Please share your suggestions for my Germany/Alsace itinerary
 

My husband and I are planning a trip to western/southern Germany and Alsace for this July. We are flying into Frankfurt and out of Munich. I have three loose itinerary ideas, and I'd appreciate your input. We will be renting a car, and we'd like to rent it in Germany since we will be returning it in Germany. However, I'm not sure that it's a good idea to pick up the car in Frankfurt as we're arriving all jet-lagged, so the first night I was planning to take a train to a German town where we can recover from our jet-lag.

We have not decided all of the towns we will be staying in. I've been researching, but I need to settle an itinerary first.

I'll post my itinerary ideas in three different posts, for clarity.

If all my itineraries stink and you'd propose something else, please do! The only requirements are into Frankfurt and out of Munich, and several days in Alsace.

Thanks!
Anne

Option A:
Disclaimer for Option A: Warburg is a town north of Frankfurt to which I have family connections. I would love to visit it, but I realize it is out-of-the-way for the rest of my itinerary. It would be about 2 hours by train from Frankfurt, I believe.

Day 1: Arrive Frankfurt; take train to Warburg (near Kassel), spend night in Warburg
Day 2: Explore Warburg, drive to Cologne, spend night in Cologne
Day 3: Explore Cologne, drive to Alsace, staying in one of the villages on the Route du Vin
Day 4: Alsace
Day 5: Alsace
Day 6: Alsace, day trip to Strasbourg
Day 7: Alsace
Day 8: Drive to Munich
Day 9: Munich, day trip to Salzburg
Day 10: Munich
Day 11: Depart Munich

Option B:
Day 1: Arrive Frankfurt; take train to Heidelberg, spend night in Heidelberg
Day 2: drive to Alsace, stay on Route du Vin
Day 3: Alsace, day trip to Strasbourg
Day 4: Alsace, Route du Vin
Day 5: Alsace, Route du Vin
Day 6: Drive to Fussen
Day 7: Fussen & area
Day 8: Drive to Munich
Day 9: Munich, day trip to Salzburg
Day 10: Munich
Day 11: Depart Munich

Option C:
Day 1: Arrive Frankfurt; take train to Heidelberg, spend night in Heidelberg
Day 2: Drive to Alsace, stay on Route du Vin
Day 3: Alsace, day trip to Strasbourg
Day 4: Alsace, Route du Vin
Day 5: Alsace, Route du Vin
Day 6: Drive to Black Forest or Bodensee, stay ?
Day 7: Black Forest or Bodensee, stay ?
Day 8: Drive to Munich
Day 9: Munich, day trip to Salzburg
Day 10: Munich
Day 11: Depart Munich

To the Top...come on people, help her out!!!

Hi A,

How important are Munich and Salzburg?

You could fly into Frankfurt, see Warburg, travel through Alsace, go through the Black Forest, see part of the Romantic Road and leave from Frankfurt or Stuttgart.

Frankfurt airport/Warburg is about 2 hr by car. It's been our experience that we have enough adrenalin going after landing that we can safely drive in the right lane, at the speed limit, for about 3hr.

Hope this helps.

((I))

Wow, thanks for topping me, Wren! :) Since I posted this message, I decided on my own to add the Bodensee portion of the trip as a stopover between Alsace and Munich. I've e-mailed the Gasthof zum Bären in Meersburg about availability--no response yet. It's the first portion of the trip that I'm most uncertain about. Can't decide whether to add the sentimental stop in out-of-the-way Warburg. If I don't, then where? Cologne is probably out now that I've decided on the Bodensee. I'm not super-attached to Heidelberg; it just seems well-positioned between Frankfurt and Alsace.

Hi Ira. Into/out of Munich is set, as I've booked FF tickets. I know they're changeable for a fee, but I don't want to do that. :) My husband has been to Munich and remembers liking it, so that part of the trip is influenced by him. We don't have to do the Salzburg day trip--that's just an option.

CORRECTION to my last post: into Frankfurt, out of Munich is our flight itinerary, not into/out of Munich.

Hi A,

Into FRA, out of MUC.
See Alsace
Stop at Bodensee.

Oddly enough, I have already planned part of your route for our upcoming visit.

If you go into Switzerland, you will have to buy the 30E tax disc, so this route avoids it.

From Dijon to Lake Constance (Bodensee):
Take the D70 to Gray, the D67 toward Besancon, the A36/E60 toward Belfort, the D14 through Altkirch toward Basl.

Stay in Germany by taking the D105 toward Lorrach.

Get on the B317 through Schonau and Lake Titisee, take the B31 East until ou reach the A81/E41 and take that into Konstanz. About 6hr.

From Lake Constance to Fussen:

Take the northern shore of the lake (Friedrichshafen side) to Bregenz. Go South on the A14/E60 to the B200 and head East via Holzgau to Reutte and Fussen. 3:25 hr

You will have to buy the 8E Austrian 7-day tax disc.

I have been told that you will go through beautiful countryside and quaint villages without death-defying byroads in the mountains.

You can get full directions by entering these routes at www.viamichelin.com and clicking "avoiding tolls".

Hope this helps.

((I))

Thank you, Ira, that is very helpful! I am quite anxious to avoid all manner of death-defying byroads. :)

We were in Munich for two nights at Christmas break, and that was not enough to even scratch the surface. Of course we spent time at the Christmas Markets, and they won't be there in July. I can't wait until I can go back there.

I have been to Salzburg three times, and it is lovely. You could get a good look at it if you have most of a day. I don't know the length of the train ride, though.