Hi all,

It's been many years since my last post! Planning a family trip to Germany, bringing 2 kids ages 12 and 9 and of May beginning of June. Please check and comment on my itinerary below.

Also trying to decide if we should spend 2 nights in Rothenburg and 4 nights in Munich or 3 nights in Rothenburg and 3 nights in Munich. Plan to do a day trip to Nuremberg and can do it from either Rothenburg or Munich. It looks like Munich's ICE trains would save us only about 10 - 20 minutes, but they are nonstop. They are also more expensive. Rothenburg would require a change at the local Steinbach station and Ansbach, but the TagesTicketPlus would save us at least 60 euros. Thoughts and comments on these two plans?

Thoughts on great places to stay with a family (quads) in Rothenburg and Munich?

Itinerary:
Day 1: Non-stop flight to Frankfurt

Day 2: Arrive at FRA at 9:00 am. Frankfurt to Heidelberg by train (about 1 hour and 10 minutes to Heidelberg Alstadt). Stay 2 nights in Heidelberg at Zum Ritter. Visit Aldstadt. Adjust to time change. Any other tips?

Day 3: Heidelberg. Visit castle. Any other tips or must sees?

Day 4: Heidelberg to Oberwesel by train (about 2 hrs 15 minutes). Stay 2 nights at Hotel Schonburg.

Day 5: Short Rhine cruise. Visit St. Goar and Bacharach.

Day 6: Oberwesel to Rothenburg by train (about 4 hours and 48 minutes and 3 changes). Sleep in Rothenburg 2 or 3 nights, depending on whether day trip to Nuremberg is from here or Munich.

Day 7: Rothenburg and maybe somewhere else nearby?

Here is where the plans are a little different

Day 8: (Rothenburg sleep) Day trip to Nuremberg by train (1 hr 20 minutes 2 changes).

Day 8 (Munich Sleep) Rothenburg to Munich (3.5 hours and 2-3 changes).

Day 9: (If Day 8 was in Rothenburg), Rothenburg to Munich (3.5 hours and 2-3 changes).

Day 9: (If Day 8 was in Munich): Day-trip to Nuremberg from Munich.

Day 10: Day trip by coach bus to Neuchwanstein Castle

Day 11: Munich

Day 12: Non-stop flight Munich home.

Any suggestions re: sights to see with kids, Rothenburg vs. Munich for Nuremberg day trip, places to stay in Rothenburg and Munich, resources I should check, etc.? Thanks!

To get a handle on local life in Franconia (Rothenburg/Nuremberg area) you'd be wise to avoid the somewhat hokey torture-musem-tourist stuff in Rothenburg and to take your day trip to the Freilandmuseum in Bad Windsheim:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...e_Francon.html

Also, I would re-assign Days 2-5. South to Heidelberg, north to the Rhine, then south again to Rothenburg isn't very efficient. And I might just axe Heidelberg on other grounds as well... the city is OK but you won't be seeing an intact castle there - some ruins from the former castle perhaps. You'll already be seeing Rheinfels (ruins) in St. Goar, when you do your cruise, right?

So if you want to check out a genuine, intact medieval castle, I'd suggest 3 nights on the Rhine so that you have time to see either Marksburg Castle (Braubach) or Burg Eltz Castle (walk from Moselkern.)

Marksburg: http://www.marksburg.de/en/

Eltz:

https://de.best-wallpaper.net/wallpa..._1920x1200.jpg

http://burg-eltz.de/en/

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/burgeltzfrommoselkern.html

Seeing one or the other or both matters, IMO. Neuschwanstein won't introduce you to a real castle either... it's a late 19th-century palace with a fake castle exterior.

Then I would shorten the train trip from the Rhine on Day 5. Take the train to Würzburg (3 hrs. from O'wesel) for one night. It's a Romantic Road town with some great sights and charm, it's a town you must travel through anyway, and it breaks up the trip to Rothenburg nicely - this seems better than making a day trip there from Rothenburg, IMO.

http://www.blaek.de/_images/baet/A_M...ecke-05.07.jpg
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/169
http://www.ferienhof-henn.de/files/i...marienberg.jpg

The Residenz in Wurzburg is definitely worth a visit. The local train from Rothenburg ends in Wurzburg.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7634933220494/ and subsequent pictures.

Frankly, I would NOT STAY IN Rothenburg AT ALL! Yes, you CAN get up early and take the train there, see all four of those Christmas stores, walk across the drawbridge in and out; look at the moat and the walls and LEAVE for somewhere, anywhere like Munich which has a lot more to see and do and is a better jumping off point for all those Ludwig builds anyway.

Yeah, I know everybody says....but having BEEN that's my recommedation and the kids will thank you for it later, too

I would do one night at least in Rothenburg. The night watchmen tour is something your children will love. I have been twice and always something going on in the town sq at night after the tour buses have departed.
Spend a night here, so much to see here,this hotel is right after you exit the train tunnel. Best breakfast I have ever had in Germany.
http://www.hotelvictoria.de/en/contact/contact.html

Great day trips from Munich south.
Maybe an apartment for four nights in Munich.

Yes to Rothenburg but follow Fussgaenger's advice to stop in Wurzburg. Traveling to Rothenburg is tedious without a car and is much better if you stop along the way.

Great stuff. Need to look at it more carefully, but would 1 night Heidelberg and 3 nights in Rhine make more sense?

For Franconia, I was thinking the Night Watchman's tour would be a good thing to see with the kids, and Rothenburg after dark would be very atmospheric. But, would Nuremberg be a better base, and give up night time in Rothenburg? Maybe only one night in Rothenburg, 2 in Nuremberg and 3 in Munich?

"...would 1 night Heidelberg and 3 nights in Rhine make more sense?"

I assume you mean more sense than 3 on the Rhine and 1 in Würzburg...

No, not IMO, not unless you have some special reason for visiting Heidelberg that you haven't aired.

Würzburg is on the route to Rothenburg; an Oberwesel-Heidelberg-Rothenburg routing requires about 7 hours by train, while Oberwesel-Würzburg-Rothenburg takes about 5 train hours.

Also, Würzburg has both a fortress and a UNESCO World Heritage Palace (don't miss the adjacent Hofkirche/chapel) ...and some nice places you might enjoy tucking into:

Zum Stachel Wine House and Restaurant:
http://kunstdirekt.net/bildarchiv/or...chel-01-xl.jpg

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...a_Bavaria.html

Goldene Gans Biergarten near the Main River bridge (Würzburg is in Bavaria, and this place makes that clear.)

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/med...rankischer.jpg

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...a_Bavaria.html

Heidelberg is OK, and some may disagree but I think W'burg is better, all things considered.

But perhaps you have reservations in O'wesel and H'berg already that cannot be re-arranged??

For Franconia, I was thinking the Night Watchman's tour would be a good thing to see with the kids, and Rothenburg after dark would be very atmospheric. But, would Nuremberg be a better base, and give up night time in Rothenburg? Maybe only one night in Rothenburg, 2 in Nuremberg and 3 in Munich?

I think one in Rothenburg, 2 in Nuremberg and three in Munich would be perfect but book asap.

I would do the 3 nights in Rothenburg. We did 3 on my last time there and wouldn't mind staying more. In Heidelberg, take the bost trip on the Neckar. In Oberwesel, don't forget to stop in the Liebfrauenkirche - the reddish church near the train station.

Hello! Based on the feedback, I've (tried) to make some changes. The first night is the main problem, I originally had us going first to the Rhine and second to Heidelberg, as suggested above. But, trying to find a great place for a family of 4 on a Saturday night, the last weekend in May, one month out, proved tough. That's why we're heading to Heidelberg first and then to Oberwesel.

The other curve ball is that my DS wanted to visit the Porsche museum in Stuttgart. My DH thought we could do it as a daytip from Heidelberg, but it seems tough to me logistically. Instead, I'm going to suggest the Transporation museum in Munich. Any other suggestions for a 12-year old, fancy-car obsessed boy?

Based on the feedback and our interests, I think a night in Rothenburg is a good idea. But, I've scratched the plans to use it as a base, and will opt instead for only one night there and 2 in Wurzburg. It's more sensible.


Itinerary:
Day 1: Non-stop flight to Frankfurt

Day 2: Arrive at FRA at 9:00 am. Frankfurt to Heidelberg by train (about 1 hour and 10 minutes to Heidelberg Alstadt). Stay 2 nights in Heidelberg at Zum Ritter. Visit Aldstadt. Adjust to time change. Visit castle.

Day 3: Heidelberg. Day trip around Neckar. bad Wimpfen?

Day 4: Heidelberg to Oberwesel by train (about 2 hrs 15 minutes). Stay 2 nights at Hotel Schonburg.

Day 5: Short Rhine cruise. Visit St. Goar and Bacharach. Maybe a winery in the late afternoon?

Day 6: Oberwesel to Wurzburg By train (about 1 HR 45 min, 1 change). Visit Wurzburg and short visit to Residenz. Stay in Wurzburg (Altasdt area).

Day 7: Day trip to Nuremberg or Bamberg from Wurzburg. Leaning towards Nuremberg. Sleep in Wurzburg.

Day 8: Wurzburg to Rothenburg by train (about 1 hours and 15 minutes and 1 changes). Sleep in Rothenburg. Night Watchman tour.

Day 9: Rothenburg to Munich (3.5 hours and 2 changes). Munich, visit Altstadt.

Day 10: Day trip by coach bus/tour to Neuchwanstein Castle.

Day 11: Munich. Visit transportation museum. Beer garden?

Day 12: Non-stop flight Munich home.

Thoughts? Better?

Hi

Did you take that trip? How was it? Did you write a trip report?

Especially interested in how you found Heidelburg and Rothenburg - what you did there, any tips, etc. I'm planning a trip for July that will include those two (Plus Nuremberg, Babmberg and Munich)

Thanks

isabel you may want to start a new thread with new post as old threads like this rarely get responses. The Bavaria Pass could be a great deal for you - ride regional trains all day anywhere and city transports too - www.bahn.de/en for info and general info on German trains -www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com and fussgaenger who posts a lot about German trains above is an aboslute expert on German trains.

I have other threads regarding the trip I am planning (which in fact you have responded to) but in this case I am specifically trying to attract the attention of Mariarosa since given her earlier questions I think her opinion of those places would be relevant to me. By responding to this thread she may see it pop up when she checks her profile page.

isabel, I am not the OP, but FWIW, I visited Rothenburg ODT twice as day trips from Nuremburg - both on gorgeous sunny July days, so I was expecting a dreadful crush of tourists and it was lovely both times. There is a central pedestrian street that the tour groups seem to be herded through, plus their photo ops at the gates. So these areas were crowded. But the side alleys were surprisingly empty of people, as were the walls, which we walked and very few others did. We had a delightful lunch in a courtyard under shady trees by the wall, quiet and peaceful. The town is really pretty, walls, towers, lovely buildings, window shutters, flowerboxes, gardens. I stay with family when I visit Germany (Nuremberg, Munich, Chemnitz,..) and they always prefer to take me to lovely quaint non touristy towns, so we went on our own and we did love Rothenburg too, enough to go back the following year

I stay with family when I visit Germany (Nuremberg, Munich, Chemnitz,..) and they always prefer to take me to lovely quaint non touristy towns, so we went on our own and we did love Rothenburg too, enough to go back the following year>

Locals often have a different perspective than foreing tourists. Like Bruges in Blegium locals pooh-pooh often and recommend staying in Gent instead but foreign tourists have different ideas of dreamy.

Day 3: Heidelberg. Day trip around Neckar. bad Wimpfen?>

check out Castle Road bus from Heidelberg along Neckar and those towns.

Day trip Heidelberg to Stuttgart for Porrsche Museum is easy - just 40 minutes train to Heidelberg main station then S-Bahn to near museum. Easy peasy.

Adelaidean - That's wonderful to hear, exactly the kind of information I'm looking for. I've also been to many very touristy places and still been glad I went and been able to minimize the influence of the crowds so glad to hear it can be done with Rothenburg.

Rothenburg IME is like lots of big tourist draws - tourists stick to few places often near where bus lets them off and much of the town is delights.