Hello!

My husband and I are taking a trip to Germany in early May of 2019, and are looking to spend a day exploring Frankfurt and rent a car and do 2 days in the area until we move to our next destination. As we will need parking, staying in the city could be difficult, and we would like easy access to get around to the surrounding sites/cities. Does anyone have recommendations of towns close to Frankfurt that you would recommend staying in?

Also, any recommendations of places to visit within or around Frankfurt are much appreciated as well! We are just beginning the process of planning, but know we are going to head south after our visit around Frankfurt (the Black Forest and Rothenburg areas into Switzerland on the latter half of the trip). Other than that we don't have too many details ironed out!

Thank you!!

Frankfurt is not usually a destination. It is OK, but with all the more wonderful things to do and see in Germany and Europe, I would not spend any time there, but go instead directly on by train to another location.

It is different if you have to fly out of Frankfurt and need to be there the night before a flight. Then a little trip into Frankfurt makes sense.

Once your itinerary is completely worked out, you can decide if you need a car, and where to pick it up.

Spend the first night in Frankfurt then yes take train elsewhere and pick up car - like the fabulous Rhine Gorge area between Koblenz and Bingen -actually don't need car there either as K-D boats (k-d.com) are a great way to explore the area for a day - get on and off - then pick up car and head south or drive there from Frankfurt - Airport would be a good pick up place. But like sass says above Frankfurt, a nice city as all German cities are, is not that exceptional so maybe just pick up car first day at airport and do a short drive to Rhine Gorge or other place away from Frankfurt. For lots on trains and the Rhine Gorge area check www.bahn.de/en - German Railways site and general info Rhine Gorge also BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

Thank you! We fly into Frankfurt, but have no problem catching a train right away to head elsewhere.

There are a few things we had on our list to see around the Frankfurt area- Schloss Braunfels, Eltz Castle and
Cochem Castle- which is why we wanted to stay somewhere in the vicinity. Do you have any experience with any of those sites? Are they worth staying in that area for?

Led bike trips for years along Mosel and stayed in Cochem, a picture postcard town of your dreams - lovely but Ersatz medieval castle popping out of town center and easy access to nearby Burg Eltz and Braunfels on Rhine too. cochem is heavily touristed in summer but delightful in May and vineyards along Mosel are lovely - a winery to tour right in Cochem but lots along the roads hugging the sinuous Mosel River - drive up to Beilstein for an especially lovely stretch of Mosel. Yes some folks advise not driving first day after all-night flight so maybe take train to Cochem and pick up car next day there or in larger nearby Koblenz.

Ignore "experts" like Sassafrass and palenQ who apparently neither know the attractions in Frankfurt or who suggest a mediocre place like Cochem. Cochem is a transport hub on the Mosel but not a worthwhile destination itself. The castle above is also by far the least interesting one of the three you've listed.
Wait with renting a car and do day trips by train from Frankfurt, the RheinMainCard would come handy https://www.frankfurt-rhein-main.de/.../RheinMainCard . You haven't exactly given us any clues what you're interested in except castles so I'll go along with that. You do one day trip to Gelnhausen and Büdingen where you visit the remains of the imperial palace, the main church and the old town in Gelnhausen and admire the city wall and the old town in Büdingen. Call in advance for a guided tour of the castle in Büdingen.
Then you go on the next day to Marburg, admire the Elisabeth church, explore the old town and climb up to the castle where it doesn't hurt to visit the museum which also gives you access to the main hall and the chapel. Other highly recommended though less castle heavy options are Limburg and Seligenstadt. If you want castles near Frankfurt take a look at Ronneburg, Burg Breuberg (try to make a guided tour in order to see the stucco ceiling) and Burg Münzenberg these are the three best and more interesting than most along the Upper Middle Rhine valley. Here a car would be however necessary.
Or you go towards Burg Eltz which is admittedly the best castle (however also the most frequented so don't try to hit it midday on a weekend), do take a look at the church in nearby Münstermaifeld and then you can also do Schloss Braunfels (neither of both castles is on the Rhine as PalenQ suggests) which has one of the most impressive imaginable courtyards (the castle was prettied up a bit in the late 19th century for added dramatic effect) and also a nice town at its feet. Technically the Lahn is as great a destination as Rhine and Mosel (Limburg would be on your way from Burg Eltz) but thankfully foreign tourists don't know that (except those who have connections to New Braunfels in the USA).

IMO ignore Lubitsch - a jaded local who constantly recommends large modern hectic German cities over dreamy places like Cochem - I led thousands of folks on bike trips thru Cochem and most simply loved the place - I had visited Frankfurt many times and it has its pluses but a place like Cochem is your dream place (and I did say or meant to say Burg Eltz is on the Mosel - having biked there many times from Cochem) and here is 'mediocre Cochem':

https://www.google.com/search?q=cochem+images&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ& sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiEqOP1uaTdAhVEgK0KHdzhCB8QsAR6BAgA EAE&biw=1280&bih=625&dpr=1.5

Marburg is a neat university town but way out of way if heading south to Black Forest and middle and upper Rhine in no way matches the Rhine Gorge - again neither stretch of Rhine rivals the Rhine Gorge area in romantic cities and places. Braunfels is my mistake not on Rhine but on Lahn valley which runs off the Rhine Gorge area - a Rhine Gorge base like Boppard could be good for that and Burg Eltz.

The difference between what a local recommends and what an American tourist or any tourist may love is often vastly different and one reason a place like Cochem is so popular - the opposite IME of mediocre.

Thank you for the recommendations! I really appreciate the time and thought everyone has put into their posts.

As far as things we are looking to do, I enjoy history and my husband is more into hiking/scenery (which we are planning to do a lot of in Switzerland), so we try to do a mix of both on our trips. We don't typically spend much time in large cities, maybe a day or two max and prefer to stay in smaller towns. Any food/wine/beer recommendations are always welcome!

Also- my husband is into photography, so any picturesque towns/sites/scenery is a plus!

Frankfurt has some very very good art museums.

Look PalenQ what's the point of arguing, let's make this simple. Do show me the beautiful old parts of Cochem. Show me the old half timbered houses. Russ already tried and failed miserably. Offering shots from a distance where Cochem indeed looks nice doesn't prove anything and all the shots inside the town are of the decent though still rather mediocre market square. What was not destroyed in WWII like the church is mostly insignificant. Cochem's old town doesn't belong among the TOP 200 in Germany. The difference between us is that I know many more places in Germany than you and I can compare. I also can differentiate a really rare 14th century half-timbered house from some standard 18th century crap. That naive tourists who have no point of comparison and no one to explain the difference to them follow you blindly and like it ... that I have no difficulty in believing. But suggesting Cochem to somebody when you have along the Mosel or the Rhine much better places from Bernkastel-Kues to Bacharach is simply ignorant.

Second I wasn't recommending large cities I just dislike the stupid potshots taken here at Frankfurt or on a previous thread on Cologne.

Third I'm hardly recommending something unusual when I support Burg Eltz or mention Bacharach, do I? I'm not jaded at all, there are just many stupid tourist guides and books who lead people straight into the most worthless places along the Mosel (Cochem) or the Rhine (Drosselgasse in Rüdesheim). I know the best places not only because I live here but also because I've studied the places, the buildings and the history. I'm certainly not suggesting my personal favorite collapsed small castle tower as a top sight for tourists. But it is remarkable how many top sights in the area are ignored.

Fourth as for Marburg, yes it's totally in the opposite direction but it was suggested as a day trip from Frankfurt by train so who cares? For no compellingly good reason people flee Frankfurt once they arrive though it is an excellent base town to see many nice places and exactly all the cliches they have in their mind of cute small German towns. And Marburg is not neat. It is the historical centre of Hesse, it is undestroyed, it has outstanding old houses (and arguably even better historistic ones), it has a awesome church, it has a real medieval castle and it is highly romantic. I have never seen anyone not like it.

All I know that on our bike trips with thousands of Americans over a few decades everyone almost loved Cochem - tourists see things in different eyes. I heartily recommend Cochem especially in May before it really becomes mobbed with tourists in summer - mainly Dutch and Europeans who somehow like it. I think you diss Cochem too much. And it's not the town itself but its awesome setting on a lovely lovely Mosel which many consider more gorgeous than the Rhine Gorge. From Cochem they can do gorgeous drives along the Mosel Valley and en route south hit Braunfels Castle. Now the Rhine Gorge is neat too though a very different river - as Germans used to tell us it's 'the Father rhine' and 'mother Mosel' because of the nature of the rivers - the Rhine fast-flowing with lots of river traffic (which I always found interesting) but also has busy roads on each side of the narrow river - I guess the narrowest stretch of Rhine in Germany and train lines on each side - one going thru Bacharach is a main freight rather disrupting the tranquility. The Mosel however is damned up the whole way in Germany so it is a slothful river.

Anyway driving around the Mosel Valley to be (or biking) is so so picturesque:

https://www.google.com/search?q=mose...ih=614&dpr=1.5

And yes Cochem is not the only neat town on Mosel - Bernkastle-Kues where we also stayed was really neat and everyone loved it too and there are other cute towns like Zell and Traban-Trarbach - both noted for their wines.

Yes I really think Mosel is neat and nearly all the Americans we took thru there on bikes absolutely loved it. I obviously do not have your vast knowledge as a local but do know that Cochem and B_Kues and the Mosel are really really nice - at least in eyes of Americans.

You cana shout IGNORE my advice but I know Americans will love those places - not to say there are not a plethora of other neat places too.

If you are arriving early you could go direct to Rothenburg. We got in one later one time and spent the night in Wertheim am Main, sleepy little village but we enjoyed hiking around town and the walk up to the castle. We met friends in Rothenburg next evening May is a good time to visit. Spargel time. Worms has the most beautiful Jewish cemetery, Speyer is not a bad stop. Cochem area is just beautiful. You can do all of this by train or rental car. Parking is not easy in Rothenburg. Book a hotel with parking. If renting from Frankfurt save the receipt from last fill up or they try to scam you out of ten euro on return. The rental car offices are in the airport and the cars in the parking garage. Very easy. We have stayed in Frankfurt. It was just very loud and no ac with windows opened.

Hi EllieV88,
Let me assure you, no potshots at Frankfurt were intended and I never set myself up as an expert on any place. I believe that with an open mind, one can find something interesting almost anywhere, some more interesting than others, depending on personal interests. I also think another opinion can be given without denigrating another poster. All are just opinions based on experience which is so much affected by time, weather, attitude, the company you are with, expectations, etc.

That being said, I did live in Frankfurt for three years. Certainly, it was a very long time ago, but I have been back many times to visit the place that was the first childhood home my DD remembers, for an afternoon in the Palmengarten on stopovers to other places, for lunch in the Romerplatz when traveling with friends, to meet up with DD for a day, etc. It is one of her favorite cities (her hometown, so to speak) and she tries to make it a stopover every year, mostly for the opera or a concert. She speaks German fluently and likes Germanic culture and order. Frankfurt does have some wonderful museums, including the kids' favorite, the Senckenberg. The old Romerplatz is lovely. The opera house is beautiful. There are nice markets and parks. We always enjoy seeing the little garden plots lining roads outside of town.

All still only IMVeryHO, and perhaps because I don't see it with the eyes of a tourist anymore, it is lovely to visit if you are in Frankfurt anyway as a departure point, and time will surely not be wasted, but I would not plan extra time there, unless there is something of specific interest to you. If you do go, since you enjoy history, try to find a history tour. That is not something I have done recently enough to give advice on, but it was interesting when I did it.

Frankfurt I too as a tourist there many times thinks is a nice city and original idea of spending day there after landing makes sense and with only two days for elsewhere in the area I'd just hit the Rhine Gorge area and those two castles and move south. Mosel takes more time to appreciate as Cochem yes is just a base not somewhere to go for just a day.