not be missed cities for first time in Germany
Jan 11th, 2010, 06:25 AM
#2
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 2,801
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Not to be missed cities in my opinion:
Majors:
1. Berlin
2. Hamburg
3. Munich
4. Dresden
5. Frankfurt/ Main(region)
Smaller:
1. Luebeck
2. Wuerzburg
3. Bamberg
Hotels impossible to answer without any indication on what price level you expect, when you are travelling etc.
Package tour operators: should not be hard to find one if you are so inclined.
Majors:
1. Berlin
2. Hamburg
3. Munich
4. Dresden
5. Frankfurt/ Main(region)
Smaller:
1. Luebeck
2. Wuerzburg
3. Bamberg
Hotels impossible to answer without any indication on what price level you expect, when you are travelling etc.
Package tour operators: should not be hard to find one if you are so inclined.
Jan 11th, 2010, 08:25 AM
#4
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,198
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I agree with Tomboy. We need a little more info. How long a trip are you planning? Have you been before? How do you plan to travel? What are your interests? Are you looking for a Big Bus tour on independent travel? Why Germany?
Jan 11th, 2010, 08:49 AM
#5
I love traveling in Germany. Berlin is fascinating and a must see IMO. I also loved Munich and there are interesting side trips from this area. Wish I could help some more but I've not yet been to Dresden which tops my list along with Hamburg. Next week I'll go to Frankfurt but primarily to see the Botticelli exhibit.
I would use the trains and skip the tour thing. Just me...
gruezi
I would use the trains and skip the tour thing. Just me...
gruezi
Jan 11th, 2010, 09:23 AM
#6
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Agree we need to know more:
Who/how many/ages?
Interests?
How long is the trip?
Travel by train or car
(If you're taking a tour then you go where they do. It may be right for you - but we can;t know until you tell us a lot more.)
Have been to Germany at least a dozen times and there's something for everyone - but can;t tell you what not to miss without knowing a lot more.
Who/how many/ages?
Interests?
How long is the trip?
Travel by train or car
(If you're taking a tour then you go where they do. It may be right for you - but we can;t know until you tell us a lot more.)
Have been to Germany at least a dozen times and there's something for everyone - but can;t tell you what not to miss without knowing a lot more.
Jan 11th, 2010, 11:48 AM
#7
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Focusing on nothing but big cities is a common first-timers' mistake. If you have that fairytale image of cobblestone and half-timbered houses etc. in your mind, make sure to include some small towns into your itinerary. Thanks to World War II those old-town pictures hardly exist in large cities any more.
Jan 16th, 2010, 11:13 AM
#9
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You still haven;t told us how long you have. Berlin and Munich are obvious - and that will take about 8 days. And while both have some cute areas both were heavily damaged in WWII - and much of each city dates from then.
The smaller towns tend to be much quainter, and some of them have a lot of original buildings. But to visit a lot of them conveniently you really need a car. Have never found German necessary, there's always someone who speaks some English - esp in hotels and restaurant - although a menu reader can be useful.
And is the 200 per night euros?
The smaller towns tend to be much quainter, and some of them have a lot of original buildings. But to visit a lot of them conveniently you really need a car. Have never found German necessary, there's always someone who speaks some English - esp in hotels and restaurant - although a menu reader can be useful.
And is the 200 per night euros?
Jan 16th, 2010, 11:44 AM
#10
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 12,009
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Germany is FULL of quaint towns.
Since you have two very LARGE TOWNS, you probably should do a couple of smaller towns. It would be nice to know how much time you have.
Also, do you want to see mountains or lakes or rivers or castles?
Mountains:
Mittenwald
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Berchtesgaden
Lakes:
Meersburg
Uberlingen
Berchtesgaden
Rivers:
Rhine: Bacharach, St. Goar, Boppard, Rudesheim
Mosel: Bernkastel-Kues, Beilstein, Cochem
Neckar: Bad Wimpfen, Tuebingen
Castles:
Many on the Rhine and Mosel Rivers
Burg Hohenzollern near Tuebingen
Also of interest are unique towns and UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as:
Bamberg
Quedlinburg
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Regensburg
Since you have two very LARGE TOWNS, you probably should do a couple of smaller towns. It would be nice to know how much time you have.
Also, do you want to see mountains or lakes or rivers or castles?
Mountains:
Mittenwald
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Berchtesgaden
Lakes:
Meersburg
Uberlingen
Berchtesgaden
Rivers:
Rhine: Bacharach, St. Goar, Boppard, Rudesheim
Mosel: Bernkastel-Kues, Beilstein, Cochem
Neckar: Bad Wimpfen, Tuebingen
Castles:
Many on the Rhine and Mosel Rivers
Burg Hohenzollern near Tuebingen
Also of interest are unique towns and UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as:
Bamberg
Quedlinburg
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Regensburg
Jan 17th, 2010, 11:03 AM
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 286
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
yes, I was thinking 200 USD per night about 10-12 days.
museums a castle or two not interested in rivers or mts or lakes per se
quaint towns yes
one of us have been to Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn and Dusseldorf
Thank you to all for replies
museums a castle or two not interested in rivers or mts or lakes per se
quaint towns yes
one of us have been to Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn and Dusseldorf
Thank you to all for replies
Jan 17th, 2010, 12:37 PM
#15
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 12,820
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
OP=original poster?
I like BettyK's list. She's traveled a lot in Germany and knows her stuff. I especially like the UNESCO world heritage cities.
I'd add Burg Eltz near the Mosel River. It's my favorite castle.
Just my personal opinion, but I don't really like any of the big cities, except maybe for museums in Munich and Berlin.
I like BettyK's list. She's traveled a lot in Germany and knows her stuff. I especially like the UNESCO world heritage cities.
I'd add Burg Eltz near the Mosel River. It's my favorite castle.
Just my personal opinion, but I don't really like any of the big cities, except maybe for museums in Munich and Berlin.
Jan 17th, 2010, 02:39 PM
#16
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My favourite small(er) old town gems include:
Wismar, Schwerin, Bad Doberan
Lübeck
Celle, Wolfenbüttel
Goslar, Wernigerode, Quedlinburg
Leer
Meißen, Görlitz, Bautzen
Erfurt, Mühlhausen, Naumburg
Marburg
Alsfeld, Frankenberg, Büdingen
Ladenburg, Weinheim (have not yet made it to Bad Wimpfen, I admit)
Tübingen, Weikersheim, Rottweil
Nördlingen
Konstanz, Überlingen, Lindau
Bamberg, Regensburg, Coburg, Volkach
Wismar, Schwerin, Bad Doberan
Lübeck
Celle, Wolfenbüttel
Goslar, Wernigerode, Quedlinburg
Leer
Meißen, Görlitz, Bautzen
Erfurt, Mühlhausen, Naumburg
Marburg
Alsfeld, Frankenberg, Büdingen
Ladenburg, Weinheim (have not yet made it to Bad Wimpfen, I admit)
Tübingen, Weikersheim, Rottweil
Nördlingen
Konstanz, Überlingen, Lindau
Bamberg, Regensburg, Coburg, Volkach
Jan 17th, 2010, 03:00 PM
#17
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 12,009
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The towns I mentioned in the lake, mountain and river categories are diverse and beautiful towns in their own right that just HAPPEN to be near those lovely geographical features. They are enhanced because of it but it's not the only reason to go there.
If interested, most of the towns I mentioned above (plus others) can be found in our photo albums on Webshots. We have made 6 trips or more to Germany in the last 10 yrs.
http://community.webshots.com/user/dkubiak
If interested, most of the towns I mentioned above (plus others) can be found in our photo albums on Webshots. We have made 6 trips or more to Germany in the last 10 yrs.
http://community.webshots.com/user/dkubiak
Jan 20th, 2010, 09:50 AM
#19
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 938
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you go for 10-12 days, I'd leave out Berlin as long as you haven't got a special reason to go there. It's a long train ride which I personally wouldn't like to fit into it.
Assuming that you arrive in Frankfurt and want to use trains:
Easy to go to the Rhine with bettyk's recommendations of Bacharach, St. Goar, Boppard, Rudesheim. There are real castles and the towns are quaint.
Going from there or Frankfurt to Munich in the south of Germany, you'll pass Heidelberg. You could use it as a base for two or three days and look at the town itself and take day trips to places like Ladenburg or Speyer.
From there to Munich, again with daytrips to places Salzburg or the fairy tale castle of Neuschwantsein.
From there you could go to Nuremberg. It's a large city but has a very nicely rebuilt city center with a medieval city wall and the old Nuremberg castle, former seat of the Emperor. You can go from there easily to Bamberg (I fully support the recommendation by others).
From Nuremberg it's quite fast to go back to Frankfurt. If you have the time, you can stop in Wuerzburg (the train passes through) and Rothenburg isn't too far away either.
For train travel, visit www.bahn.de It's the website of the German railway and can give you an impression about the travel times. The train stations are nearly always in the city centre. For costs, there are sometimes deals or cheaper options available than what will be quoted.
For hotels, a possibility is www.hrs.de You shouldn't have a problem to find a nice hotel for under 200 Euro a night, especially in the smaller cities. If the website quotes insane prices, there might be a trade fair in the city pushing up prices. They'll be back to normal a few days later.
Assuming that you arrive in Frankfurt and want to use trains:
Easy to go to the Rhine with bettyk's recommendations of Bacharach, St. Goar, Boppard, Rudesheim. There are real castles and the towns are quaint.
Going from there or Frankfurt to Munich in the south of Germany, you'll pass Heidelberg. You could use it as a base for two or three days and look at the town itself and take day trips to places like Ladenburg or Speyer.
From there to Munich, again with daytrips to places Salzburg or the fairy tale castle of Neuschwantsein.
From there you could go to Nuremberg. It's a large city but has a very nicely rebuilt city center with a medieval city wall and the old Nuremberg castle, former seat of the Emperor. You can go from there easily to Bamberg (I fully support the recommendation by others).
From Nuremberg it's quite fast to go back to Frankfurt. If you have the time, you can stop in Wuerzburg (the train passes through) and Rothenburg isn't too far away either.
For train travel, visit www.bahn.de It's the website of the German railway and can give you an impression about the travel times. The train stations are nearly always in the city centre. For costs, there are sometimes deals or cheaper options available than what will be quoted.
For hotels, a possibility is www.hrs.de You shouldn't have a problem to find a nice hotel for under 200 Euro a night, especially in the smaller cities. If the website quotes insane prices, there might be a trade fair in the city pushing up prices. They'll be back to normal a few days later.
