5 days Upper Rhine
Jan 25th, 2007, 05:12 PM
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5 days Upper Rhine
June 10 we are coming from Paris for 5 nights in Germany. Our agent recommended, Cologne, Trier, Koblenz and fly out of Frankfurt. Luxemburg City was also recommended. Can we reasonably do them all? Should we drive from Paris or take train to Cologne and rent car? Any suggestions on places to stay. We have 2 teen daughters. Thanks.
Jan 25th, 2007, 05:27 PM
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If it were me I would take the train to Cologne or Koblenz and rent a car there. Other than the cathedral, I would not spend much time in Cologne (I'm sure others will have a different opinion on this one). I would spend a few nights in Koblenz and explore the Mosel and Rhine. Then maybe go south and stay in St. Goar or Bacharach. Be sure to take a half-day Rhine cruise on the KD Rhine boats. The best stretch is Rudesheim to St. Goar or Boppard. You might even look into staying in a castle hotel along that stretch of the Rhine. Your teenagers would love it.
Jan 26th, 2007, 06:06 AM
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5 nights is about right. Like Bob says, a stop for a meal and the Cathedral in Colgne is adequate unless you are interested in the museums there. Koblenz itself is a pleasant city that makes for a good base if traveling by train - it's possible to stay there all 5 days and see the whole Middle Rhine and Mosel areas from there. But I'd split it up so that you have a couple days on each river. The smaller villages are just a lot more scenic than busy Koblenz. St. Goar and Bacharach are both good suggestions on the Rhine, but St. Goar is more strategically located and has a more scenic setting; I'd suggest Cochem on the Mosel for its small-village, old-world atmosphere and its proximity to Burg Eltz castle, Trier, and Zell, but you could stay in Trier too if you want a larger city.
I'll make some suggestions for your itinerary here based on the train option.
Families can travel throughout the Rhine/Mosel region by train rather cheaply on the Rheinland-Pfalz ticket - 25 Euros per day per family, unlimited travel on RE and RB trains after 9 a.m. weekdays, any hours on Sat or Sun. You can buy these from ticket machines in the area or online at www.bahn.de . Pick up a pocket timetable in Trier, Cochem and/or Koblenz for the Rhine and Mosel routes so you can come and go more easily.
I'd take the morning train from Paris to Trier or Cochem and settle in for 3 days of days of sightseeing there. You can get a car in Saarbruecken or Trier, if you want. Trier, Cochem, Traben-Trarbach, and Koblenz are all well-connected by train, but in this area, a car is handy for going to Bernkastel, Zell, and Burg Eltz if you're pressed for time. Still, Bernkastel is covered by the R-P pass (Regiobus is included from Wittlich train station), and Burg Eltz is a very pleasant if lengthy walk from Moselkern station, so the train works too, but requires a bit more planning for these destinations. Beilstein is a cute little town not served by train, but the Mosel river boats go there regularly from Cochem - a very nice float.
If you're inclined, a bike ride along the Mosel is really nice; I like the route from Bullay (rent bikes there) to Zell to Traben-Trarbach - very scenic.
On the Rhine, a car is less useful, IMO. Both sides of the Rhine are well-connected by train. Bacharach and St. Goar are on the west bank. Braubach Castle, on the east bank of the Rhine, can be reached by K-D river boat from any Rhine town or by train from Koblenz or St. Goarshausen (use ferry to cross from St. Goar.) You could daytrip by train up to Cologne from here if you like - The R-P ticket gets you as far as Bonn, so you'll need a R-P ticket to get to Bonn and real tickets for the stretch between Bonn and Cologne. Between Koblenz and Cologne are a couple of interesting stops - the WW II museum in Remagen, and across the river, the cobblestoned village of Linz. If you train north on one side of the river and south on the other, you can see both.
For your trip to FRA, a R-P ticket will take the whole family as far as Mainz; from there, buy individual tickets to the airport (about 3 Euros each.)
June is a great time to visit - I'm sure you'll enjoy yourselves.
I'll make some suggestions for your itinerary here based on the train option.
Families can travel throughout the Rhine/Mosel region by train rather cheaply on the Rheinland-Pfalz ticket - 25 Euros per day per family, unlimited travel on RE and RB trains after 9 a.m. weekdays, any hours on Sat or Sun. You can buy these from ticket machines in the area or online at www.bahn.de . Pick up a pocket timetable in Trier, Cochem and/or Koblenz for the Rhine and Mosel routes so you can come and go more easily.
I'd take the morning train from Paris to Trier or Cochem and settle in for 3 days of days of sightseeing there. You can get a car in Saarbruecken or Trier, if you want. Trier, Cochem, Traben-Trarbach, and Koblenz are all well-connected by train, but in this area, a car is handy for going to Bernkastel, Zell, and Burg Eltz if you're pressed for time. Still, Bernkastel is covered by the R-P pass (Regiobus is included from Wittlich train station), and Burg Eltz is a very pleasant if lengthy walk from Moselkern station, so the train works too, but requires a bit more planning for these destinations. Beilstein is a cute little town not served by train, but the Mosel river boats go there regularly from Cochem - a very nice float.
If you're inclined, a bike ride along the Mosel is really nice; I like the route from Bullay (rent bikes there) to Zell to Traben-Trarbach - very scenic.
On the Rhine, a car is less useful, IMO. Both sides of the Rhine are well-connected by train. Bacharach and St. Goar are on the west bank. Braubach Castle, on the east bank of the Rhine, can be reached by K-D river boat from any Rhine town or by train from Koblenz or St. Goarshausen (use ferry to cross from St. Goar.) You could daytrip by train up to Cologne from here if you like - The R-P ticket gets you as far as Bonn, so you'll need a R-P ticket to get to Bonn and real tickets for the stretch between Bonn and Cologne. Between Koblenz and Cologne are a couple of interesting stops - the WW II museum in Remagen, and across the river, the cobblestoned village of Linz. If you train north on one side of the river and south on the other, you can see both.
For your trip to FRA, a R-P ticket will take the whole family as far as Mainz; from there, buy individual tickets to the airport (about 3 Euros each.)
June is a great time to visit - I'm sure you'll enjoy yourselves.
Jan 31st, 2007, 01:26 PM
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Once you're in Bonn on the R-P Land-ticket, you can buy either a Cologne or Bonn WelcomeCard that buys your transport all over the region and offers free entrance to many, many museums.
http://www.bonn-region.de/english/tr...lcomecard.html
http://www.koeln.de/tourismus/koelnt...rd-943-29.html
http://www.bonn-region.de/english/tr...lcomecard.html
http://www.koeln.de/tourismus/koelnt...rd-943-29.html
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