On thanksgiving day we land in Frankfurt
spend a few days near Ramstein AFB
then drive to Neuschwanstein Castle drive
drive Luzern
drop the car off and take a train to Paris for 3 days
looking for recommendations of place to stay at near Neuschwanstein Castle and Luzern
or in between the two
we got Paris covered and a cruise on the Rhine near Ramstein AFB
but activities and site for this off season trip will be greatly appreciated
Thanks!
"...spend a few days near Ramstein AFB
then drive to Neuschwanstein Castle drive
drive Luzern
drop the car off and take a train to Paris for 3 days..."
Seriously? Sounds like you just want a long drive, which is fine, I guess. When is this trip? How many days from Ramstein until you leave Luzern? If I were driving around 1,000 km (which it sounds like you plan to do) I would want at least 4-5 days for this so that I had time to see a few things from somewhere besides the front seat. If you drove Ramstein - Luzern (which I know is not your plan) that's 400 km right there Then you'll want to drive back into Germany to drop the car (to avoid extreme foreign drop off fees) so probably Offenburg (add 200+ km) so you can catch the train to Paris. So 600+ km. Adding Neuschwanstein (NOT a castle but a late 19th-century palace with a faux castle exterior) adds a 300+ km detour (for a 30-minute tour??)
If you want Alps and your time is limited, then I would absolutely skip N'stein and the extra driving kms and head straight from Ramstein into Switzerland, where the Alps will be more impressive. (I would squeeze in a visit to the Bernese Oberland too if you have the time.) If you want to squeeze in one of Europe's coolest and most impressive palaces, make a stop on the drive south from Ramstein in Ludwigsburg, a place with some serious history behind it, near Stuttgart.
If you want a castle, then spend some extra time on the Rhine. Marksburg Castle, one of 40 real knights' castles on the Middle Rhine, is "unchanged from medieval times" and open year-round for tours. It's in the adorable town of BRAUBACH.
Yes, check out the drop-off fees for Switzerland. You will also need a Swiss vignette for your German rental car if you drive in Switzerland. This is actually just to use the expressways, but it is pretty hard to get around in Switzerland without using them. Buy one (40 chf?) at the border. You could drop the car in Lindau to avoid these and proceed by train to Luzern and Paris. You could also drop it in Loerrach, Germany just north of Basel, then train back to Basel and take the TGV train to Paris from there.
On Thanksgiving Day, October 26th, we land in Frankfurt
we have a tour on the rhine November 29th
http://rtttravel.com/tours/RTT/winter/DE-xmasrhine-castles.htm
The last three nights in Paris with my cousin from England
we leave Paris December 6th
Those so far are fixed dates
open to Ideas
there will be four adults traveling
thanks
lazybum--do you mean Thanksgiving Day USA--November 26--or are you referring to a Canadian or other country's holiday?
Usa
Sorry for the confusion
I think Neuschwanstein is too far given your limited time, as well as it being late November when you are travelling.
Nov 29 Rhine Tour
Nov 30 Strasbourg
Dec 1 Luzern via Colmar
Dec 2 Lausanne via Bern
Dec 3 Paris
we have a tour on the rhine November 29th
http://rtttravel.com/tours/RTT/winter/DE-xmasrhine-castles.htm
Rheinstein and Reichenstein Castles (named as sights on the brochure) seem to be included for convenience as the tour moves on to the other activities across the river (the Christmas market in Rüdesheim, for example, (which will probably be the tour highlight.)
The castle in the brochure photo is labeled "Reichenstein" - http://rtttravel.com/images/tourpics/rttbus/xmas-castles-Reichenstein.jpg - but it is definitely NOT Reichenstein, which is a castle/hotel/restaurant that looks like this - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Burg_Reichenstein_Luftbild_01.jpg
So I'm a tad suspicious about this tour.
If the tour bus takes you only to these two castles, you will see one of the more scenic parts of the river, but you will miss out on a good-sized section of the Middle Rhine Valley just north of there:
St. Goarshausen
Oberwesel and the Pfalzgrafenstein
Kaub
Rheinfels
Marksburg
Braubach
Bacharach
Stahleck in Bacharach
Marksburg in Braubach is the only castle on the Rhine that avoided destruction and rebuilding and is still a castle as it once was in medieval times.
So I'd probably advise you to return to the Rhine later if you take this tour, or to just see it on your own.
Marksburg in Braubach sound interesting
will look into that possibly on the way to Cologne from or to
Ramstein AFB
thanks
