Hi,
I will be stopping over in Frankfurt in July this year with my husband and 2 children. I am looking for suggestions about some short day trips to interesting medieval towns/castles nearby. Is Wurzburg a good idea? We are only staying 2 days, so we don't want to spend more than 3 hours to reach our destination. Also, we would like to visit the Black Forest area. Is that possible considering our short time?
Thanks.

One or the other is certainly possible . . . unless of course you travel like me in which case I'd visit Wurzburg, Heidelburg AND somewhere in the Black Forest . . .like Baden-baden.

I liked Heidelburg very much, more so than Wurzburg . . . depends on what you want to see. In fact, maybe drive down to Heidelburg, over to Rothenburg o.d. Tauber, then up to Wurzburg. Leave VERY early on the first morning, drive to Heidelburg. Leave Heidelburg that same afternoon and spend the night in Rothenburg. Next morning drive to Wurzburg, and drive back to Frankfurt that evening.

Again . . . I like to cover a lot of ground because I am crazy. Just ask anyone on this forum who has been the victim of a Snoopy-diatribe.

Snoopy

I like Wurzburg better than Heildelburg. I'm not sure I would do the Black Forest with your amount of time. A couple of good short side trips from Frankfurt is Bad Holmburg and/or Kronburg. (please excuse my spelling if I got anything wrong.) For a true medieval town, you could always go to the extra cute town of Rothenburg.

I can't speak for Heidelburg, but here is another idea. Wuerzburg is about an hour east and very easy to reach. Make sure to see the residenz, which is NOT the castle on top of the hill (well, see that too). There is a day's worth to see in Wuerzburg. Then, on the other day, go west and north a short way to the Rhine river valley and/or the Mosel river valley, perhaps to St.Goar/Bacharach on the Rhine, or Cochem on the Mosel. Small towns, quaint, beautiful. Burg Eltz near Cochem is a beautiful castle that is actually furnished and isn't in ruins.

If you do make it to Rothenburg o. der Tauber, try to catch the night watchman's tour (in English)...I think at 8pm every night. Meet at the town hall. An hour's worth of interesting history.

A little further east than Wurzburg, but Bamberg is an absolute gem of a well preserved small city. About 2-1/2 hours by either car or train.

Assuming you don't already have a car [and perhaps even if you do], I'd try to do the trips by train. Simple. No parking problem. No getting lost problem. I'd do one day in Heidleberg and the second day maybe combine Wurzburg and Bamberg. Stroll in Bamberg and then catch the Residenz in Wurzberg. IMO, Wurzberg, other than the Residenz [which is spectacular] is kind of so-so.

If you'd like to see some really good castles and smaller medieval towns near Frankfurt, I think you'd do best to forego Wurzburg and Heidelberg - both are mostly very modern, larger cities - and follow ekellyga's suggestions for the Rhine/Mosel region.

On the Rhine, you could tour Marksburg Castle, the only intact, authentic, tourable castle on the river. It's in Braubach, a fine little town itself, on the east bank of the river:

www.roadstoruins.com/marksburg.htm

Linz, further north beyond Koblenz on the same side of the river as Marksburg, is a beautiful medieval village that you can visit in combination with this castle.

Just south of Braubach on the west bank is St. Goar and Rheinfels Castle ruins (cross on the ferry at St. Goar.) Bacharach to the south of St. Goar has lots of attractive half-timbered homes on cobblestoned streets.

Burg Eltz, as suggested by ekellyga, is truly the finest castle tour I've done and not that much further from the Rhine that it couldn't be visited in combination with one or more of the above-listed spots if you want to make a long day of it (the days are pretty long in July, fortunately!):

www.burg-eltz.de

(If packing a lot into a short day, take the car - it's a beautiful but lengthy hike up to this castle from the nearest train station.)

Wurzburg is a great town, especially in July. There is a great wine fest in the city center area and depending on when you will be there you may catch the tail end of the Mozartfest. Wurzburg has three castles that you can see in a day. The Mainfrankishe Museum in the Festung is well worth the trip. The best Italian resturant in Germany (the plaque on the wall says so) is called the Tiepolla and they also have a great Thai place (Rainbow Garden). If you are looking for more traditional Frankish food I would go to the Schlosshotel and sit outside. Great views overlooking the Main and all of Wurzburg. Great for panoramic shots.

R.o.T is a good day trip but during that time you'll be fighting lots of buses of tourists. If you do go I would recommend the Kriminal Museum and see if Herr Wolfahrt is in the store, he may offer you a ride to the workshop if you are willing to spend that kind of money. The walking tour is full of info, but I am pretty biased, I voiced the English version.

Hope this helps...Have a great day