Well if I was coming to Europe for beer I'd go to Belgium.

still if you want to go to Germany and need castles, beer and museums then Munich looks good but so does Dresden, Liepzig etc

I like these areas but they would not be my main place to visit.

I keep going back to the border with France. It allows you to cross the border and because it is a wine producing area and because the French/German border is a natural place to find castles.

Look at a map and you find a line of cities

Luxembourg, Trier, Koblenz, Freiburg, Mulhouse, Strasbourg, Heidelberg

Each of these has the sort of thing you would like. If you look on your holiday as not visiting a "country" but an "area" you might get the best of all worlds.

What kind of museums do you enjoy?

With 5 days pick a city. Munich is a beautiful city with castles nearby, scenic and some good art museums.

I don't want to turn this into a beer debate but you are right to go to Germany for the best beer.

You could also consider taking a trip up the Romantic Road.

I would say go to Bavaria. All of Ludwigs castles are in a close area there. Munich has the museums and beer halls. The scenery is also beautiful in that area.

Where in the Netherlands will you be? You may want to consider staying more North. With only five days, I would minimize my travel time so I had more time to sight see and taste beer.

There are a lot of Christmas markets that take place during November. You might enjoy visitng some of them.

If you want to see castles, Bavaria is a good destination. If you want to visit musuems, go to Berlin. There are a lot of world-class museums there. http://www.berlin.de/international/museums/index.en.php

It does depend upon the type of museum. Berlin has some of the best museums.

Given the time of year I would definitely choose a largish city for a home base because the weather is going to be a variable. I agree that Munich is a good choice, but keep in mind that Bavaria is its own country! You could make day trips to visit castles and see the mountains if the weather is fine, and have lots of museum of options if it is cold and wet. And the beer...well, you won't have any trouble there.

With 5 days I would choose Berlin with Munich as a second choice.

Berlin is a fabulous city with great museums, an edgy personality, lots of history and really diverse architecture. We are headed there for the 6th time between Christmas and New Years.

It is one of our favorite destinations in Europe and also a good value for a world class city.

We will be in Amsterdam for our business trip. We are interested in any type of museum really...I didn't mean to come off as huge beer drinkers we are not..we just know Germany has great beer..Last year we visited Belgium and had a wonderful time and some incredible beer...we mainly want to sight see..Castles, museums and good food...

From Amsterdam, I would head to Maastricht, then Aachen and Koeln (try some Kölsch, a variety of museums) perhaps detour to Augustusburg and Falkenlust and if there was time, to the Mosel.
You'll spend too much of your short time traveling if you go to Munich or Berlin.

Of course from Amsterdam he could head east to Munster, plenty of moated castles there.

Although, Koeln and Aachen are very good ideas, while they're in the area they could go to Burg Eltz, it's a castle. Lots of people like it.

The Ludwig Museum in Koeln is outstanding.

I'm with the "go to Bavaria" crowd. Munich has great Christmas markets starting about Thanksgiving, three big art museums, the Deutsches Museum, a hands on science museum, great beer and great food, Nymphenburg Palace, the Residenz, BMW factory and museum, plus it is close to the Alps with all of Ludwig's castles. It is also close to Salzburg, Nuremburg and Rothenburg.

I am sorry that you have got some advice from people who are not familiar with geography. From the Netherlands, Bavaria is far away. It makes much more sense to visit the areas which are close to the border.

LSky has given good advice: Maastricht (historical town on the Dutch side), Aachen (Charlemagne's cathedral from 800 A.D., medieval city hall, Ludwig Forum), Cologne are excellent destination. Münster is a beautiful city, with many castles around, some of the spectacular (Nordkirchen). Düsseldorf has also lots to offer.


In November, days will be short, cold, rainy and dreary. So, it will make sense to spend some time in museums. The above mentioned towns have world-class museums:
- Ludwig Forum in Aachen for contemporary art.
- Museum Ludwig in Köln for modern art.
- Chocolate Museum in Köln.
- K20 for 20th century art, K21 for 21st century art and MuseumKunstPalast for temporary exhibitions in Düsseldorf.
- Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann (near Düsseldorf).
- And tons of technical museums in the Ruhr Valley...

You do not say if you are driving, taking the train or flying to Germany. It makes a difference as you can see.

My recommendation would be BAVARIA. It is a beautiful area of Germany, especially if you get snow. The Alps are fantastic in the snow. Start in Munich then drive either to Berchtesgaden/Salzburg area or Garmisch Partenkirchen. You will not be diappointed. There is plenty of info on both those areas on this site.

The Christmas Markets start each year in late November. Usually after our Thanksgiving. My wife and I did them 5 years in a row. They are quite popular now so you need to be carefull about the rooms. Decide where you want to go and book some rooms.

Prepare for cold and short days, but the country is devoid of the hoards of summer tourists. It is a good trade-off.

I'm with those who think there's no reason at all to chew up your see-Germany time with train or car rides (it's NINE hours either way from A'dam to Munich!) or flights (security, transfers, baggage waits, etc.) You'll find museums, castles, and more just across the German border. Aachen, mentioned above, is just 3 hours away. In Aachen's back yard:

Cologne: The largest Gothic Church in Europe, the Cologne Cathedral, and several good museums

Trier: Germany's oldest city, Roman ruins and history

Koblenz and Middle Rhine Valley: Marksburg Castle in Braubach, Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar:

Marksburg: www.marksburg.de (open year-round)
Rheinfels: http://www.st-goar.de/17-0-burg-rheinfels.html (daily through 11/11; weekends after that)
(Burg Eltz is closed after Nov. 1.)

Old world villages: Bacharach, Linz, and Boppard on the Rhine; Cochem and Bernkastel on the Mosel River

About the Middle Rhine Valley (Koblenz and south) http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de

Trier and Mosel River towns:

Missing link from my post: http://www.mosel-reisefuehrer.de/moselhighengl/moselhighlightsengl.html