Hi! We are taking a rather last minute trip to Frankfurt in March for a trade show. We have 2 nights and 3 days after the show for exploring and have rented a car. I can't quite figure out whether to do the Rhine/Mosel area, head South to the Black Forest, or try for Bavaria via Rothenburg. The later seems the most interesting and scenic to me but I'm worried about how much driving time is involved. Would like to see a castle, enjoy an old town ambience, enjoy scenery, find some friendly people to chat with, and drink plenty of beer -- without exhausting ourselves. All suggestions deeply appreciated. Leaving in 9 days!
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8938 posts
If you only have 3 days, you don't really need to drive so far to have an old town ambience. There are many, many towns near Frankfurt you could go to. For a town like Rothenburg but which wasn't bombed in the war, and without the tourist buses and souvenir stores, head over to Büdingen. By train it is only an hour away.
http://www.buedingen.info/en/
Near by is Burg Ronnefels. http://www.burg-ronneburg.de/das-museum/
If you want mountain scenery, head up into the Taunus mountains right outside of Frankfurt. Marburg and Idstein would be at the top of my list to visit. Both are on the half-timbered route. http://www.deutsche-fachwerkstrasse.de/uk/index.php
Perhaps a visit to Hessen Park, which is a great open air museum would be of interest? http://www.hessenpark.de/index.php?id=english
or a visit to the Saalburg, a reconstructed Roman fort? http://www.saalburgmuseum.de/english/sb_en_home.html
or the Glauberg, once a huge Celtic settlement. The museum here is fantastic and very interactive.
http://www.keltenwelt-glauberg.de/en/
The Rhine is close by, with wonderful towns to visit too. My personal favorite is Eltville with the near-by Eberbach Monastery, as well as Kiedrich. St. Goar has my favorite castle, Burg Rhinefels.
Here are some events happening in Frankfurt and the Rhine Main area in March:
* 28 Feb.-1 Mar. Easter Egg Market, Eberbach Monastery
* 7 Mar. Organ Matinee, Frankfurt Kaiserdom, 12:30 Free
* 7-8 Mar. Frankfurter Easter Market, Dominikaner Cloister (benefits MS Society)
* 11 Mar.-21 June Monet Exhibit, Frankfurt Städel Monet
* 13-22 Mar. Orchid Exhibit, Frankfurt Palmengarten
* 14-15 Mar. Easter Market, Michelstadt
* 15 Mar. 100 Years Städel Anniversary Celebration, Frankfurt Städel, Free Entry 10-20:00
* 17-22 Mar. LICHTER Film Festival Frankfurt International, Frankfurt Film Museum, and various movie theaters
* 20-22 Mar. Wiesbaden Easter Market, Wiesbaden pedestrian zone
* 20-22 Mar. Garden Sale, Frankfurt Palmengarten
* 20-23 Mar. Idstein Spring Fest
* 21-22 Mar. Historic Easter Markt, Ronneburg Castle
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
As Jo implied, Germany is packed with preserved historic towns like Rothenburg, and the vicinity of Frankfurt is particularly rich in this matter (although I admit, only a few retain their defensive walls).
Likewise to put the Black Forest in perspective, it has great name recognition (probably because it translates easily into English), but it's only one of about 50 forested low mountain ranges that criss-cross southern and central Germany. Only the far southern portion really stands out, but in the time it would have taken you to drive there, you could have seen the far more impressive Bavarian Alps. The Taunus mountains look down on Frankfurt from the NW, the Odenwald is to the south, and the Spessart are to the SE. If you drive all the way to the Black Forest, you'll barely notice the difference.
With only two nights, you may as well concentrate on the Rhine and/or Mosel. The southern end of the world-famous Mittelrhein gorge begins less than a 30 minute drive from Frankfurt. Go for it.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Awesome! Great suggestions. Thank you so much!