Request for help planning baby-friendly itinerary of small Belgian, French, and German cities/towns

Hi and welcome to the forum!
I can only weigh in on this:

Stop 1: Ghent, Bruges, Maastricht, Durbuy, La Roche-en-Ardenne, Aachen

First problem? It's WAY too much for 3-4 nights. 3 nights = 2.5 days/4 nights = 3.5 days. 2nd problem? Your chosen locations are too spread out across the country. None of them will allow you to base in one and travel to all of the rest in just an hour. You can do it between Bruges and Ghent, Maastricht and Aachen, and Durbuy and La Roche-en-Ardenne but anything else ON YOUR LIST - such as, say, Ghent to Maastricht - will be almost 2 hours or more each way. Let's just say they're not the day trips you're envisioning?

Editing to add an exception: Maastricht to Dunbuy, Maastrict to La Roche-en-Ardenne, and Maastrict to Aachen might work although I can't promise a strictly 1 hour limit for all. It might be possible to combine La Roche-en-Ardenne and Dunbuy into one day and give the other 2 each a full day. Will defer to our posters who've done them by car. :O)

We've done Ghent from Bruges, Maastricht from Aachen, and both trips by train. I'm sure someone else will weigh in on the advantages/disadvantages of rental car versus rail. But really, if you only have 3 nights, you can easily use them all basing in either Bruges or Ghent and day-tripping to the other. I might say the same for 4 nights, depending on your interests, if you are traveling with an infant who will likely slow you down. Just my 2-cents?

Two weeks...14 nights, or 16 nights with both bookended weekends? 2 nights = one full day plus maybe up to a half day on arrival. Three countries in two weeks, even smaller countries, is a lot. And moving around with an infant and the attendant paraphernalia will not be as quick as just two adults. (Time to check out of lodgings, drive to new city/town, find new lodgings and parking if not on site, checking in and get oriented.) My suggestion (only based on my own experiences and travel history) would be to stick with 2 countries. And do evaluate the distance/travel time between locations. A day trip, or a transfer move, may take longer than you anticipate. Give yourself more time in a place to appreciate it. (Viamichelin.com is a good place to find travel times and routes between locations, but add some time to theirs as they do not account for stops for gas/food/comfort.)

Will you have a some type of stroller for the little one or use a baby carrier on your excursions? If you have some very portable type stroller I can see you two sitting in a cafe between sights, enjoying an aperitif or coffee or snack or lunch while your child has a nap or just gazes around. If only using a baby carrier to get around will you be able to to take it off for a while on an all-day excursion?

A car seat will undoubtedly be required. If you aren't bringing your own (which one hopes will be adjustable for securing in your rental car), be sure to prearrange for one when reserving your car rental. To find out about which companies have that option, go to Autoeurope.com. They are a broker for many companies but are a reliable and trustworthy company. That way you can compare rental car companies in one spot. You can reserve through them or go to the website for the car rental company. We have done both. Also, be sure each person driving has an IDP (International Driving Permit...NOT an international driving license!) You also need an up-to-date D/L from your state. The IDP costs about $20.00, needs a photo, and is good for one year. Available through AAA. Even though my husband does all the driving, I get one as well in case I do need to rake the wheel.

Adding up your nights for four stops I see 12 to 16 nights. Allow pretty much a full day for travel between locations (4) and you are left with 8 to 12 nights for sightseeing. Perhaps you might consider dropping some destinations?

You can do it between Bruges and Ghent, Maastricht and Aachen, and Durbuy and La Roche-en-Ardenne but anything else will be 2 hours or more each way.

Not correct, although 1 hour each way won't be possible.

Central location for your stop 1 could be Leuven.

• Leuven-Brugge: 1Hr30Min
• Leuven-Gent: 1Hr
• Leuven-Maastricht: 1Hr5Min
• Leuven-Aachen: 1Hr20Min
• Leuven-Durbuy: 1Hr30Min
• Leuven-La Roche: 1Hr30Min

You could combine Bruges/Ghent, Maastricht/Aachen and Durbuy/La Roche-en-Ardenne

Important: you need a Crit'air sticker for Reims and Strasbourg. A rental car in Belgium (BRU Airport) doesn't have this. So you will have to park your car outside the environmental zone of these two cities.

You also need an Umweltplakette for Aachen. This sticker can be bought on your way to the city (or just park again outside the zone).

Thank you all for the detailed replies! This is all very helpful context. Maybe to add one clarification. We are only looking to stay at one location in each Stop and are targeting 4 stops overall (potentially going down to 3). So an example itinerary would be Ghent, Trier, Heidelberg, and Reims. Our plan would then be to explore where we choose to stay for 3-4 days with the potential for a day trip or two if possible.

We are only looking to stay at one location in each Stop

Yes, that's how I read it. That's why, along with simply having too many stops in Belgium for the short time you have, there's the difficulty/impossibility you'd have getting to all of them from any of your desired single bases in 1 hour or under. Hope that's making sense.

I've edited my original post slightly to change "2 hours or more each way" to "almost 2 hours or more..." if one wants to get technical. :O)

With an infant - and even without! - you might also consider that less can be more? It may be relief to not have to get in the car or onto a train EVERY day in an effort to complete a heavy itinerary. Your baby may have a fussy day, or you might have a late night with him/her and need a sleep-in day yourself. You know your Small Person best and how well they adapt to change in routine/environment at this point but the dear little things can throw you a loop when you least expect it! You might also have a day of heavy rain or other weather complication: no fun for planned sightseeing with a stroller on Day Trip Number ___. Europe isn't going anywhere so maybe cutting a country or two and/or planning fewer stops within smaller areas might be more comfortable for all of you this time?

Belgium trains, BTW, are great. As you can get on one in the middle of many cities/towns and off in the middle of another - no pedestrian-area or parking limitations to work around, no roadwork or traffic backups - they can be very nice.

You cannot reach Durbuy and La Roche-en-Ardenne by train.

So an example itinerary would be Ghent, Trier, Heidelberg, and Reims. Our plan would then be to explore where we choose to stay for 3-4 days

And you're looking for "an itinerary with a handful of smaller cities/towns with scenic settings and ample walking and day trip opportunities (1 hour each way max)."

I wouldn't pretend to know about your #4 stop, but I'll confidently say that each of the bases in your example would require far too much transit time for the day-trip destinations you have in mind. Alternatives that look doable to me:

Stop 1: Aachen base with day trips to Maastricht and the adorable Monschau would work.

Monschau:
https://image.geo.de/30120536/t/aP/v4/w1440/r0/-/04-monschau-f-75234214-jpeg--67883-.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub81hDvIqlg&t=32s

OR....
Bruges + Ghent, stay in either

Stop 2: Cochem base with day trips to Bernkastel-Kues and... Trier is doable OK but not scenic. Instead, head downstream in the direction of Koblenz to one of the nearby RHINE River towns for a day. Several might work. But in Braubach, just south of Koblenz, you can walk its old-town zone and tour a great medieval castle all in one spot. Great views from the castle:

https://delveintoeurope.com/braubach-germany/
https://www.marksburg.de/en/circuit/#/
https://img.fotocommunity.com/marksburg-braubach-bc203e81-d606-4f2f-bb8d-17e275e8ba88.jpg?height=1080

Also... From Cochem you can take a scenic river cruise upstream to tiny Beilstein and back. One hour each way:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Beilstein_%28Mosel%29,_2012-08_CN-01.jpg

Stop 3: Freiburg and Strasbourg would be doable day trips with a Gengenbach base (old walled town in Germany, popular with many on this forum) or from a Colmar base. I would not lose any sleep over leaving out Baden-Baden or Heidelberg (where the castle is in ruins.) Heidelberg is an OK place but not small at 160,000 and simply too far from the other places you have in mind.

Gengenbach: beautiful, leaf through all the photos:
https://stadtbild-deutschland.org/forum/index.php?thread/10418-gengenbach-galerie/

You cannot reach Durbuy and La Roche-en-Ardenne by train.

Yes, I know. I said MANY cities/towns, not ALL.

We are only looking to stay at one location in each Stop ... So an example itinerary would be Ghent ...

Yes, that's how I read it too ... and reason why I suggested Leuven instead of Ghent as your stop, being more central for the 5 locations you want to visit.
But apparently you absolutely want to base yourself in Ghent.

Starting from Ghent, your car trips would take much longer
Ghent-Maastricht: 1Hr50Min
Ghent-Aachen: 2Hr15Min
Ghent-Durbuy: 2Hr
Ghent-La Roche: 2Hr5Min
Ghent-Bruges: 40Min