history, great food and pubs.

quokka

Würzburg was my first thought, too. You may want to have a look at my Würzburg page over on Virtualtourist to get an idea: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/f86bd/14f6/

PalenQ

I'll jump on the Wurzburg bandwagon - I thought it was really sweeet - vineyards practically falling down into town - monumental architecture - Wurzburg is a gem! You could still stop by Rothenburg the next day for a few hours en route to Munich (leave bags in Steinach station locker - you have to change trains I believe always or nearly so at Steinach to the deadend branch line serving Rothenburg from there.

november_moon

Wurzburg is a good idea. I'll throw Bamberg into the mix too. If you like beer, Bamberg has some fantastic stuff, and it is a really neat town.

PalenQ

Bamberg is smaller but not small and to me one of the very finest looking towns in Germany - two rushing rivers swirl right thru it if I recall correctly. A closer to Munich I believe than Wurzburg. can't go wrong between those two!

flpab

only a short distance from Frankfurt but we enjoyed our stop in Wertheim. Not a huge place but very walkable. I kept seeing the train so it must stop there.


http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel...im-TG-C-1.html

quokka

Bamberg is further northeast and off the direct route while Würzburg is right on the way.

tom_mn

In the same situation but going the other way, booked a stop in Bamberg. You will have to change in Würzburg to a regional express going there (1 hour), but there are direct ICE trains Bamberg to Munich. The deal breaker for me was that essentially all of Bamberg has its original structures. Of course if you have time, you could book your ticket on bahn.com to Bamberg with a free stopover in Würzburg and then see a bit of both.

trips4me

Why not just make a stop in Nürnberg? It's really half-way between Fkf and Munich - you could arrive there in the morning, visit the city than continue your trip to Munich in the afternoon or evening. All ICEs from Frankfurt to Munich make a stop there.

The railway station is impressive (built during WW2 - but that too is part of the recent history, though interesting to see) and the old city with its towers and medieval flair it's really special. I felt inlove with the city the 1st time I visited, it's really worth stopping there.

PalenQ

Nurnberg also has the largest extant collection of Third Reich relics of anyplace - just south of the town center by S-Bahn a few miles - the staidum and balcony where Fitler famously reviewed goods-stepping troops and huge lavish parade grounds that go for seemingly forever and a documentation center of all the pomp and circumstance and hatred that spewed forth here.