Have 3 days and flying into Frankfort. Any preferences for either for Christmas activities? This is for a couple and would prefer not to rent a car. Any other info. needed for suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Gosh, I'm not sure I'd pick either if you are starting in Frankfurt. There are so many wonderful places to go that are within a half-day train ride. My own choice would probably be Heidelberg, which is a lot closer to Frankfurt and which is always dressed up for the holidays.

However, if you aim to choose only between Munich and Salzburg, you probably will enjoy the scenery around Salzburg a bit more than in Munich. On the other hand, Munich and its famous square are also always nicely decorated around Christmas. And Munich will have more stores, shopping, museums, and the like. It might boil down to whether you want a smaller, more easily navigable city like Heidelberg or Salzburg, or a more cosmopolitan larger city like Munich. All of them would be good choices, along with lots of others. My advice would only be to get out of Frankfurt as fast as you can. Good luck.

Agree with Wayne. No need to travel so far for just 3 days. The nearby cities of Mainz, Heidelberg, Wurzburg, or maybe even Bamberg or Nuremberg are all attractive places a lot closer to Frankfurt and are likely to offer cultural events, Christmas markets, etc.

sjbisanz1- You can catch a Lufthansa bus from Terminal 1 for 19 Euros per person to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Heidelberg- The bus trip is scheduled for a little more than an hour. There is a Marriott and a regular Holiday Inn in addition to the Crowne Plaza in Heidelberg. Stay at another hotel if you don't like American chains (although I suspect the heating would be very reliable ) Taxis are right there when you get off of the bus and the town is fairly compact so they can't be too expensive. That way you don't have to rent a car. Things to do in Heidelberg (or Munich) will depend on the exact days you are there- I suspect things will be pretty well closed on Christmas day (unlike Paris) in both Heidleberg and Munich. If you go to Munich, you can catch a train from the Frankfurt airport but the trip will be about 4 hours. Salzburg will be 5 to 8 hours on a train depnding on the connections. Dress warm and enjoy-

I vote for Nuernberg! Its a great mid-sized city with a lot of cultural offerrings and a Christkindlesmarkt from Nov 28 through Dec 24Th! Not the mention the world-famous spice cookie-Lebkuchen!! Read more at www.nuernberg.de/english...
Rothenburg ob der Tauber would be magical at Christmas, but all the other tourists know this as we (read: CROWDED). By rail, R od T is 2 hrs, 49 minutes away. Munich is 4.5 to 5.5 hrs by train, and Salzburg a firm 6 hours (and that's ONE way! Don't waste precious time on the train). Even large Koeln (Cologne) has a great Christmas market, not to mention a fab cathedral, great museums, great eats and shopping-- and its just ONE hour from Frankfurt by train! Happy travels!
Check www.bahn.de for sample train travel times between destinations. Put 'from' and 'to' under 'von' and 'nach'.

I'd opt for N'burg as base with day trip to bamberg [or vice versa]. Enjoy the markets and maybe a stop in Wurzburg for the Residenz.

Wow! You guys have given us alot to think about... I definitely think we are going to reconsider going out so far as there as so many other choices available. Thanks for all the suggestions! Their was certainly alot of thought behind them!!