10 days in Germany Itinerary

Not too bad, but very rushed. Just accept that you may not be able to do everything you plan on each day.

I would jusy drive by Hohenzollern and see its nice position on the mountain top and forget going inside. You might add a short stop at Tubingen.

I’d forget the Eagles Nest and spend that day in Salzburg or the surrounding area. Perhaps Werfen with the Ice Cave and the ‘Where Eagles Dare’ castle

When in the fall ?

Did you do due diligence with a map and a guidebook? It seems to me to be one of the more rushed itineraries I have ever seen. Just day 1 looks like some sort of off kilter nightmare.

Honestly? This is a check the box vs enjoy itinerary- and for a long trip I’d guess unsustainable.

To find a nice middle ground where you’re seeing a lot (but not constantly racing around), I’d make these adjustments. Note that you COULD add more in, just do so on fly/as you go:

Day 1, Take train from Paris to Cologne arrive at 12:30, visit the Cologne cathedral, rent a car and drive to Boppard (or town you choose in area)

Day 2, visit Cochem and Burg Eltz, return to Boppard to sleep

Day 3 drive to Wurzburg, 1/2 day sightseeing and spend the night

Day 4: drive to and enjoy (and spend night) Rothenburg

Day 5 slow drive visiting various towns on the Romantic Road. Sleep in Fussen

Day 6 Visit Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangu and sleep in Fussen

Day 7: drive to Munich, return rental car, spend night.

Day 8: AM take train to Salzburg and spend the night

Day 9: Take train/bus to visit the Eagles nest (return and spend night in Salzburg

Day 10 train to Munich, take night train to Prague.

The adjustment above leaves you with sleeping:

2 Boppard
1 Wurzburg
1 Rothenburg
2 Fussen
1 Munich
2 Salzburg

Still very fast paced, but a few less hotel changes and a little more breathing room for on the fly choices.

Just to give you a glimpse of what you are missing at this pace:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/can-i-see-enough-of-cologne

Edit: It is simply untrue that the Dom is the only thing worth seeing in Cologne.

too much. Vacations are for enJOYing where you are. You're going to spend more time checking in and out of hotels and traveling between places than actually touring towns and learning about the area. .

Go for it. If it works for you, then you have the satisfaction of seeing what you wanted to. If not, you will understand the above advice and will be all the wiser in the future.

You say that you enjoy museums, but I don’t see any mentioned. Otoh, you have listed lots of castles. After the first few, they begin to pall.
Unless it’s too personal, I wonder why you would say that you don’t intend to return to Europe. We are in our mid-eighties. I’ve lost count of how many trips to Europe we’ve taken, but I’m hoping for at least one more. (Covid killed two that we had planned for 2020. 😥)

"Trying to see Castles, the countryside, museums, architecture and walk thru old towns and sit in Squares drinking coffee."

When I'm reading your itinerary I feel dizzy. I promise at the end you will not rember where you've been and what you've seen. Non of the mentioned places will make any memory.

I would focus on only a few places and do what you actually want to do - walk thru old towns and find time to sit down drinking coffee.

Day 2, take ferry over to east side of river and visit Marksburg castle, then drive down the Moselle valley to Trier, spend the night. Stop Cochem and Burg Eltz.

This day might look feasible to you on paper, but it shows a genuine disconnect between your plans and your stated goals. It's also solid evidence that the advice you've gotten about slowing it down and seeing fewer places is sound.

Trying to see Castles... To SUCCEED at seeing castles you will not just drive by, but take the TOURS, right? This will take more time than you are probably estimating right now.

"...the countryside..." It might look like a short distance on the map between Braubach and Trier. But driving the scenic Mosel River Valley route from wine town to wine town takes an enormous amount of time. The route of course winds its way along a very windy river with lots of loops and turns. I think you could spend a full day just driving and stopping for a very brief visit here and there. But even if it's a beautiful day, the scenery will be compromised to some degree since you're focused on the road and driving. And you will not have time for museums/churches, etc. in Cochem or Trier (where there are many) or elsewhere, or for leisurely walks/hikes and coffee breaks. Trier is great, but it's the kind of place where a day can go by rather quickly if you're actually seeing stuff.

It would be wise to stretch your time on the Mosel River into maybe a 3-night stay.

On the Rhine, it looks like maybe you have reduced the place to a mere river cruise, much as Rick has done. But you'd probably enjoy Rheinfels Castle and museum in St. Goar, as well as a hike around Oberwesel's old town wall. Bacharach's old half-timbered buildings are outstanding. So is Boppard's chairlift ride (and the view from Gedeonseck terrace, a short walk from, the top of the lift.) Rüdesheim has charm and a couple of good museums too. But you don't seem to be planning any time for these things, or for those leisurely coffee sessions. I'd think about 2 nights there myself.

The views from the cruise boat between St. Goar and Boppard ARE nice, but they will require about an hour longer on the boat and more Euros as well.

After the Rhine/Mosel, I think you'd be smart to set up in Franconia for several nights (northern Bavaria... Rothenburg, Würzburg, Nuremberg, Bamberg (UNESCO World Heritage medieval town center), Iphofen, and Sommerhausen, and Bad Wimpfen.) This region has what you're looking for... old-world architecture, scenic countryside, local flavor, WW II history. You don't have time for all of them - pick what sounds best; a day trip from Franconia into Munich, if you have sightseeing goals there, is an option.

From Franconia, you will be well positioned for your journey to Prague.

I would avoid getting pulled away to distant places like the Stuttgart area, Füssen and Berchtesgaden unless you are able to add time to Germany. Such places will just mean spending way too much time in your car and in traffic and on the asphalt. IMHO it's a false notion that you will see more of Germany in X number of days by driving long distances just to be in places with prominence in guidebooks... you'd just be skipping other wonderful places that the guidebook authors didn't even get a look at before going to print.

Thank you for all your replies. I have no more than the days I already have planned to be in Germany so any suggestions to go somewhere else mean I have to give up something on my itinerary. As I said this is the only trip that I am planning to Europe so yes, it is a bucket list and it does not really give me the opportunity to hang out somewhere for a longer period and explore more. That is ok, it is what I have chosen. I have an RV and other trips that I am planning on taking in the US and Canada over the next several summers and I usually stay in Cali or AZ in the winter months. Maybe after that I will go back to Europe, but not in the plan right now.

Stephen: thanks for the tip on the ice caves and "where the eagles dare" castle. I will be replacing my eagles nest side trip with these. I probably should not have said fall, since I will actually be there on September 2.

Treemoss2: Yes, I have read guidebooks and looked at maps, including RS

Tim: Original agenda for Cologne was based on the fact that I would be there on Monday and museums were closed. I agree there is much more to see and since I am now arriving on Sunday, I might try to spend a few hours there, but we have to pick and choose what we want to see with the time allowed.

Mary57: Appreciate the more relaxed itinerary suggestions and yes Rosyln, after looking at the itinerary there are too many castles.
I did not provide detailed plans because I do want some flexibility but I was planning on visiting the Alte Pinotek in Munich, I may or may not visit museums in other places the other places I will be staying.

Russ: You are suggesting that I give up drive down Romantic Road, Munich, Salzburg and Fussen for Nuremburg and Bamberg. Not sure I want to do that and I said earlier there are no additional days to stay in Germany, but they look like very interesting places. I could give up the drive down the romantic road and drive over to Nuremburg, get rid of the car, spend the day and take train to Munich maybe? Should I give up Rothenburg and ditch car in Wurzburg take train to Bamberg and then to Nuremburg, spend the night and then train to Munich? Give up Fussen and spend another night in Nuremburg? You are right, Nuremburg to Prague is more direct. Lots to think about here, would be interested in hearing what everyone thinks about that. Bamberg and Nuremburg vs current plans for the Munich area?

New Agenda
2 nights in Bachrach
1 night in Wurzburg
1 night in Rothenburg
3 nights in Munich
1 night in Salzburg

Day 1: Arrive to Cologne from Paris, drive to Bachrach and spend the night
Day 2: Drive to Cochem and Burg Eltz for the day and back to Bachrach
Day 3: Drive to Wurzburg spend the night
Day 4: Drive to Rothenburg and spend the night
Day 5: Drive down romantic road to Augsburg and then to Munich return rental car
Day 6: Munich
Day 7: Day trip to Fussen, stay in Munich
Day 8: Travel to Salzburg and spend the night,
Day 9: Visit Ice Caves and castle, late train to Prague

With this itinerary why not drive from Augsburg to Fussen? Maybe stay a night in Fussen. This gives you two days in a row in Munich with no day trips. I think this is easier than making Fussen a day trip from Munich.

You're roughly 10 months out right now for your Fall '23 trip. You're trying to get feedback on a highly-detailed itinerary, and we're doing what we can to respond to your questions, but I actually feel that the focus on details is premature. You can get detailed later about where to stay, where to drive, and where to use the trains. Even if you were to leave all the planning until just before fall, with the exception of Munich during Oktoberfest, finding places to stay will not be a problem.

For now, I suggest you invest some more time gathering information on what you want to see and do in Germany and elsewhere. While I agree with stephen's suggestions for the Salzburg region, I don't think you need to decide right now that you'll definitely be going there... truth is, more and more great options will be rolling into view over the coming months... so make it a point to read more widely in several guidebooks - too many folks are overly eager to adopt the travel plans of a single travel author/guru like Rick (whose choices are definitely not comprehensive) and end up missing out on experiences that might have been more rewarding. Just for example... Everyone with an eye to driving seems to have heard of the Romantic Road, but seldom are they aware of the German Wine Road, or the Bergstrasse route (2 theme routes in German wine country,) nor have they heard of the German Fairytale Road, the German Castle Road, the Aischgründer Beer Road, or the German Half-timbered House Road. It's very possible that one of these, or certain parts of these routes, would be more interesting for you than the RR. You will need to "read around" to learn of these places.

Also, I think forums like this one and Tripadvisor are good places to share your personal interests for travel ideas... Grape harvest festivals are big in fall - so if you're a wine enthusiast, or just want to catch a local party in action, there are people on these forums who know about such things. Same goes for car types, museum-lovers of all varieties (what types of museums interest you most, btw?) etc. Nuremberg has a good variety of museums, by the way...

https://tourismus.nuernberg.de/en/discover/museums/

Are you a fan of older WW II films? The Bridge at Remagen chronicles the taking of the Rhine at Remagen, where you will find the "Friedensmuseum" or "Peace Museum" that tells the local story. Maybe it should be on your Rhine itinerary if the shoe fits.

https://bruecke-remagen.de/friedensmuseum/

Anyway - it's a one-time trip, so make sure you fit the trip to YOUR interests.

2 nights in Bachrach
1 night in Wurzburg
1 night in Rothenburg
3 nights in Munich
1 night in Salzburg

I would keep to the original 9 nights/10 days. Add a night in Salzburg or add somewhere else- but don’t cut a day you’re still incredibly busy with this.

I am not sure why a day was cut off my trip, I am trying to compare original to new itinerary and can't seem to find the issue, but I have not tried that hard and I do not want to cut a day out.

Russ, points well taken, I think that I put some of the details to remind me why I want to go to this place, and you are correct the details can change and as I read more good books and websites, the places could change as well, already has after getting feedback from this group. I think part of the reason that I am starting on this now is that I will be visiting a 10 countries over the course of 3 months and I am concerned about getting some of my hotel reservations nailed down. Already I find that some of the hotels I would maybe like to stay in are booked, as I have set a $150 average night cost for hotels, some will be more, some will be less.