Nurnberg or Rothenburg and more questions
We are flying into Frankfurt and plan to take the train to Munich with a stop in one of these towns. We also plan to see Zugspitze and somewhere else on our way to Strasbourg for week two.
We are hoping for suggestions for the first stop and last stop. Since we are getting into Frankfurt in the early morning and have been advised to stay up as long as possible, we are thinking about taking the train out soon after we land. Also, I will not be up for long walks during this trip. Thanks! |
You can get a train from Frankfurt to Rothenburg, but it requires a couple of changes. Nurenburg is a bit more easy by train. Rothenburg is smaller and more managable without a lot of walking - but it has a higher concentration of tourists. Either way I'm sure you will love it. If you do go to Rothenburg, try to stay for the night.
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From Frankfurt airport to Rothenburg requires 2 changes of trains. From Rothenburg to Munich requires 3 changes of trains. Not something you want to do. Nurnberg will be a better idea.
For train schedules: www.bahn.de |
What do you mean by a stop? Are you thinking an afternoon before you go on to Munich or is it for 2 or 3 nights?
Rothenburg is a small town from what I've read. I've not been there. If you're looking for 2 or 3 nights, I'd go with Nurnberg. I spent 3 nights there in 2000. It's a large enough city to have stuff to do for that length of time: the old city, the tour of the city wall, a couple of nice old churches, Albrecht Durer's house, a medieval (kind of) artsy, craftsy place. Make sure you eat sausages in the little restaurant right off the main square. You can recognize it by the smoke coming out of their chimney. Wood fire grilled sausages that are out of this world. |
Would you think about renting a car instead? That way you can wander all over, and be free to see sights just outside of the cities you are going to.
For instance, the drive to Rothenburg from Frankfort is very easy, all autobahn. Rothenburg is jammed with tourists in the summer (days), so spend the night so you can enjoy the evening hours (as previous post said). Then the drive to Nurnberg is also easy. Lots to see around the Zugspitze too. Wuerzburg (very close to Frankfort) is worth seeing. The driving is quite easy. EK |
Thanks for the advise so far. We are thinking the first stop to be one night and 1 1/2 days. This is not written in stone,open to suggestions. Even while there we don't mind changing plans if we decide to stay on or move on.
We had talked about renting a car, last rumor we heard was $5./gal gas - is this right? When I mentioned no long walks, it is not a disability but I will be having foot surgery when we get back for bone spurs. So I get around just fine except for long walks - good reason to stop for a cool drink! Does Nurnberg have comparable sights? |
Why not check the train schedule to see where the connections are from Frankfurt to Rothenburg and check into taking a room at any hotel in that town. It might make sense to spend the first night in such a town. get a good nights sleep and a good meal. After a good nights sleep take the morning train to Rothenburg.
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nurnberg is not thought of as a big tourist city, but there are thing to see. I lived last year in a town right between N and Rothenburg. If you can't see them both, I guess R would be my choice. If staying overnight, try to catch the "night watchman's tour"...in English...about 8pm.
Yes, the gas is expensive, but you can rent a small car that gets good mileage, especially if you get a diesel. It is a bit of a hassle when going into big cities (Munich), but we just park it and never move it till we leave the city. You'll have to pay to park. The freedom of having the car to wander into smaller towns, and not having to tote luggage from train stations to hotels is a plus for us. Let me know if you have any questions. [email protected] |
If you want to head directly to Rothenburg, just go ahead. It's only about 20-30 minutes longer by train to R'burg than to Nuremberg from FRA. It will however require additional time - maybe 1-1.5 hrs.? to get from R'burg to Munich, over the Nuremberg-Munich leg. Still, you can travel either route for only 14 Euros each by train on a "Bayern Ticket" (daypass, 28 Euros for 1-5 people - purchase there from ticket window or machine.) You can ride the RB or RE trains with this pass. To find a schedule for these trains, just stipulate "only local transport" when doing your search at www.bahn.de.
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To EKelly,
What town did you stay in? I'll be staying in Sommerach an the Main River, about 45 minutes from Rothenburg, for 2 months this summer. Any info about Sommerach, Volkach, Iphofen, or other towns in the area. Thanks mark |
I should re-state my earlier post.
I initially thought you want to get into Munich the same day you arrive in FRA, and want to sightsee a town in 1 afternoon "en route". That's why I said Nurnberg would be a better idea because of the ease of getting there vs Rothenburg. Now that you mention you'll have 1.5 days to travel from FRA to Munich, what I said in my last post does not apply. I have only been to Rothenburg, and found it an interesting town to visit, despite being surrounding by hoards of tourists. Another option (apart from taking the train) to get to Rothenburg and then to Munich is to take the Romantic Road Bus, which runs between Frankfurt & Munich. You can get off the bus at towns on the way for an overnight stay. I haven't done the RR bus myself, but I'm sure others here have and can give you their opinions on that. |
I have only been to Rothenburg and found the town amazing. It is very touristy, btu the history is overwhelming. Take a look at the Rick Steves book and you will be convinced. It is a great town to stroll through, btut he history of it makes it so much more meaningful
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we stayed in both towns last december...we have been to rothenburg many times and just love it...we stay at the klingentor B&B, which is right outside the klingentor town gate...very reasonable, good restaurant and family run...i will post the address in a minute
RENTING A CAR IS THE VERY BEST WAY TO GET AROUND AND NOT WASTE TIME..in my opinion...yes gas is $4-5 but it seems to go further than in usa...small cars... a good car rental site is: www.gemut.com this is an oregon based company if you go to nuremburg stay in the "old town"...we stayed at the Burghotel...www.burghotel-nuremburg.de there is a nice parking garage in the next block.... charming town you could actually visit both towns and then on to munich |
hotel klingentor B&B is found at:
www.hotel-klingentor.de roth o.b. tauber is one of the most beautiful towns in germany...it is especially lovely early in the AM and after the toruist busses leave in the PM... klingentor has private free parking |
Wnab1q - I took a similar trip in December. Trains from Frankfurt to Rothenburg take about 2:50 and involve train changes in Wurzburg and Steinach. The cost is about 21 Euro per person.
Trains from Rothenburg to Garmisch (home of the Zugspitz) take about five hours and involve four train changes (three of these changes have connecting times of under six minutes). Trains from Frankfurt to Nuremburg run hourly and take 2:15. Trains from Nuremburg to Munich run hourly and take two hours. The Bayern Ticket is a great deal, but it's only good in Bavaria - you can't use it from Frankfurt to Rothenburg or Nuremburg, but you can use it from there to Munich, Garmisch, etc. If it were me, I'd hop a train and head for Rothenburg OR Nuremberg. I really enjoyed Rothenburg - expecially at Christmas. I plan to visit Nuremberg next time. From Rothenberg or Nuremberg, you can get to Garmisch, but it takes awhile and those quick train changes can be stressful if you're toting luggage. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably have rented a car! Have a great trip! |
My wife and I flew into Frankfurt- picked up our car and drove to Rothenburg and stayed for the night- wonderful visit-see the Nightwatchman tour in the evening. We stayed at the Bayerischer Hof (see on line at <info@bayerischerhof> We reseved via email. We then drove to Nuremburg and stayed in the area for a couple days and then drove to Garmisch. We also arranged our stay at the Gasthof Fraundorfer (interesting) via email. We then drove to Munich and took train to Berlin. Try it by car....
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I've been to both and they are certainly quite different. Rothenburg is more fairy tale than not. Very cute and eminently doable in a day or so. We'd stayed overnight at the Hotel Eisenhut and were quite pleased.
Nuremberg is much bigger and needs more time. The old city is certainly worth a few hours or more. The high spot for us, however, was the half day we spent with a Welsh guide touring the Nazi rally grounds just outside the city. The tour was arranged through the local historical society, Geschichte fur Alle, and was easily the single most interesting part of our 10 days in Germany. Please let me know if this is something you would be interested in and I'll locate the website for you. |
nrwayne,the tour sounds interesting, if you can find the website I'd like to check it out.
Last night while we talked over the car vs. train for the umpteenth time we saw an article in the newspaper about the averted train derailment over the weekend. Even though they don't think it was terrorists, we decided on the car! Thanks rhkknk for the site for car rentals, I'm waiting for the quote. great site for insurance plans. The package plan has car rental insurance to $25,000. Our insurance doesn't cover anything overseas. How has everyone else insured rental cars? |
Another possibility is Bamberg, an absolute gem of a small city. It's a world heritage city with a beautifully preserved Altstadt. a Pope and Emporer are buried there--has a castle, palace, cathedral, monestary. The Regnitz runs right through the middle of the Altstadt. A wonderful place for a couple of days.
Not as big a Nuernberg, not as touristy as Rothenburg o.d. Tauber. |
To wnab1q,
I was lookig for the website and I found it. Sounds interesting. I'll be checkig it out during one of my visits to Nurnberg this summer. Anyway, here it is: Go to www.nurnberg.de Click on the British Flag in the upper right hand corner Click on the link to "tourism" Click on the Virtual Tour of the Former Nazi Party Rally Grounds. There you are, you now have all the info. Have fun Mark |
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