We will be going to Frankfurt from Paris in Oct. and need some advice for some day trips from Frankfurt. My husbsnd has a one day business meeting but we will be there 5 days and want to see the countryside. We will not have a car, so we will need to take the trains. We are hoping to stay outside Frankfurt but he needs to have easy access to the city. We would love to see Austria or Bavaria or Switzerland, but wonder if we can do this as day trips?? Any help about places to go,things to see and places to eat would be greatly appreciated. We had thot we could travel by train thru Switzerland from Paris but have found we need to base out of one hotel for the 5 days..(business decision)Thanks

I am not as knowledgeable as some when ot comes to travel in this part of Germany, but I think I can go ahead and burst your bubble. None of the places you mention is a day trip from Frankfurt. <BR> <BR>I am guessing that your best getaway destinations are: <BR> <BR>Cologne - - 2 h 15 min <BR> <BR>Fulda - - 50-70 min <BR> <BR>Heidelberg - - 50 min <BR> <BR>Koblenz - - 1 h 20 min or on to <BR>Trier - add another 1 hr 15 min <BR> <BR>Strasbourg - - 2 hr 25 min <BR> <BR>Ulm - - 2 hr 20 min <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR> <BR>

<BR> <BR>You'd spend a pretty long time on the train if you day-tripped to Austria or Switzerland, and the daylight hours in October aren't all that long anymore. Still, you could get to and from Würzburg, Bamberg, Nürnberg, or Rothenburg, all in northern Bavaria, in a single day, provided you get an early start. Other worthwhile daytrips are even closer. <BR> <BR>For some wonderful scenery, head to Mainz and then north along the Rhine as far as Koblenz for a ride through the fabulous Rhine Gorge. The KD cruise boats are still running then, and you could take a little float downriver for a couple hours. There's a boat that leaves Bingen at around 10:00 and takes you through the most scenic part, then gets into St. Goarshausen about two hours later. From there, you might take the train north along the east bank of the river to Braubach, have lunch and tour Marksburg Castle, then continue north by train to Koblenz and begin your train ride back down the west bank of the Rhine, where several towns make delighful stops: Boppard, St. Goar, Oberwesel, and Bacharach are all great! <BR> <BR>You might also head south by train via Darmstadt to the cute old walled town of Michelstadt, then along the Neckar River to the east and southeast to see Bad Wimpfen, or west to Heidelberg, spend some time in town there, then head home along the more direct route just east of the Rhine. <BR> <BR>For any of the train routes along the Rhine and in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, look into the weekday daypasses good for up to 5 people - they're just $18 for the whole group per day on the local trains. Ask about any hours/equuipment restrictions. You can travel anywhere in the country on the same local trains on Sat or Sun with a similar pass called the Schönes Wochenende ticket for the same price.

Hello Sherry, <BR> <BR>sorry, daytrips to Switzerland and Austria are impossible unless you want to pay for a flight to Vienna or Salzburg or Zurich from Frankfurt for a day. I wouldn`t advise that even if you want to spend the money. Technically you`ve been in Austria with a day-trip, but what will you see?....Airports and train stations.. <BR>Bavaria is possible. Take the train to Würzburg, Kulmbach, Bamberg or Nürnberg. It`s very easy. Munich as a day-trip is too far. You should think about other locations near Frankfurt-not only Bavaria is nice. I think it`s not good that a lot of people relating to Germany come to the conclusion that Bavaria is the best location to go (along with Rothenburg, Dinkelsbühl, the Rhine valley etc.) I would rather send people to Limburg/Lahn, Wertheim am Main, Michelstadt im Odenwald, Büdingen/Wetterau, Gelnhausen, Seligenstadt, Hochheim/Main or Oberursel/Taunus). All doable by train and not dominated by tourists. <BR> <BR>If you need advice on trips to those places, just ask. <BR>I could also help with the hotel. What kind of place are you looking for ($?, how far away?) <BR> <BR>Kind regards <BR> <BR>Miriam <BR> <BR>

Sherry, I'm headed to Frankfurt in October and will be staying in the Pfalz, otherwise known as the Palatinate when conquered by the Romans ("fancy houses" - although I don't know that many, if any, are left). Warmest section of Germany, Route 271 is the Weinstrasse, lots of wine and wine festivals in the fall, walled medieval towns, and only an hour or two from Frankfurt by car. I can't speak for trains, however, but in Germany they go pretty much everywhere. The Pfalz has many hiking trails and each town has its special attraction. Also in the area are ancient towns of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz where the trains may go right into downtown. This area of Germany is not frequented much by tourists but is quite popular with the Germans as evidenced by the difficulty I had getting a hotel reservation. However, it is beginning to show up in the guidebooks and I've found two books on German wines that discuss the area. There are some websites - I found one that has a calendar of the wine festivals - www.deutsche-weinstrasse.de. Also has information on restaurants etc. The sites are all in German but you can copy and paste for Altavista to translate whole pages amusingly. Of course, the week I'm there - no festivals. No wonder I found a room! Have a good time in Germany.