Planning a Trip to Europe.

You question is almost to vague to adequately respond. The only way to determine if a rail pass is cost effective is to add together the single fare for you travel schedule and compare. In general terms rail pass are being less and less economical because of deep discount, advance ticket sales that may be available. And in France the availability of seats and surcharges to reserve seats with a pass can be a major expense.

A car can have similar problems related to toll roads, fuel, and parking fees that can add to the expense. Generally a car works well in the country side with small towns and limited public transit. Less well in big cities where parking can be a major head ache. Not blowing you off, but with more specific information schedule and plans, it is hard to give recommendations. Perhaps you need to spend more time with some good guidebooks and maps.

Before you can decide on transportation, you have to figure out exactly what you want to see. It sounds like you're interested in the kind of small towns that may or may not not have good train links between them. In Germany, towns along the Rhine or Mosel will have trains connecting them. I'm not sure about towns along the Seine in France.

If you then decide that the places you want to see are best connected by train, the next step is to figure out if a rail pass is worth it. These days, it often isn't - particularly for France.

Before buying any rail pass, read this great summary of the issues involved, from the rail guru The Man In Seat 61: http://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm#Should%20you%20buy%20a%20railpass%20or%20pay-as-you-go

However, car rental has its own issues. In particular, a car rented in France and returned in Germany (or vice versa) will have a drop charge; on this Forum, I've seen quotes from €50 to €600 (not a typo - six hundred euros!). So, you may do best with a combination of car rental and trains. Again, to make this determination, you first need to decide where you want to go.

Edit - cross posting with Frank, and you can see we said almost the same things.

Our first few trips in Europe involved railpasses, but we've generally had a rental car for at least part of each trip since then. Of course, we've been going to some more out-of-the-way places, and none in Germany. Rail passes have tended to work better for covering long distances, and for being on trains many days.

If you did rent a car, are you flying in and out of the same location? Would you be returning the car to the same place where you picked it up? Many car rental companies will allow you to take their car into another country, and some allow you to pick up in one country and drop off in another, but could charge a huge extra fee. If driving in France, you'll want to get an International Driver's Permit, available thru your local AAA for $15 per driver, even if you're not a member.

Fly in to Paris (4 nts)
Beaune, Burgundy (2 nts)
Colmar, Alsace (2 nts)
Heidelberg, Germany (2 nts)
Bacharach/St Goar, Rhein (2 nts)
Frankfurt (1 nt)
Fly home from Frankfurt