Louise_LS

Germany is a much more difficult place to research than I thought!

Can any kind souls help recommend which Germany cities are easy to get around, with a 20+month toddler in tow and without travelling in a car?

it will be a two weeks trip, likely in early may next year and if possible, I will like to go to paris as well. I am ok to any kind of places of interest, as long as they prove interesting to a toddler and not difficult to get to without a car. A castle and/or some wildlife will be great as well, if that is possible!

Many thanks,
Louise

halfapair

Munich would be a good city to visit. They have a large park the, Englischer Garten, which is perfect for a toddler to stretch their legs and get some playtime in.

There's the Residenz for you and the Marianplatz Glockenspiel.

From Munich you can probably take day-tours out the castles in Bavaria, so you won't need a car.

LSky

German cities are all pretty easy to get around in without a car. Is there any particular one that strikes your fancy right now?

Munich is lovely but 2 weeks in Munich might be a bit long.

Are you planning to buy a rail pass?

Mainhattengirl

A 20 month old toddler is happy anyplace there are things to play with, so it doesn't matter where you are, as long as you are enjoying the sites. A child that age could care less that you are at a castle, museum, or the glockenspiel. What they do like are trains, buses, playgrounds, zoos, pools, and parks to run and play in. There are parks in every city, lots of parks, so you needn't pick Munich just because of the English Garden. All of the cities have great public transportation too, so this makes it easy for you. Most cities have zoos. You might want to go to Berlin for the biggest zoo, and then spend some time seeing other sites. Will your child sleep in a stroller while you visit a museum, or go on a walking tour?

I think if you get a guidebook about Germany and pick 2 or 3 cities to explore, based on what interests you the most, your child will just go along and find things that are interesting to a kid. You might be looking at a Picasso, and your child will be fascinated by the bug crawling on the floor. That's how it is, sightseeing with children of that age. Just make sure they have enough time to play and nap, and all will be well.

Russ

"I am ok to any kind of places of interest, as long as they prove interesting to a toddler..."

Your toddler will probably be into things like parks, playgrounds, zoos, boat rides, and splash pools. I'd scope out such options in whatever places you choose, but I'd choose places based mostly on your own interests.

" I will like to go to paris as well. ...and not difficult to get to without a car... A castle and/or some wildlife will be great as well, if that is possible!"

Not a lot to go on, but Cochem in the Mosel Valley, not far from the Luxembourg border, springs immediately to mind. Cochem is small and easily walkable. From Cochem, you're about 4 hours by train from Paris - not bad. (You'll spend 6-8 hours reaching Paris from Munich, 9-10 hours from Berlin.) Reichsburg Castle is right in town (there's a shuttle bus) and besides the tour, the castle offers a terrific falconry show (Tu-Su.) Frequent river cruises leave from the dock in the center of town. The old town is an attractive jumble of half timbered houses and old town walls and towers - fun to explore. There's a chairlift ride to an awesome lookout over the town w/ outdoor cafe - and you can walk from there (baby backpack?) about 15 min. to the combo zoo/amusement park (Wild- und Freizeitpark Klotten.) You might need a taxi there otherwise.

Photos of chairlift, view, and amusement park:
http://www.lokschuppen-loh.de/Berich...otten_2012.htm

Chairlift website: http://www.cochemer-sesselbahn.de/en/

Reviews of Wild- und Freizeitpark Klotten

Reichsburg Castle: http://www.reichsburg-cochem.de/

Photos of falconry show at Reichsburg castle:
http://www.falknerei-reichsburg-cochem.de/fotobuch.htm

You can take outings by train from Cochem to Trier (about 45 min.), Germany's oldest city with an interesting Roman past, or to other small villages in the area. Cochem's station is near the old town area. The Rheinland-Pfalz ticket (daypass) makes it easy to reach Trier and is good on buses within Trier (which you'll probably want to take advantage of.)

I'd strongly recommend a vacation apartment - having a kitchen and more room makes things so much easier with a toddler. Cochem has a good number of these.

One option: Haus Andreas: http://www.pension-haus-andreas.de/en/zimmer.php
Cochem's website: http://www.cochem.de/
Cochem's accommodations brochure: http://issuu.com/cochem/docs/gastgeb...eichnis2012-13
Cochem area booking engine: http://www.ferienland-cochem.de/next...?lang=en&e1=-1

If you want a larger city than Cochem, Trier might be a good option as well - it's about 45 minutes closer to Paris too, and if you locate yourselves well, you may be able to do much of it on foot. You can visit Cochem on a day trip from there. Getting around such large cities as Berlin and Munich with a toddler may or may not work for you, but it sounds daunting to me.

Russ

Here's a link to the Rheinland-Pfalz ticket daypass mentioned above; it's 22€/day for one adult + toddler, or 26€ for 2 adults + toddler:

http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and...-pfalz-ticket/

Louise_LS

Many thanks all. These are fantastic ideas, and definitely helpful for me to shrink the research band - I will be checking out cochem, trier and munich.

Louise_LS

Lsky, all of the cities look great to me - really wouldn't know what to choose without some guidance. Thanks a lot for helpful people in the forums!

Louise_LS

Thanks Russ, I did a quick check on cochem - it looks really charming and is really growing on me.

I am coming from Singapore & will need to travel from one of the big cities to reach there. Is it nearest to Frankfurt or cologne?

How do you train from cochem to paris? What's the usual cost?
Will it be better if I fly in/out Frankfurt or fly in Frankfurt/out paris?

TIA!

Louise_LS

I just check out Frankfurt and frankly quite disappointed. Cologne is much more interesting but sadly, it is quite difficult to find flights in/out Singapore at non-exorbitant rates.

I think I will book paris return flights - paris for 5 days/4nights - train to cochem & spend 3 days/2 nights there then train to cologne for another 5days/4nights, then railway back to paris. Can anyone advise if this is workable?

Thanks!

greg

What is "disappointing" about Frankfurt? The flight availability or Frankfurt as a place to visit? I use Frankfurt often, but only as an airport and not as a place to visit. Unless you flight is super early, you can stay in nearby city like Mainz, which is 10 min further than staying in downtown Frankfurt, or even a further away city like Würzburg if your flight is late enough. I think railway back to Paris only to catch a flight home would be even more disappointing and time consuming.

Louise_LS

Thanks greg, as a place to visit. I just did a glance through the places of interest and couldn't find anything for children. It is mainly for business, with skyscrapers and a stock exchange.

PalenQ

Cochem is the picture-postcard fairy-tale town most folks dream of when going to Europe but rarely get to, gravitating instead to the mega tourist cities like Munich or Berlin. It is also easy to get to by train.

It is a good base for hops to places nearby of interest - like the Rhine Gorge and taking the K-D boats thru the heart of the Rhine Gorge - toddlers may love the boat ride more than adults!

k-d.com for schedules - trains are fantastic in Germany - for schedules www.bahn.de/en - if you are in a compact area loo into Lander Cards where you get unlimited use of regional trains and city buses and trams and S-Bahns and U-Bahns for a whole day for a pittance of a price - a 2 year old never needs any ticket - under 4 pretty much travel free on trains but that often means the under 4 is entitled to their own seat but must sit with you I believe - of course if there are empty seats conductors won't care.

For loads of great info on German trains check out these fine IMO sites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - if traveling much on long distance trains then a German Railpass could be a great deal - it lets you hop any kind of train virtually anytime - but if staying in a compact area check out the Lander Tickets.

PalenQ

If you do have to return to Paris you can take an overnight train - a CNL hotel train - save on the cost of a hotel to help offset train fare - nab nifty discounts at www.bahn.de/en if you book far enough in advance as discounted tickets are limited in numbers.

Louise_LS

thanks palenQ.

Louise_LS

Thanks All, I managed to sort out the itinerary to either:
1. Paris - Cochem/Burg Eltz/Trier/xx - Luxembourg - Paris
2. Paris - Luxembourg - Cochem/Burg Eltz/Trier/xx - Frankfurt

Ideally, option 2 seems more logical but it depends on if I can get a not too bad rate on paris/Frankfurt versus round trip paris.

Thanks Russ, can I trouble you to send the link where you manage to get a train ride to cochem from paris under 4hrs as bahn.de shows a minimum duration of 5.5hrs-9hrs. I am not sure if I got it right.

Louise_LS

Thanks Russ I got it, you have to choose paris est & cochem (mosel) and 3month in advance for savings rates, to get a ride under 4hrs. Do you know where is paris est?

For frequent users of bahn.de, are these trains punctual or are train delays frequent?

Russ

"Thanks Russ I got it, you have to choose paris est & cochem (mosel) and 3month in advance for savings rates, to get a ride under 4hrs."

No, you can get a ride under 4 hours tomorrow if you want (8:53 from Cochem to Paris, 9:10 for Paris-Cochem.) The 92-days-in-advance strategy will get you a very low price, however.

"Do you know where is paris est?"

It's in Paris' 10th arr. It's not far from Paris Nord station, if you know where that is. It's an easy walk of a few blocks from one to the other.

PalenQ

anyway from Paris-Est station the metro/RER will easily take you anywhere in Paris - beware anyone coming up to you and say offering to help you buy metro tickets however - lots of scams reported - use the automatic machines which have instructions on them. Buy a carnet of metro tickets - 10 at once as they are significantly cheaper than buying solo ones and can be shared with any member of your party - child should go free - push him thru the automatic ticket taker turnstile with you.

PalenQ

For frequent users of bahn.de, are these trains punctual or are train delays frequent?>

You mean frequent uses of German trains, not the German Railways (Die Bahn) web site - and IME trains in Germany are not unlikely to be late - sometimes a lot late - usually on time but no not clockwork - some stations are very congested affecting trains if one runs behind schedule it can have a domino effect. Leave plenty of time between any connecting trains - like Cochem to Paris where you probably have to change in Luxembourg City.