Sarah

Hi. My friend and I are traveling to Germany in April. What are some must see sights? Thanks. -Sarah

Jim

You have to be more specific? How much time do you have? What area of Germany are you going to? Germany is a very diverse country.

Monica

Hi Sarah, <BR> <BR>My husband Tony and I really enjoyed our first trip to Germany in June 2000. We flew into Frankfurt and headed to the Rhineland for a few days; then we did a day trip to Heidelberg on the way to Rothenburg (for 2 nights); then down the Romantic Road to Hohenfurch where we stayed and visited the castles in Bavaria; headed to Munich for 3 nights and enjoyed Munich, a half-day trip to Dachau and a day trip to Bertchesgaden. You can access my journal, as well as hotel and restaurant information on my personal travel page at http://luvtotravel.homestead.com/home.html. Any questions, email me! Monica

John

I agree with Monica you must see the castles of Bavaria. Munich is also a great city to see. But Germany is a big country as stated above.

xxx

Trier and the Mosel River Valley

Monica

Yes, we did a day trip along the Mosel River and spent the day in Trier. Great place to visit with the Roman ruins!

Kristin

In Germany we visited Trier, the Rhine, Leipzig, Wittenberg, and Berlin. If you are Lutheran (or Protestant) you may be interested in Wittenberg and other Luther sites. Berlin also has appeal, especially for history buffs.

Lee

Sarah, Everyone is right, many can help you, but first we need more information. <BR> <BR>If you could tell us the length of your stay and maybe exact dates (example: Rhine River boats run later in April), what your specific interests are, how you will be traveling (car, train, whatever), where you will start and end your visit and if you are flexible about where you'll stay and how long. <BR> <BR>If you have a 10 day trip and arrive and depart from Frankfurt for example, you could arrive and send two or three days along the middle Rhine, then head over to Munich with maybe two days there, down to Garmisch and take in the Zugspitze, Linderhof Castle, Ettal, Oberammergau, the Weiskirche and on to Neuschwanstein, then heading up to Rothenburg and back along A3 to Frankfurt. Any extra day(s) could be spent maybe in Heidelburg. <BR> <BR>That's just a rough example, you may already have things in mind, maybe a different area, like Berlin. I just picked that one since it's doable and one of my favorites. <BR> <BR>Best of luck.

Ann

Sarah, with three HUGE assumptions: (1) you haven't been to German before; 2) you have more than a few days to stay; (3) you're coming and going from Frankfurt, I'd say: <BR>See the Rhine river from just south of Koblenz to Bingen - car, train or boat all okay; stay at least one night along the way in a castle if you can (this is especially nice to do at the END of your trip). <BR>Go through Heidelberg to Rothenburg o.d.Tauber; stay at least one night if you can and shop your head off for cute German Christmas ornaments/souvenirs. <BR>Go south to Munich; stay at least two nights if you can and go see the glockenspiel, go to the viktualienmarkt, go to Nymphenburg, go to the Residenz. <BR>Go further south to Fussen, see Neuschwanstein, see Wieskirche; stay overnight in Schwangau or environs. <BR>Go even further south to Garmisch, but don't chance the Zugspitz in April unless it's crystal clear and sunny; drive into the hills through Oberammergau; see Linderhof and the Ettal monastary; stay overnight in a gasthaus or farmhouse. <BR>Head east to Salzburg (it's so close, why not?), ride the funicular to the top of the fortress, walk the pedestrian area in the center of town and see Mozart's birthplace, duck into some churches and hope someone's practicing on the organ. <BR>Go to Berchtesgaden for nothing but the scenery and take in as much of it as possible, from the shores of Konigssee to the top of the Jenner if the weather is good; make sure you don't miss the beautiful chapel on the stream in Ramsau, painted by every artist to visit Germany (including Eisenhower!) stay at least two nights so you can see everything, perhaps on the shore of the Ammersee or in a peaceful village like Ramsau; go to the salt mines if the weather is bad or just for fun. <BR>Drive back to Frankfurt (perhaps through the Black Forest, depending on how much time you have left) to leave. There are lots of other must-see sights, but this will give you a real flavor for the country. If my assumptions are incorrect, then you should post back giving us the real skinny so you can get some real good advice. Cheers... <BR>

Sarah

Thank you so much to everyone who responded to my question. My friend and I will be flying to and from Frankfurt. People that I have talked to didn't really like Frankfurt. What do you all think of it? How long should we stay there? We are going to be staying in hostels. I really want to travel down to Munich and visit Dachau. We will be there for Easter. Do trains run on Easter? Good Friday? Thanks again for all your help. -Sarah

xxx

Sarah, you might want to try purchasing a guide book or two and even type a few words into a search engine in order to plan your travel. Information such as train schedules are readily available if you take just a minute or two of your own time to avail yourself of it. <BR> <BR>Decide what interests you and build your itinerary around it. After you have a rough idea, then come to Fodor's for more specific first hand accounts and knowledge. You sound like you haven't done much planning or research at all. You don't really know what you want to see or do or why, and you don't intend to spend your own valuable time researching anything when you can post here and ask others to do it all for you. <BR> <BR>Do your homework. Your time is no more valuable than anyone else's here.