Alsace+Black Forest+Rothenburg OR Alsace+Berges+Ghent (starting/ending Frankfurt)

dipan2222,
I hate to sound suspicious, but your question sounds like it is AI generated. I hope I am wrong.

dipan2222,
I hate to sound suspicious, but your question sounds like it is AI generated. I hope I am wrong.

You are not wrong. I am not good in English, so I drafted it and ask AI to fix the grammar, spelling while keeping my content and intention intact. I hope, it is okay.

My gut feeling would be doing both Belgium and Alsace within 6 days (some likely jet lagged) is going to be too much stress. Hence I tend to the other option.
May I ask why specifically Rothenburg? It is popular, but if the goal is a picturesque town full of timberframe, that can be done in Alsace etc. as well - even Strasbourg has a full quarter. The architecture there is very much German, as it was culturally German when those houses were built - and it was not bombed as heavily as Germany.

What time of the year are you going?

I can't get from Heidelberg to Dijon in 6 days. You can easily spend a week between Strasbourg and Mulhouse and still not see half of the highlights.

You are not wrong. I am not good in English, so I drafted it and ask AI to fix the grammar, spelling while keeping my content and intention intact. I hope, it is okay.

Yes, of course it is. For what it's worth, here is my opinion: I do love Alsace and I think that's a good choice. I also love Ghent, but I am not as enamored of Bruges as I found it very crowded, which is a drawback for me. But that's my opinion of course. I know there are other people that love Bruges, and are willing to put up with the crowds.

With regards to your first listed choice, Gengenbach is one of my favorite places, so I will probably always lean in that direction. I also love the Black Forest area and there are so many beautiful things to see there and so much lovely scenery. But to me one of the biggest advantages is that area is not as well known as your other choice, so you will not find the crowds there that you will elsewhere (especially in Bruges). And since you're starting and ending in Frankfurt, the first option of Alsace and the BF just seems the better choice in terms of logistics.

With regards to Rothenburg, I really enjoyed it. I love Tilman Riemenschneider who was an incredible sculptor during the medieval days and his work is in several places there. So that's a big plus for me. That said, it is and will be very crowded but I think the town is charming so I'm willing to put up with it.

BUT (and it's a big but), I would consider visiting only 2 places instead of three. That would give you three days in each place, which you really need for all of them, no matter which one you choose. In other words if you were going with option number one, I would suggest visiting the Alsace area and then the Black Forest, and leave Rothenburg out of the mix. It's a bit difficult to get to anyway and would eat up the better part of one of your days.

If you go with option number two, I would again go with the Alsace area, and then either Ghent or Bruges, but I would add an extra day to the Alsace, and allot the other 3 split between Ghent and Bruges (or even better, stay in Ghent and do Bruges as a day trip (or vice versa). They are relatively close to each other by train. But really with the time you have come I do think that Alsace and the Black Forest is your best option for getting the maximum out of your six-day trip.

dipan2222,
I am happy that you are a real person. What a shame that today we (and I) have become less trusting. For what it's worth, I think Mardee has given you some great advice. Best of luck in your planning and your trip!

If you personally had only 6 days total, starting/ending in Frankfurt, which option would you choose.

You should have no concerns about "diversity of experience" within the area south of Frankfurt. There's more than the Gutach Valley to the Black Forest. The Kinzig Valley (where Gengenbach is situated) also has towns with both scenery and some architecture. Schiltach is special.

But the entire state of Baden-Württemberg is also full of interesting buildings that might catch your fancy and end up in your photo gallery. Many of these places will be on your way to the Black Forest from Frankfurt:

https://www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de/fileadmin/Broschueren/Ueberblicksbroschueren/ssg_ueberblicksbroschuere_2024_GB.pdf

So I'm inclined to agree with mardee; you shouldn't tray to include Bruges and Gent as well. And Rothenburg seems excessively far from the Black Forest and the Alsace as well.

Thanks Russ for castles list.

Mardee , this is very helpful and detailed.

l-b_m , it is in June first week. Rothenburg came up with some internet and forum search and read it on few photographic forums.

Will it work and you suggest (we are little fast movers) - first arrival night at Frankfurt, 1 night at Rothenburg, 2 nights at Gengenbach, 2 night at Alsace and last night at Frankfurt.

Or you would suggest some other way with some add/remove/change?

Rather than Rothenburg, consider some of the other beautiful medieval towns that are actually near Frankfurt and that are original. If photography is a goal, there are better towns to visit. Actually, if you look on the Half-timbered route, there are 100s of towns you could visit. If you are in Frankfurt, you could also visit their neighborhood of Höchst, that has probably the oldest church in Germany, the Justinus Church, consecrated in 830.
Check out Büdingen (massive stone walls) Seligenstadt, or Michelstadt.
https://www.buedingen.info/
https://www.michelstadt.de/tourismus-kultur/sehenswuerdigkeiten/altstadt/historisches-rathaus/

Will it work and you suggest (we are little fast movers) - first arrival night at Frankfurt, 1 night at Rothenburg, 2 nights at Gengenbach, 2 night at Alsace and last night at Frankfurt.

dipan222, well, it’s doable but you would be spending an awful lot of time on the road if you tried that schedule. You’re pretty much going from one side of the country to the other side and then back to the original side again in just a couple of days.

I understand your desire to see Rothenburg and it really is a charming town, albeit a bit touristy, but it’s going to take a bit of time to get there and then to get back. Is there anyway you can add any days on your schedule? If not, I just wouldn’t recommend doing it.

Of course, this is your trip and you can do it the way you want to. But in my opinion you would be spending an awful lot of time on the road and for very little payback because you would hardly have any time in Rothenburg to explore.

But if you could squeeze in a couple of extra days, my answer would be different. 😊

Thank you for the honest feedback, I really appreciate it.

You are right that the route is ambitious and that a lot of time would be spent driving, especially for Rothenburg, which is somewhat out of the way. It was just highlighted at many places, being very photogenic, so I was trying to fit it my plans.

Unfortunately our dates are fairly fixed at the moment, but I am going to take some time to think through whether we can realistically add a day or two, or whether it makes more sense to simplify the route and focus on fewer regions.

Heading south from Frankfurt, there are many great places that have not yet been mentioned on this thread.

Immediately south of Frankfurt is a north-south driving route known as the Bergstraße. It connects multiple scenic towns with nice buildings and terminates in Heidelberg.

https://diebergstrasse.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Holiday-Route-2024.pdf

A roughly parallel driving route to the west of the Bergstraße, known as the German Wine Road, is another option. So many nice towns, some castles too...

https://www.german-wineroute.com/discover-and-experience/land-people/the-german-wine-tourist-route

Perhaps you use one of these roads for making stops in the southbound direction to the Black Forest and the Alsace... then do the same on the other road on your way back to FRA airport.