13 nights in February

I'm surprised to see Wuerzburg as your first destination if it's not a place you're eager to revisit.

I'd probably opt for a direct train ride to Nuremberg for those first 3 nights instead. If you're willing to travel the 1.5 hours it takes to reach W'burg, why not just stay on the train to Nuremberg? That would be roughly 2.25 hours on the ICE.

Alternatively, you might want to choose the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg in place of W'burg for that first night. It's on that same railway that Wuerzburg is on, but you'd get there sooner. The direct ICE from FRA gets you to A'burg in 1 hour. The next day, it's another direct ICE train ride to Nuremberg, just 1.5 hours. Consider the "Hotel Zum Goldenen Ochsen am Schlossgarten" in A'burg, which is close enough to the train station.

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Bamberg: I sent you first to NUREMBERG instead simply because in addition to the Documentation Center, Nuremberg is blessed with many INDOOR options for you, including many museums of different types which have no connection to WW II... So I see it as a solid base town for you for perhaps 4-5 days, during which you could easily make the 45-minute train ride to Bamberg on a DAYTRIP instead of having to change hotels... and if you really need an additional day for Bamberg, then make a 2nd day trip there. Explore those indoor options in Nuremberg here:

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

Nuremberg is also full of restaurants and pubs, many nice hideouts when the winter weather is working against you:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/FindRestaurants?geo=187310&sort=FEATURED&establishmentTypes=10591&broadened=false

I rave about Frankfurt all the time on here. Tons of historic sites to see, dozens of museums, lots of parks and nature, though in Winter not so much fun.
What period of history do you like or anything specific?
There are also lots of fantastic towns to visit that are near-by - Büdingen, Bad Homburg, Limburg, Marburg, Seligenstadt, Idstein, Michelstadt, Mainz, Eltville. All within 1 hour by train from Frankfurt.

I just shuddered at the sight of so much time allocated to Garmisch-Partenkirchen!

You seem to be just wandering around the areas you've already got some knowledge about without being that enthusiastic about any of it. Try going somewhere in a different direction. Head south from Frankfurt Airport to somewhere near to Freiburg in Breisgau, we can discuss the benfits of exact areas and the Konus card later. Freiburg is a nice medium size city with an interesting core and access to both mountain tops (you don't have to walk there!), mountain lakes, areas which I have known to be above the low cloud of winter and the city of Basel in Switzerland.

Then move east to another base, route/mode to be decided but possibly Konstanz and the Bodensee (more of an inland sea than lake). Not big but useful for late afternoon, dinner, overnight and maybe a second night. Then move from here, possible short cut via Switzerland, and on to Innsbruck via the Arlberg route. After a few nights there up to Mittenwald (not Garmisch!!) before final run to Munich

Thanks!! I wasn’t too sure about GaPa BUT we were in Switzerland (Lucerne) this year and want to see more alps. Would Mittenwald for a few days be ok?

I’m going to rethink things. Konstanz and the Bodenese are places I’ve wanted to go and my husband keeps mentioning the Black Forest, so Freiburg would be good. -

You are going to Innsbruck, that is a nice place to visit, but consider skipping and adding Salzburg.

I think Mittenwald is a fine idea if you are fine with being in the Alps in February.

I would not recommend Bodensee/Lake Constance or the Black Forest in place of what you have in your plan already. Nice places in the warmer months, "Deadsville" and not so nice in winter, and it would be a large detour to get there from Nuremberg/Regensburg and then get back to Bavaria for your flight home.

Garmisch and Innsbruck will be right in the middle of their ski season, and are both excellent cold weather cities if you're into outdoor sports. Skiing, sledding, ski bikes, cross country; all of those are possible. Go up the Zugspitze on a clear day and get a fantastic view, and do some sledding up there. And don't forget the Olympic spa. And the walk along the river in Innsbruck is, at it's best, in winter. I have spent weeks there back when I could ski.

The monastery at Ettal will be open, and devoid the summer crowds. Linderhof covered in snow is exquisite. Oberammergau is quieter in winter, but it's a working town so some shops will be open. To get deeper into the Alps, from Innsbruck take the train to Otztal (15 euro and very scenic) or up to Steinach am Brenner. Check the OBB website.

Also from Garmisch you can take the Zugspitzbahn to Ehrwald, which is a ski area. You can ride the lifts up even if you don't ski.

For history the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg is world class, and often overlooked. Much better than the Documentation Center.

If Regensburg seems out of the way, let me suggest Ingolstadt. Excellent old town, which mostly survived WWII, the Bavarian Military Museum, which is one of the best in Europe, and the Audi Museum, which is flat out fantastic.

Bronwen

Mittenwald is fine for a few days. It shares a lot of options with GaPa but not the chronic traffic or urban sprawl. Or the CIA/Nato facility we aren't supposed to know about!

Konstanz may be dull in February, but so could anywhere else, it would offer options for short trips into the under rated "pre alpine" area of Switzerland - or on a wet day the old city of St. Gallen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Gallen - and still be back for dinner at german prices! Konstanz station is end of the line for some Swiss train routes or a 10 minute walk to Kreuzlingen for others. You can also travel along the swiss side of the lake to reach Buchs for the train to Innsbruck, instead of the more complicated journey on the german side.

Have you considered making Nuremberg your base for the first 4 to 5 nights? Russ somewhat suggested this and I agree. Nuremberg sits in the center of a wheel (metaphorically) and at the end of it are Würzburg, Regensburg and Bamberg and they’re easy to get to b train from Nuremberg. And they’re all conducive to day trips.

I mean if you want to spend the night at one of them, that would be fine but I think you can see most of the cities in one day. Nuremberg deserves a bit more time.

Thanks all.

Maybe a longer stay in Nuremberg.

While he wants to revisit the Documentation Center, my husband has some aversion to Nuremberg. He says he’s recollection is it was like a big mall. Which totally confuses me. I am not sure where he is remembering. My one strange memory is that we stayed at a B&B which was over a strip club. It had a triple room which we needed back then. That may be what left him with strange memories.

We did LOVE Bamberg and were just there for one night the last trip. Here in NJ we travel far and wide to find some “smoke beer” from there. Is there a possibility that Bamberg will just be too dead? I figure it’s a “real” town and places don’t shutter in February.

I’m also wondering whether it’s better to be in the move or stay in one place. I always worry about getting “stuck” too many nights in the “wrong” town. Traveling in February does make spontaneous changes possible - so that’s a positive.

I know you've already considered some changes based upon feedback. Here are my thoughts:

Be aware you are arriving in a region of Germany that was/is Catholic just before Lent begins. I have been to Cologne and Dusseldorf for their versions of Carnival. Expect partying on the 17th (Fat Tuesday) and possibly business closures on the 18th (Ash Wednesday).

Bamberg won't be too dead. They will have plenty of Rauchbier. And, they will have the special Lenten beers they brew for Lent on tap while your are there. Bamberg is one of my favorite towns in Germany. For some additional and somewhat unique beer head about 30 minutes south to Forsheim for the Keller (celller) bier. Town itself is not special, but the beer is worth a day trip.

I get the "mall" comment about Nuremberg. And, I think it's a pretty great town as well. Their Rotbier (Red) is somewhat unique to Nuremberg.

For me, Regensburg is over rated. Have never understood it's appeal compared to other German cities.

I will be making my first overnight trip to Innsbruck later this year and I haven't been to GaPa for nearly 20 years. So no comment about them other than the fact that they are not historically great beer town.

If you can add a day to Munich, then take a day trip to Kloster Andechs. It is a historical pilgrimage site and they make some amazing beer.

Have a great time. I am in the midst of planning an early December trip to catch the Christmas Markets and to drink some great beers.

I have been to Cologne and Dusseldorf for their versions of Carnival.
Expect partying on the 17th (Fat Tuesday) and possibly business
closures on the 18th (Ash Wednesday).

The OP won't be impacted. Correct dates for the next 9 years are here at the official City of Cologne website: https://www.koeln.de/karneval/wann-ist-karneval/

Thanks JKH! This year we were in Lucerne for Fausnacht and it was insane. It was a lot of fun to experience and now I have seen it. Also, I checked, this year our dates don’t coincide. Our dates are determined by the Super Bowl and in 2027 it’s in February 14th. So we can’t leave until that’s over (just in case the one in a million happens and the Jets are in it).

So - below is what I am considering. I have two nights to add, where would you add it? Dates are Feb 17 - March 2.

Wurzberg
Bamberg
Bamberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Mittenwald
Mittenwald
Mittenwald
Innsbruck
Innsbruck
Munich