Brussels to German Castles
 

Hello to you all, My family and I are flying into Brussels and our destination is Paris Nov 17th.

We would like to see some German castles and can't quite seem to figure our travel game plan out.

Is there an easy way by train from Brussels to an area of Germany or even Luxembourg that has some beautiful castles? We would prefer not to rent a car but are not totally against it.

Thanks for any advise you may have...

Hello,
Depending on how much time you have, Bavaria is amazing for King Ludwig's castles. We toured his parents' castle, Hohenschwangau, and the three he built with only one being complete. The most famous is Neuschwanstein. My favorite is Linderhof. The other is Herrenchiemsee which is Ludwig's version of Chateau de Versailles (a short train ride from Paris).
The train ride from Brussels to Munich was 8 hours and renting a car is the best way to see all of them. The driving was very easy and the scenery was absolutely beautiful.

Bavaria is quite a distance from Brussels. You might consider getting to Cologne or Bonn via train, and then "wander" down the Rhine either by boat or train. There are castle ruins to be seen along the Rhine. However, one of the best-loved castles to see is the Burg Eltz, which in on the Mosel river, near Cochem. (You'd go down the Rhine and turn right when you hit the Mosel :)
Those areas are not far from the German-French border for your escape into Paree.

Thank you so much for your suggestion. We do not have enough time to make it to Munich this trip.We will be in Europe for 8 days and hope to see a few German castles and Paris.

I understand that there are some beautiful castles on the Rhine River but need to find the best way to get there from Brussels and then make our way on to Paris.

We would like to arrive in Brussels in the AM on Nov 17 and catch a train south into Luxembourg or Germany to spend 1-2 days. Then take the train into Paris.

Hi EKellyGA, I must have been writing my reply at the same time you posted.

Your idea sound closer to our destination of Paris... When you say either by boat or train... is there a scheduled tour? Will the boat tours be running the middle of November? Do you happen to know the name of any tours or how long they last (day trip, overnight??)

I would hate to mislead you and say that I knew schedules, etc. The castle at Burg Eltz is worth seeing. I don't really know any specific ones on the Rhine, other than the castle ruins that we toured in St. Goar.
In '00, we stayed in the town of Bacharach on the Rhine,and took a boat tour up the Rhine, about 2 hours, to St. Goar, toured the ruins, and took the train back (it runs right next to the river). During the boat trip, there were a few castles that we passed. Not sure if you can tour them. One was on an "island" in the middle of the river.
November....don't know if things close down or not. Wish I could be more help.
We use Rick Steve's books and websites a lot for this stuff. www.ricksteves.com

If you do head west from the Rhine, going up the Mosel to see Burg Eltz, you can continue west and end up in Trier, once the western home of the Roman Empire, and some good Roman ruins. At that point you are pretty close to the French border.

Someone who posts here can answer train travel questions much better than me.
EK

Check web sites for castle opening times. Many castles close down or have shortened opening hours after the tourist season.

For example, the wonderful Burg Eltz near the Mosel River closes November 1.