7 days Germany - May 25-June 2 Frankfurt - Frankfurt - need advise

Munich and Stuttgart (Stau City*) are 2 places in Germany you do not want to have a car. Why not stick to trains. You can rent a car leaving Munich. BTW, just north of Bissingen is the beautiful walled town of Noerdlingen. It sits in the center of an ancient asteroid impact crater.
* Stau: German slang word for traffic jam.

+1 for first reply. Apparently you have been to Europe before, but it is unwise to drive that far on the day you have 4 (?) high-priced, non-changeable air tickets. Especially after a late night.

Unless one of the kids is interested in Medieval art, or Gerhard Richter's stained glass windows, I would not go that far for a Cathedral. I love Cologne, but despite annual attendance figures, the Dom is the least of it. Have you considered the Middle Rhine and a KD boat ride?

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

Hope the rental agency comes up with your high-performance BMW. I couldn't even get an automatic transmission at FRA.

I find Munich overrated. I have not actually been (!) to the Holy City of Rick Steves, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, but there are many places north of Munich that are more attractive, and less tedious with a mighty steel steed.

Please fill in your home area in your public profile here.

Without Munich, you already have a large amount of territory between Cologne and Stuttgart to explore. Drop the Munich detour?

I would not chance driving to Frankfurt or FRA from Bissingen on June 2 if you are also flying out on June 2. Spend the final night in Mainz, Frankfurt, or at an airport hotel so as not to jeopardize your flight home.

Gotta distance myself from Tim's dim view of the Cologne Cathedral.... It defines "spectacular."

Moving south from Cologne toward Heidelberg and Stuttgart... Does the Middle Rhine Valley really not interest you?

https://cdn.fodors.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Rhine-River-Cruise-Rudesheim-1.jpg
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1066
https://img.fotocommunity.com/marksburg-braubach-bc203e81-d606-4f2f-bb8d-17e275e8ba88.jpg?height=1080
https://fotos.schloemp.eu/wp-content/gallery/braubach/002Braubach-Bauernschaenke-Eck-Fritz.JPG
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https://www.rhein-eifel.tv/fileadmin/_processed_/c/d/csm_maeuseturm-bingen_24c5ef0420.jpg

Bissingen - between Nordlingen and the Danube or Bissengen an der Teck - closer to Stuttgart ?

86657 Bissingen

It is roughly equidistant to Stuttgart or Munich, with Stuttgart just a tad closer.

I would also skip Munich. In fact, I would alter the whole thing to:
May 25--arrive, Frankfurt
May 26--drive to Boppard, stopping along the way
May 27--drive to Köln via Burg Eltz.
May 28--Head to Heidelberg
May 29--Stuttgart, two nights
May 31--Bissingen via Esslingen. Go early because
a) you flew all this way for the wedding. I am assuming you want to see people.
b) you don't want to stress about getting to the wedding. If you have a hotel room for the full day on the 1st, you can wander around or hang with people in the morning, go back to the hotel to rest before the festivities, and have a place to shower and clean up.
June 1--wedding
June 2--get up super early and drive back to Frankfurt. It's about a 2 hour drive.

This is still a lot of go-go-go, especially re: hotels, but your driving is more scenic. Short distances allow you to take your time, stop and explore a place for lunch or a beer, and carry on with no stress about schedules.

You don't have tons of time in Köln to see anything beyond the cathedral and maybe a touch more, but not a lot. Same in Heidelberg--castle, but not much more unless you do it the next morning.

Well, I didn't mean to badmouth the fine Kölner Dom, but it's depressing how many posts here say (because of the annual turnstile count!) it's the ONLY thing in town. IF they are subjects that interest you, the Roman museum, the Walraf-Richartz, the Modern Art (Ludwig) museum, the Applied Arts Museum are each just as spectacular. And there are many more.

But all you read about are the Chocolate museum or the Perfume museum!

(It's interesting how much mid-century (20th) American art is in the Ludwig.)

This is what I came up with. I am missing out on Essingen,? too much time in Munich? Is it good to use the train. Its like 60USD a day for a car.

Saturday May 25-

Arrive Frankfort 6am,
Breakfast, Lunch, Hotel
Romer, , Main Tower Stadel Museum
Sleep in Frankfort

Sunday May 26 – 10:30am bike tour 2.5hr long Frankfort. Lunch
Train to Heidelberg 4:21pm Arrive 5.11pm
Sleep in Heidelberg

Monday May 27 – Heidelberg Castle (Schloss Heidelberg)
Altstadt (Old Town) Philosopher Walk (neckar river)
Train to Stuttgart – 5:13pm Arrive 5:53pm
Sleep in Stuttgart

Tuesday May 28 Stuttgart 8:30am Mercedes plant tour

Mercedes Museum , Lunch Walking tour
Sarah Dealy ([email protected])
Sleep in Stuttgart

Wednesday May 29 Stuttgart (Porsche Museum)
Train To Munich 3:15pm Arrive 5:16pm
Sleep in Munich

Thursday May 30 Munich Bike tour Hofbrahaus
Sleep in Munich

Friday May 31 Munich
Sleep in Munich

Saturday June 1 –rent car drive to Wedding
Sleep in Bissingen

Sunday June 2 –11:45am Frankfort