Hi

This is a revised Itinerary for a trip to Europe in March next year, hoping to book some flights soon while prices are still low. I would appreciate any comments or feedback, i have not been to most of these places before (only Paris) so please let me know if i have missed the mark with this itinerary. As it is March when we are in Germany not many castles are open hence staying in Braubach (Marksburg is open). Originally i was planning to day trip out of Frankfurt and stay there a week but that was not very well received and i was advised against this. I do want to see Bamberg and have fit this in even though it is a little out of the way from the general direction i am heading, what do you think? Should i skip it in favour of more time in Heidelberg or add Trier between Braubach and Luxembourg. My husband is no help 'whatever you think' is his most common reply. Bamberg seems to be very popular and it does interest me but if it is totally mad i will leave it off.

Day 1 Flight to Frankfurt/ Train to Bamberg
Bamberg
Bamberg
Day 4 Bamberg to Heidelberg
Heidelberg
Day 6 Heidelberg to Braubach
Braubach
Braubach
Day 9 Braubach to Luxembourg
Lux
Lux
Day 12 Lux to Paris
Paris
Paris
Paris
Paris
Day 17 Paris to Milan (early morning) Am considering doing a flight to Milan in the morning and train to venice in the arvo leaving enough time to see the a Last supper, which is all i am interested in about Milan.
Day 18 Milan to Venice
Venice
Venice
Day 22 Venice to Florence
Florence
Florence
Florence
Day 25 Florence to Rome
Rome
Rome
Rome
Rome
Rome
Rome

The other option is to fly into Paris, take the route from Paris through Lux down to Munich and from Munich take the scenic train from Munich to Venice. This would mean leaving out Milan all together.

The planning has been fun but with so many options i think i my plans are getting to big. Any thoughts?

Thanks

Using Frankfurt as a base for day trips makes way more sense then using Bamberg! Why there? Frankfurt is a wonderful, lively, interesting city with a lot of things to see and do. One could easily spend a week here without running out of places to go, and that is just in the city proper. The ease of going to other towns and cities should also be taken into account. Heidelberg is close as is Würzburg, a visit to Bad Homburg would also be on my list, as would Mainz and Wiesbaden.

Sorry to hear someone advised you against coming here. Was this someone who had spent any time here and knew the city at all? Someone who knows of the old, and rich history of Frankfurt and has visited at least some of our lovely old churches with their treasures. Someone who knows all the beautiful neighborhoods here with their many street markets, eaten at one of over 3000 restaurants, spent the day at some of the 46 museums or walked through any of the 48 parks that the city has? Did they know anything about the very long Jewish history of Frankfurt and had they visited one of the most moving memorials that Germany has?

Or was this someone who had "heard" that Frankfurt is boring and is nothing but skyscapers and had been wiped off the map during the war? None of which is true by the way.

I do hope you will reconsider staying here.

To be honest i'm not sure what their experience is, it was on this forum i was advised not to use Frankfurt as a base, and it was from more than one person.
I was not going to day trip from Bamberg, since Frankfurt was ruled out as a base i was just going to actually stay in the places i wanted to see.
My impression was they did not consider Frankfurt boring, just there was more scenic and quante places to stay.

You only have (at most) 2 1/2 days in Venice.

I would skip Milan and fly directly Paris-Venice.

Bamberg is lovely, a good choice. But the whole area is interesting. Will you not be visiting nearby cities like Nuremberg or Rothenburg? A daytrip by train to the other Franconian cities is actually a bit easier from Nuremberg than from Bamberg. I'd recommend a stop in Würzburg too, if only to see the Residenz.

3 days is a very long time for tiny Braubach, even for someone like me who enjoys hiking in the area. I would plan to do some daytrips on the Rhine as well. Braubach is possible as a base but it's going to be very quiet, with little to do in the evenings at that time of year. Outside of the summer months, I think most people would be happier in the much larger Koblenz, which is the rail hub for the region. From there, you can hop on a direct train for Braubach, Bacharach, Limburg, or Cochem. You might also enjoy a daytrip to Cologne from there.

Trier: A great town to see on your way to Luxembourg. Just drop your bags in a train station locker and spend the day there.

"My impression was they did not consider Frankfurt boring, just there was more scenic and quante places to stay."

That sounds like something I might have said. It's all very subjective, of course - like everything else on this board - but for me, Frankfurt isn't really what most people hope to see when they travel to Germany.

Thanks Russ

I think you are right it may be too much time in Braubach, I though it would be relaxing but too relaxing and my Husband will drive me insane, so time in Koblenz, which will have somewhere for him to have a few beers at night, will be ideal.

Also i think i may base myself in Nuremburg or Wuerzberg and day trip to some of the places you mention and Bamberg from there. I will give up the dream of staying in Bamberg and leave it for another trip.

Bamberg is a wonderful small city. The Altstadt is an interestin, living part of the city, not a tourist enclave. Lots of historical sights in the city--and if you like beer, it is beer heaven. It's a UNESCO World Heritage city--both an Emperor and a Pope are buried there.

bamberg is one of the very finest old-world romantic cities i have ever been to - a river bifurcates the town as i recall. If doing all that by rail (except flight to Italy) then investigate some kind of railpass - like the Eurail Select Pass good in Germany, France and Italy (just pay out of pocket the few euros to transit Luxembourg) - and you could also take the overnight train Paris to Milan (either Artesia Day train or Artesia Night train) instead of flying. For lots on European rail travel and passes i always point out: www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - sites with tons of objective info and not just the usual pass promos, etc.

If you were actually going to be spending three whole days in Braubach then heaven help you from going nutty...

but i assume you will be using it as a base and there are several great day trips to be done from there:

the K-D Rhine day boats, of course

or Burg Eltz, one of Germany's primo castles - take a train to Moselkern (via Koblenz) and then either hike up the few miles through a thick forest to the castle brooding from heights over the Mosel Valley - and in the same day continue on to Cochem, a picture postcard wine town at one of the most prettiest stretches of the gorge-like Mosel River Valley - lovingly carpeted with vineyards around Cochem, which also has a castle of your dreams itself regally crowning a vineyard-clad hill in the middle of town. To many the Mosel Valley is much prettier, if not more interesting, than the Rhine Gorge between Bingen and Koblenz.

You will only go along a tiny part of the Mosel Valley if you go from Braubach to Luxembourg so a day trip there to see it up close could be nice.

Or you could even take the K-D's once daily ship between Koblenz on the Mosel to Cochem (stopping at Moselkern) and if you had a railpass it would be valid in full on this (and the K-D Rhine day boats) too.

Or from Braubach it's an easy day trip to Cologne, where right by the train station awaits the world's largest (or one of) Gothic Cathedral as well as a swank Rhine-side promenade and great shopping in the pedestrian zone.

Or from Braubach you can easily take a train to places like Worms, for its great cathedral, or Speyer a lovely smaller city with again a smashingly great cathedral - both of these towns are on the Rhine.

And a small quite town like Braubach may just be the right place for some to return to each night and it does have excellent boat and rail connections.