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This is our most current itinerary. Any suggestions? We have been to Berlin not too long ago, so we are moving on from there! We have also done the Romantic Road, Quedlinburg, Fussen and Munich. So this is pretty much new areas to see.
Thanks.6
We arrive, Berlin
7 our friends arrive Berlin
8 Berlin
9 Leipzig
10 Wernergirode
11 Wernigirode ( Harz Mountains)
12 Wernigerode
13 Cochem ( Mosel Area )
14 Cochem
15 Cochem
16 Heidelberg or Luxembourg City
17 Heidelber or Luxembourg City
18 Karlsruhe
19 Baden Baden( Black Forest )
20 Baden Baden
21 Colmar( Alsace Lorraine )
22 Colmar
23 Colmar
24 Nancy
25 Nancy
26 Etoges ( Champagne Region)
27 Etoges
28 Etoges
29 Paris
30 Paris
July
1 Our friends leave, day trip for us
2 We leave

Have no idea why so many days in Colmar. A cute town but one day is plenty. Assume you will spend at least one day in Strasbourg (worth at least 2 days IMHO) and one in the wine villages.

Also - Baden Baden is not in the black forest. Are you looking for a spa? Or do you want to see the mountains, nature, and small charming villages of the Black Forest?

Definitely go to Heidelberg, which is a nice town in a splendid area. Luxembourg is a small city not nice not great - the view on it is quite nice, but the city itself is worth imo 2 hours. (and I don't usually say a city is not nice).

While Baden-Baden isn't IN the Black Forest, it is nearly universally recognized as the gateway into the forest. It sits and the foot of the hills of the black forest and is the main entry point.

13 Cochem ( Mosel Area )
14 Cochem
15 Cochem

It's a long trip from Wernigerode. Your time allocation here (roughly 2 days and an evening on Day 13) probably excludes the Middle Rhine Valley, a place that deserves a couple of days after Cochem if you haven't seen it. It's a place of great natural beauty and old-world towns and villages, and it's of great cultural/historical importance to Germans. And it's a UNESCO World Heritage site.

http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.d...php?id=318&L=3

You may have seen Neuschwanstein (a late 19th century faux-castle) but perhaps not any genuine castles... Marksburg in Braubach (Middle Rhine Valley) has remained intact over many centuries and is an excellent choice:

http://www.marksburg.de/en/


16 Heidelberg or Luxembourg City
17 Heidelber or Luxembourg City
18 Karlsruhe
19 Baden Baden( Black Forest )
20 Baden Baden
21 Colmar( Alsace Lorraine )
22 Colmar
23 Colmar

I agree that Baden-Baden does not constitute a Black Forest experience and that Colmar requires no more than a day. It would be VERY easy to subtract from the 8 days immediately above to give yourselves some time for the Middle Rhine Valley.

In fact, with the exception of a day in Colmar, I would absolutely reconsider the destinations you have here from Days 16-23. Luxembourg is OK but out of the way for you and probably offers little other than the chance to say you were in Luxembourg. The other towns along the Neckar River between Heidelberg and Rottweil and in the nearby Odenwald tend to be more interesting than Heidelberg. Not exactly sure what you're looking for but I suggest you look into some of these places:


Miltenberg
Michelstadt
Wertheim
Tübingen
Ludwigsburg
Esslingen
Bad Wimpfen
Lauffen

In the Black Forest I suggest you check out these options:

Calw
Gengenbach
Schiltach
Gutach (Vogtsbauernhof open-air museum)
Haslach
Villingen-Schwenningen

Never seen Baden Baden as a gateway to anywhere, but hey...
I'd avoid, full of Russians and old dears. Visit the black forest which is great for the wandering and the breweries etc.

Colmar is a good base to visit Alsace (not so good for Lorraine) and I'd reckon 3 days is a good visit, I regularly go for a week at a time, there is a lot to do and the main websites are full of ideas, look for haut-rhin and bas-Rhine alsace in Google and keep reading

Lorraine is a whole different kettle, and while I've spent time there I'd probably not travel half way around the world to see it, do drive up on the Vosges ridge, visit the castle, go to the Ballon d'Alsace and look around.

sorry bas-rhin

Thank you all for your help.