If you only had 5-7 days to spend in Germany<BR>and did not want to rent a car (trains, buses<BR>and metros are fine)...what city or areas would you most want to spend time in and why?

It depends a lot on the time of year but any of these would be nice for that time frame.:<BR><BR>1)The Mosel River Valley--very relaxing, less hectic than the popular areas of the Rhine. Good wine, lazy river, lovely scenery, Burg Eltz. For 5-7 day trip you could also take in the Rhein sights.<BR><BR>2)Wurzbg/Bambg/Nurnbg/Rothenbg--Bamberg is an absolute treasure; Rothbg touristy but really done well; Wurzbg and Nurnbg a bit larger, but nice cities.<BR><BR>3)Southern Bavaria--including Hohenschwangau/Neuschwantstein; Linderhof; Herrn Chiemsee; Alps. Relaxed, interesting, lovely. You could make Munich a home base and take day trips.<BR>

Hi Maggie,<BR><BR>Bill gives good advice. The third option is the easiest without renting a car. . . and well worth doing.<BR><BR>Have a super trip.

Thanks for the ideas...more are welcome!

skip Germany and spend the money to go to Hawaii.

5 days: Munich and surrounding area. 7 days: Munich and Berlin. Actually, I prefer Berlin to Munich for its museums, its architecture and neighborhoods.

Bill, what area of Germany are you flying into (assuming you're flying to Germany)? If you're going into Berlin, concentrate on Berlin with maybe a look into Dresden/Leipzig.<BR><BR>Frankfurt - spend some time around the Rhine and Romantic Road.<BR><BR>Munich - then Bavaria.

Berlin is a favorite city of mine so I would recommend it and Dresden, which is a 2-hour train ride from Berlin. You could go to Meissen--near Dresden. Berlin has so much history, culture, nightlife.<BR><BR>That being said, I like Bill's first idea. There is no better wine than near the Mosel/Rhine area and you could combine it with Koblenz, Cologne or go south to the Romantic Road.