Hello Everyone:
I wanted to visit Germany and / or Madrid or another close country (11 year old is a huge Ronaldo / soccer fan and wants to go to a Real Madrid Game).
I will be spending some time with older family member outside Frankfurt.
We will have 2.5 weeks.
My 11 yo has hurt his foot so we can't do excessive walking, but should be able to do mild walking.

I am interested in the Must See's (ex. Rome Coliseum, Paris Eiffel Tower) In Germany besides the Berlin wall I'm not sure what else would be interesting for an 11 year old Boy.

Also is it better to spend the few days with family and instead of seeing Germany maybe go to a neighboring country?

Any ideas would be very much appreciated.

I'm sure we can think of something if you elaborate a bit more on the boy's interests aside from soccer.
What does he like to do at home or during other vacations?

What time of year will you be traveling?
(Did you check already that Real plays at home during your time of travel, and that tickets are (still) available??)

Will you rely on public transport only, or would you also want to drive?

The Berlin Wall does not exist anymore. But you can see very few leftovers and a pretty good memorial site.
Some kids-friendly sights and activities in Berlin:
https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-children

I assume you will fly from Frankfurt to Spain if you visit both countries. And since you're staying near Frankfurt alread, it's probably wiser to see that part of Germany than Berlin.

What might interest an 11-year-old somewhere near Frankfurt? Here are a few ideas.

Overnight stay in a castle? Get a room at the Bacharach hostel:

http://www.maggiewilliamswanderer.co.../bacharach.jpg

You mention easy walking... Old-world Bacharach and nearby Oberwesel both offer a fairly short walk around town:
https://www.oberwesel.de/en/wandern0/stadtmauerrundweg/

River cruise down the Rhine?
https://www.k-d.com/en/

You'll see lots of castles and castle ruins on this cruise - see photos:
https://www.bacharach.de/bildergaler...00/1546210800/

Planes, trains, cars and more in Speyer:
https://speyer.technik-museum.de/en/

Amusement park with wildlife and falconry exhibitions near Cochem:
https://www.klotti.de/en/

I assume you will fly from Frankfurt to Spain if you visit both countries. And since you're staying near Frankfurt alread, it's probably wiser to see that part of Germany than Berlin.

What might interest an 11-year-old somewhere near Frankfurt? Here are a few ideas.

Overnight stay in a castle? Get a room at the Bacharach hostel:
http://www.maggiewilliamswanderer.co.../bacharach.jpg

River cruise down the Rhine? You'll see lots of old-world towns, castles and castle ruins on this cruise.


Planes, trains, cars and more in Speyer's Technik Museum.


Amusement park with wildlife and falconry exhibitions near Cochem:

Will you rely on public transport only, or would you also want to drive?>

If going to mainly large cities take trains or fly if say Frankfurt and Madrid - I would not go all over map just for a soccer game but chose one and then yes do things of interest to normal kids that age. fussgaenger has given excellent examples of things around Frankfurt - German trains are great and easy to use and driving outside large urban areas nice too - like driving up Mosel River Valley. For lots on trains anyway check www.bahn.de/dn - German Raiways' official site for schedules and fares, including discounted fares - check www.seat61.com for lots on booking own train tickets if needed - some trains like regional ones just buy a station and investigate Lander or regional passes that are very cheap. Your family in Germany no doubt knows about those - for general info on trains and where to go also check BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

So, you could easily spend time around Frankfurt and see family too - for easy to reach nearby countries consider Switzerland and an awesome Alpine locale like the Interlaken area or France and Paris - easily done by train from Frankfurt area - trains that go up to nearly 200 mph and that would be a thrill for kiddo too - many trains in Germany now go that fast on high-speed lines.

Can he cycle? Bodensee offers cycling around the lake, with luggage transfers if desired. It's pretty flat and it is possible to do things like cycle one way and return by boat. We based ourselves in Meersburg and did some day cycling out from there.

Thank you so much everyone for your responses and great suggestions...

My son's interested are soccer, guitar, BMW or sports cars, and mostly video games.

We will be traveling mid August to End of August about 2 weeks.

We would prefer to use public transportation but with my has severely injured his foot (dislocated in 3 spots, broken in 2 spots - hoping it would heal for the most part by August). Because of his injury and my back injury, I thought that renting a car maybe easier ... however, I remember my father (before he passed) telling me that we should absolutely not rent a car in Germany because we are use to driving in upstate NY and They drive way too fast in Germany and we would get in or cause an accident. My father's experiences are from 30 years ago when he lived in Germany. Is this true? i thought due to the mobility issues of my son car rental maybe better?

I have not booked flights yet, either will be flying into / out of Frankfurt, will need to finalize itinerary asap to figure out the other airport.

We are thinking of convincing my son to skip Madrid this trip, esp since we just found out Ronaldo will not be playing for Real Madrid anymore.
We have been looking for months to get their schedule and have called and we haven't been successful.

Our biggest obstacle is do we stay in Germany for the remaining 10 days or go to surrounding country and visit a couple of cities? Do German Cities offer more or nearing cities in other countries (ex. Paris, or other areas in France, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland)?

Your suggestions are wonderful, please keep them coming...

Please let me know.

Does Switzerland appeal? You could fly into Frankfurt and out of Zurich for example. If it does, there is plenty advice available on this forum.

Hi Lilly2016,

I've lived in Germany for almost 10 years now, and I can tell you that public transportation is usually cheaper, faster, and more convenient than driving, especially in the cities. German cities, even those rebuilt after WW2, were not really designed or modified for modern traffic; the center of the city is usually pedestrianized, and dense with pedestrians, trams, busses, and cars vying for the same street. Gas is super expensive (equivalent of $5.50 - 5.90 per gallon), and parking in cities is hard to find and expensive. There is also lots of road works to slow you down on the autobahn, and then the always-present Stau, or traffic jam, that will delay you about an hour.

I'll add that I find public transport to be a lot more fun than driving (where you're isolated inside your private bubble) -- you can really get into the pace of life and do some world-class people -watching.

If you find that your son's foot has not healed, would he be able to walk any distance at all? You can always get assistance for the trains -- assistance getting on and getting off -- you only need to call or email ahead of time and let them know your needs. There are escalators or elevators at every train station now, I think, or at least in the towns and cities.

Hope you find an itinerary that makes good sense, and have fun as you plan!

s

yes definitely an option... my only concern is where we live in upstate NY you hardly walk anywhere ... and have to drive everywhere,..... in Europe it's the opposite.
I'm wondering if because of my sons foot and inability to walk a lot and hills, or uneven terrains what is the best place to plan that doesnt require a ton of mobility?

Wow I did not know all that... the only reason i was thinking of a car was for my son's foot injury and inability to walk a lot

I was looking for a way to get right to the door of places ...

and also some places that we can see that doesn't require a ton of walking...

having lived in Germany that long, what are your suggestions for an 11 yo boy with mobility issues?

please lmk thank you so much

He can daintily cycle but i am not sure if it's safe, part of foot is dislocated, i fear if he falls on it it will get worse...

I was looking for ideas/ tours that are not only interesting for 11 yo but also for someone with mobility issues.

Maybe basing yourself in a smaller town/the countryside and renting a car is easier. Of course, Germans go on day trips too. It's only cities where a car might make less sense. But often there are park and rides near public transport hubs, eg park car, take tram to city center.

I can also recommend a visit to Nurburg and its racing circuit. You can drive your own car on it too

https://www.greenhelldriving.nuerburgring.de/#/landing

I think it's hard to asses what will be too much walking since you do not walk that much at home.
There are many many places and sights suitable for people with mobility issues - but this usually means that you can access them by wheelchair, use elevators, have step-free access and so on.
What you seem to be looking for are sights that simply do not require a lot (but, again, what is a lot?) of walking. Or those place where, for example, you can borrow a wheelchair, if only as a back-up when your son cannot walk anymore.
In general, most "accessible" places offer just that: easy access for people with mobility issues. They do not necessarily rent wheelchairs, or are not necessarily small sights that require just an 1/8 mile walking.
Cities have the advantage that you use sightseeing /HOHO buses, usually good public transportation, and taxis readily available if you don't want to walk anymore.
Getting from a visitor parking lot up to a castle may be a different challenge. Some castle may have those tourist trains or carriages that take visitors up to the actual place. But you will need to check this one by one...
Not easy to plan, I'm afraid.

Car may be the best way for your son - unless by August much better - may want to check out Stuttgart's sports car factory tours and Munich for BMW.

VW's is also very good, but perhaps an outlier. Mercedes do also great tours. Might be a theme for a proper road trip to all those brands' factory tours, with a bit of race circuit thrown in. He's 11. Not something he's going to forget, despite his present injury. Those factories are not in city centers, so that's where renting a car would really pay off.

For instance:
https://www.bremen-tourism.de/merced...ry-tour-bremen

together with

https://www.bremen-tourism.de/airbus

Hi again,

Oh, I wish I could give you some interesting options for this area with an 11-year-old boy.... but I don't have children. I also prefer to spend my visiting time walking around and seeing the countryside, so I'm not much help with that either since your son will be recovering from the foot injury. As Cowboy mentions, it's difficult to come up with ideas for places that don't include a lot of walking -- Neuschwanstein, Ettal Monastery, Linderhof, etc. I think you would be best to stay in cities, use public transport, and find things in the city to interest your son. Going up the Zugspitze would be fine, as there is little walking involved, and he'd also be fine going up the Alpspitze to see the Alpspix. But even museums will require some walking, unless the museum has a wheelchair to borrow.

Hope you do find some good alternatives! And have fun as you plan!

s

Hello Everyone
Thank you so much for your awesome suggestions.

We were thinking of doing 1-2 places in Germany and either Paris or London
we have to leave around Aug. 14th and come back around Sept 1 .. about 2.5 weeks.
Was thinking of splurging on business class if i get a good deal due to son's injured foot needing to be elevated.

Do you recommend any specific airline?

do you recommend going to Frankfurt than leaving out of another airport?

Any good deals that you know of ?

would Eurorail pretty much take me to most places ? any way to get discounts on tics?


We don't want to be just in the hustle and bustle busy city, I love to learn about the country side, and make it a relaxing vacation as well.
There were the areas we were thinking of

Berlin - aside from gate and wall remains not sure what else is good for 11 yo boy.
Munich - wasn't sure what maybe interesting
Dusseldurf- heard it's nice but not sure if a priority
Hannover - I was born there and would like to go see it but not sure if there is anything that is A Must see there
Hamburgh - hear it's nice...

One - two of the above places and would 1 day at each be good enough.

Paris besides ET and Louvre not sure what else maybe interesting for 11 yo boy, any recommended tours (love skip the line).

any recommendations for a nice French Country side or things to see outside Paris that maybe close and really nice.

another option is London - besides the eye and big ben (still under construction?) not sure what else would be interesting.

I think these cities maybe better than Austria, Holland and other areas for first time Europe trip with 11 yo boy and his injured foot.

Please LMK any help much appreciated. TY sooo much

Also what about the Concentration camp that maybe very educational , forgot what its' called and where it is located.

I'm not sure I can offer any specific tips, but I guess you could look up the websites of each city's TI.
Each TI's site should feature a sub-section like "Paris with kids" or "xyz for children".
Why not let your son browse through those suggestions and see if he can find sights or attractions that interest him?

With regard to Paris... I would have second thought about taking an 11yo boy with mobility issues to the Louvre - regardless of fast track / priority access or not. The Louvre requires a lot of walking, and unless your son is already interested a LOT in arts, I doubt it will be massively entertaining.