Hi, we're off to Germany next month arriving Paderborn Sunday 12th February and leaving Friday 17th. We arrive early evening so will be a case of having a look round wherever we base and out for dinner, and not much else I think, on the first night.

We are interested in seeing some of the Fairytale Road that is in that area, but not sure whether to leave it till the next time to concentrate on just that.

We want to see Hameln,Rinteln,Munster and Goslar.

There are so many places we want to see i.e Osnabruck,Hann.Munden,Gottingen,Hildesheim,Celle etc but hopefully we can get back for a few long weekends this year and concentrate on one area at a time.

Where would you recommend we base ourselves to see as much as we can without being hectic? I was thinking Hameln so we could be accessable to Munster.Or should we stay inPaderborn or somewhere between there and Hameln?

I know I've mentioned a lot of places but I only want a taste of the area on this trip,whilst being based in a pretty town preferably in a traditional hotel with plenty of bars and restaurants in the old town

We will be hiring a car for the whole time so we can stop off if we see a beautiful town,and intend going with the flow. Just can't decide where to base

Many thanks for any help

Hameln is a very nice town to base in if you plan to see Rinteln, Hildesheim, and Goslar. I'd suggest a stop in Nordstemmen to see the Marienburg Castle since it's so close by. I suppose Munster and/or Celle would also be doable in that amount of time. If you make it to Rinteln, though, I'd also suggest a stop in nearby Bueckeburg to visit the town and the palace there - impressive!

Many thanks for your help, Russ. It's my first time to Germany and my husband has only been to Hamburg,Bremen and Bremerhaven when he was in the Navy years ago, so will be grateful for any suggestions.

Does anyone have any recommendations for hotels (or apartments) in Hameln?

I have read on here about the tax that is added to car hire for pick up at airports and train stations. Does anyone know if there is a car hire place close enough to Paderborn airport that it would be worth getting a taxi to to pick up a car?

We arrive on a Sunday evening too,so maybe any local offices would be closed apart from the airport pick-up?

I'm thinking that if it was a two week trip it would be worth trying to save the extra expense,but maybe not worth the hassle this time!

Thanks for any advice.

Does anyone else have any advice on this area please??

We spent two weeks in the area in September/October and lived not too far away for six months.
This past fall, we based ourselves in Detmold. It's a pretty small town, well off the usual tourist radar, and easy for getting to the various sites in the Teutoburgerwald like Externsteine (Germany's answer to Stonehenge) and Hermanns denkmal. Detmold is also home to one of the top music colleges in Germany so there are always good quality concerts going on. By far, the best site in Detmold is the Freilichtmuseum (the finest open air museum in Germany) but I think it's closed November--April. We stayed at the Best Western, a very nice, independently owned 4-star hotel. You can get rooms there for 60 euros per night on www.hotel.de A couple of nice restaurants in Detmold, including a tapas bar in a beautiful painted 18th century building along the canal, some great cafes (Gothland has a free internet terminal, FYI), and Detmold's brewhouse--the food is only so-so, but the beer is terrific. Nice pedestrian zone for walking around and it's easy to get in and out of town from the Best Western. (note: the BW is the best hotel in town, but it's not traditional, it's pretty modern.)

Muenster is also one of our favorite places. The arcaded old town is quite attractive; the Kiepenkerl restaurant/cafe is one of the more popular spots. Just up the street from Kiepenkerl, near the church, is one of the best bakeries in the region. People come from miles around to stock up Friday afternoons on their special breads.
Driving into Muenster can be a bit tricky; it's not hard to get into town but parking, esp. in lots near the train station, is difficult because of all the one way streets and weird entrances. So be patient.
When we lived in the area, our favorite day trip was to the "water castles" region in Muensterland, specifically Luedinghausen, Nordkirchen and Vischering. They're beautiful to walk around, even in winter (that's when we were there). The easiest way to get there from Muenster is take routes 54 or 235 down to route 58--you can also drive down the A1 but route 235 is more scenic as you pass by Ems Kanal and some nice parkland.
However, I don't think of Hameln as being all that close to Muenster. It will involve a lot of driving. If the weather is below freezing and damp, watch out for black ice--pretty common there--aka glatteis. If it might be dicey, check http://www.dwd.de/de/WundK/Warnungen...DL00&Art=G as the site posts specific glatteis warnings for Germany (you click on the region and check the color coded chart; right now, for example, Muensterland is at code yellow, which is not that bad).
There is a very nice little B&B in Luedinghausen, friendly owner (who does an absolutely perfect pour of on tap Krombacher pils, he could do commercials for them), popular stube, inexpensive. http://www.hotel-zur-post-lh.de/ Another nice place: http://www.zum-steverstrand.de/hotel.htm

Thank you very much BTilke for all the information.It's very helpful.

Anyone else with any thoughts on the area or car hire,please?