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4 days in Germany...where to go?

Posted by (Boise, ID, USA) on

Hello! My mother and I will be traveling to London in December, and thought it might be cool to check out some of the Christmas markets of Germany as well. We will only have 4 or 5 days that we can allot to Germany. I thought about flying into Dusseldorf and renting a car to see Cologne, plus whatever else is nice around there. (A friend is in the Air Force near the Netherlands border, and I'd like to see him too!) Train travel and tours are fine by us as well!

We like shopping, sightseeing, natural attractions and landmarks. She's 56 years old, and I'm 32.

Any hotel, food and Christmas market suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'd like to start planning out an itinerary and searching for accommodations.

Thanks!

Posted by
995 posts

Cologne is a good choice for a quick trip and easy for train connections. There are 4 or 5 nice markets; the one at Neumarkt is my favorite. The Dom market is big and wonderful, but plan your trip so you can be there on a weekday. On weekends it's too crowded to enjoy. Aachen is less than an hour by train, and the market in the old historic square has a completely different atmosphere from Cologne. Only a little farther from Aachen and just over the border into the Netherlands is Maastricht, with its stylish pedestrian historic area and a little different type of market. And Dusseldorf has a pretty market too. Lots of choices! (Maybe you can talk your friend into meeting you at one of them.)

Posted by
50 posts

I'd suggest another option: fly into Frankfurt (or Nürnberg, from London) and stay a couple of nights in Rothenburg [by train] and a couple in Nürnberg. Both have really nice Christmas markets (plus Rothenburg has the Käthe Wahlfahrt Christmas stores). For lodging, Klösterstüble in Rothenburg and Drei Raben in Nürnberg are among my favorites. You could day trip to several other cities from Nürnberg if you wanted/

Posted by
20253 posts

I was in Cologne today. Currently I am in Bonn. The Cologne cathedral is stunning. The river front is also interesting. Keep in mind I am here for a particular reason in which tourism is only secondary. In general I enjoy the feel of Bonn (despite the fact that it's a filthy town) a little more than Cologne and the tourist sights of Cologne much more than those of Bonn. I did enjoy one amazingly perfect meal in Bonn. The people in both places were kind and helpful when asked. Very much appreciated. Still, on the whole for my interests and taste, both Bonn and Cologne are about a 2 out of 5, with 5 being fantastic.

Posted by
20253 posts

And, most of my travels the past 5 years have been in Eastern/Central Europe so prices in Bonn & Cologne were shocking. About 20% more than anything in Eastern/Central Europe except maybe Prague or Vienna (but still somewhat more than these two as well).

Posted by
11294 posts

If you want to see Cologne, note that it has its own airport (CGN), and that the airport is actually equidistant between Cologne and Bonn. Check flights into there as well as Dusseldorf (DUS) - both have frequent train connections to all cities in the region.

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