Enroute Stop between Lubeck and Frankfurt
 

Now that I've recovered from the shame of having posted this first on the U.S. board, I present my query:

What's a good overnight or 2-night stopover between Lubeck and Frankfurt? My trip would be in the winter low season, so I'm looking for a destination with a museum or two, interesting architecture, etc., rather than easy access to hiking trails or anything like that. My very last night before departure would most likely be spent in Wiesbaden or Mainz (for proximity to the flughafen), so easy rail connections to those towns would be a plus.

I've never traveled this route before, so please let me have the benefit of your knowledge. Thank you.

Topping for me. Thanks.

Although a slight detour, for architecture I would definitely recommend the Harz mountains. Lots of UNESCO World Heritage classified towns such as Goslar & Quedlinburg. This area is also home to Germany's fairy tales of witches, so should be interesting during that time of year.

Muenster is easily worth a night or two. It's got a very attractive old town, some nice restaurants, good shopping, a few interesting sights. And a short drive from Muenster down highway 54 to highway 58 (go west on highway 58) or down route 235 along the Ems canal to route 58, you pass a cluster of small towns (Luedinghausen, Nordkirchen, etc.) with attractive "water castles"--moated castles. Some nice little guest houses and restaurants in the area, a pretty quiet countryside area.
Farther down is Hattingen (www.hattingen.de), just outside Essen. A really pretty undiscovered medieval town, nice for walking around and some good restaurants (http://diergardt.com/dkg/index.html) and pleasant hotels (http://www.hattingen.de/touristik_freizeit/index.htm).

If you are traveling Frankfurt-Luebeck by train, the most direct route will take you via Kassel and Hanover, etc., rather far removed from Muenster and Essen. But there are some interesting towns mid-route and south of Hanover that you might look into. Goettingen is an attractive university town; Hameln (slight detour to west of route) has some wonderful examples of Weserrennaisance architecture, and Rinteln, just a bit further west, has even more (the Palace in Bueckeburg, just north of Rinteln, is worth the short bus ride.) Hildesheim (slightly east of your route and on the way to the previously-mentioned Goslar) has some good architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Romanesque Cathedral, and Goslar itself is very visit-worthy. Lots of good choices.

Thank you, everyone. I appreciate your replies! I'll be doing this in winter, hopefully close to the start of December so I can take in a bit of the Christmas color.

Dovima, will you be driving at all or doing it all by train? The suggestions I gave work only with a car...it's very difficult to do by mass transit.

BTilke, on this trip I'll be doing most of my traveling via rail.

dovima,

I think I remember a thread of yours that outlined you'd be arriving in Hamburg and then proceed to Luebeck.
Living in Hamburg by choice (and being a native), I am obviously a bit biased, but I would strongly recommend an early stop on your way South from Luebeck and suggest to take your time and an overnight stay in Hamburg. BTilke's opinion will undoubtedly differ strongly from mine, but I still believe strongly that a trip to Northern Germany that does not include a stay in Hamburg must be considered incomplete, even if winter certainly is not the best time to travel for the whole region. Train connections are very easy from Luebeck and the trip will take a mere 45 minutes. Besides you would have to change trains in Hamburg Central station anyway for your transfer to Frankfurt.

Unfortunately I cannot imagine another town really worth stopping at on the direct route to Frankfurt. Muenster might be a nice option, but it certainly is a big detour.
I would rather suggest that you board a southbound ICE express train in Hamburg and proceed to Wuerzburg in Franconia (Northern Bavaria, even though the locals might not like to hear that). It is located slightly to the SouthWest of Frankfurt but offers pretty scenery, a nice Old Town, a fantastic museum in the Residenz (a building erected by master Baltasar Neumann at the beginning of the 19th century with amazing frescoes by Tiepolo), which today is a registered world heritage landmark by the UNESCO, a magnificent castle (Feste Marienberg) - and last but not least good train connections to Frankfurt.

Should you need any more advice on staying and travelling in the area, do post here or email me at [email protected].

Greetings to the Bay Area!
hsv

Correction: The Residenz in Wuerzburg was erected at the beginning of the 18th century, of course (Shame on me :-( ) !

Thanks,hsv! I was actually considering Wurzburg, although on an alternate route (Strasbourg to Frankfurt).