17 Days in Dec Itinerary Help

A woman approached me and my Kombi today in a parking lot and thanked me for driving it and for the memory rush she had just had. Knowing your experience 3 decades back, I can't blame your husband for thinking "car."

So the problem in December isn't so much driving in horrible weather - December isn't that awful - but the fact tha you will probably be staying in cities of some size at least some of the time so as to find things to see/do other than the Christmas Markets, which are often best in the evening. And cars don't tend to be a pain in German cities.

Also, if you stay in base towns that are conneced by rail, rather than going town town to town, as you might with a car, there is less itinerary planning that you must have in place. 4 nights or so in one town... with short outings from a given base town to other places nearby... would mean you only have to book in 4 base towns. The outings you do from each town might be on a list but don't have to be "booked" - just do them as time permits.

So besides picturesque towns... what kinds of things interest you in Germany? I'm thinking a lot of them should be indoor things like museums. Porsche/VW museums maybe? But come up with a few interests for us so we can better guide you. Also, do you want to avoid places you were before? Or to avoid big Christmas Market crowds? I am like that - I tend to look for markets that people are not recommending highly or that don't make it to the pages of some glossy magazine. There are markets literally everywhere in Germany.

Thank you- we are more than happy to revisit. We travelled in our mid 20's so $$ was tight and I didnt like beer, wine or coffee!! Im now enjoying our Europe trips liking all the above as well as being able to actually eat out. We are late 50's with very varied tastes. We do love a museum, hikes and honestly just taking in what a place has to offer. We are open to anything that looks worth exploring. My preference is to not zoom around just ticking towns off but travel at a more relaxed pace.

I just posted my market list for this year on another post, but here it is for you too. Maybe get out a map and make a circle, or base in one or two towns as a hub and travel to different markets each day?

Darmstadt Christmas Market 17.11-23.12 (closed on 23.11 Toten Sonntag)
Offenbach Christmas Market 17.11-29.12 (closed on 23.11 Toten Sonntag)
Rüdesheim Christmas Market of Nations 20.11-23.12
Rothenburg ob der Tauber 21.11-23.12 (closed on 23.11, Toten Sonntag)
Aschaffenberg Advents Market 22.11-22.12
Koblenz Christmast Market 22.11-05.01 (visit the Christmas Garden too)
Frankfurt Christmas Market 24.11-22.12
Heidelberg Christmas Market 24.11-22.12
Michelstadt Advents Market 24.11-23.12
Wiesbaden Sternschnuppen Market 25.11-23.12
Speyer Christmas Market 25.11-6.01
Seligenstadt Christmas Market 27.11-14.12
Mainz Christmas Market 27.11-23.12
Bad Homburg Christmas Market am Schloss – Weekends, 28-30, 5-7, 12-14, 19-21
Limburg Christmas Market 28.11-22.12
Marburg Advents Market 28.11-23.12
SMALLER, SHORTER MARKETS
Burg Ronneburg 29-30, 6-7, 13-14
Idstein Advents Market 5-7.12
Königstein Christmas Market 5-7.12
Büdingen Christmas Market 3-7.12
Gelnhausen Christmas Market 11-14.12
Eppstein Advents Market 13-14.12

We spent all of December in Germany getting around by train. The train was part of the fun with groups of people traveling to the markets wearing Christmas sweaters, having Sekt and sausages and just celebrating. Plus you do not need to deal with parking which is different now than 30 years ago. We tend to park ourselves in a specific town and then take day trips. Our daughter was living in Saarbrucken so we were more focused on the southwest. Some town groupings we enjoyed were staying in Cologne (Kohn) and trips to Trier, Bonn and Dusseldorf (a bunch of markets there); Frankfurt to Heidelberg, Mainz, Freiburg.

Ms Jo already posted a list of markets around Frankfurt, where you also get some picturesque towns, a few castles and some nice nature.
Different regions in Germany have their specific vibes: towns, architecture and cuisine can vary more or less substantially. And for two odd weeks I would not recommend to take too many - maybe three, depending on what itinerary you can make. Some further classics are Bavaria, Franconia, Swabia / Black Forest / Alsace, Middle Rhine.
Lesser known for international tourists could be the Harz mountains, Thuringia or the Erzgebirge mountain range in Saxony, all of which have a picturesque town / Christmas focus in December.
Not too familiar with the north (west and east) in this time of the year tbh.
Where have you been last time around? Was there something you missed out or would like to revisit?

On the question of car vs. trains: for markets and cities, trains are likely to be more convenient, as parking can be a pain. If you are going to a castle or nature spot, a car can be more convenient - these are not necessarily well connected. So how about a compromise?

I'd have a look at Speyer for one of your base towns. It's a smallish historic town on the Rhine River, not far from FRA airport, with an ongoing Christmas market, some cozy restaurants, and a nice variety of things to see and do in town, considering its modest size. It's popular with German visitors but mostly OFF the radar of international tourists, though some river cruise companies have taken notice.

Restaurants: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g198634-Speyer_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

Sights: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g198634-Activities-oa0-Speyer_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

Speyer is in a region known as "The Pfalz", which is known for its food/wine. It's also a good base for train outings to...

Heidelberg
Ettlingen
Mainz
The German Wine Route: Deidesheim, Bad Dürkheim, Hambach Castle...
Baden-Baden
Gengenbach (walled town in the Black Forest region)