A Specific Central Germany Itinerary

I would consider also visiting Dresden between Berlin and Prague.

Frankfurt to Berlin, where would you stay on the way?

Erfurt, Weimar and the castles around. Discover state of Thuringia.

A different option is Harz area (near Hanover) with World Heritage towns Goslar and Wernigerode,also steam train to mount Brocken.

The ICE network map for 2025 (link) and the journey planner of Deutsche Bahn might help you as well.

Erfurt is a stop on one of the direct ICE routes between Frankfurt and Berlin. Figure 2 - 2.25 hours to Erfurt from Frankfurt(Main) Hauptbahnhof, the main station in Frankfurt. It's a fine town and a good base for visiting other nearby towns by train for a few days. Eisenach (Wartburg Castle), Weimar, Bad Langensalza, and Mühlhausen are fine places to explore in the immediate vicinity - they can be reached by direct train in less than one hour from Erfurt.

Leipzig: I think I might choose to make it a stopover for the day on your way to Berlin; it's about half way to Berlin from Erfurt already, so you could just drop bags in a Leipzig station locker and explore.

From Frankfurt to Berlin -> Eisenach and Wartburg for sure

Travelling by car on the A5 and A4 Autobahn from Frankfurt 2,5 hrs to Eisenach from there 3,5 hrs to Berlin

or by train ICE 694 Frankfurt to Berlin 4hrs 20min stop in Eisenach after 1hr 45 min

Both Erfurt and Eisenach look like great options. Halfway between Frankfurt and Berlin, small cities, on a main line. I had seen those, but it's good to hear from those who know. I suppose I should just pick one, that's always hard.

You have gotten good answers to your real question, so I hope you don’t mind a bit of an unsolicited thought. As background, I was the organizer and group administrative leader for at least 7 of those kind of youth choir tours - back before I retired.

You absolutely know your family best, as well as how you need to balance moving around with the other children. Normally I would comment on how thoughtful you are being to not rush everything. But after having worked with parents also traveling (either with the group or on their own) on all those trips, no one was ever sad to have seen all the concerts because they are all unique. So I am going to second MarKK’s suggestion to add Dresden between Berlin and Prague, if you are able.

I would also say that not all of the performance venues and arrangements on a tour are created equal, though. So it might bear checking which is going to be more “formal” and where the concert will be before deciding between Leipzig and Dresden, if logistics would work for either. Sometimes a company will pop in a very casual and not well advertised (thus not well attended) “informal concert”. But Leipzig in June has the Bach Festival and there is some cool musical stuff going on. If they happened to be singing in Thomaskirsch, you would want to be there. Dresden is probably easier logistically, though.

You could arrive in Berlin for sightseeing before the choir does and have sightseeing time there. Then pick one of the middle cities for the next few days, hitting one of the concerts, then wind up in Prague.

Just a thought.

We visited Erfurt and Dresden when the old DDR opened up after the Berlin Wall fell. We were working for the US Army in Augsburg.
Visiting East Germany was a bit disappointing, since the infrastructure was terrible. The Communists had practically run the country into the ground. There were still lots of ruins from WWII, bridges on the autobahn that were destroyed in WWII and not rebuilt since the autobahn headed toward West Germany.

Both cities were worth a visit. The firebombing of Dresden at the end of the war did a real job on the city and it still looked a bit devastated. This was over 30 years ago, so I can't say what they look like today.

Those are some good thoughts about the concerts. I'm not the parent, so I'm getting secondhand info, but I was told that the choir didn't want visiting families to go to more than one or two performances, so as not to make the other children feel bad. I do see an informal concert scheduled at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, so that is something to consider. Is it extra special for performances? Or just the Bach connection?

I wouldn't want to add any more time to Berlin, as bigger cities are not fun for us with little kids in my experience so far. There will be some boys that want to see WWII stuff though. None of the concerts are actually in Berlin, just Brandenburg and Potsdam. I was hesitant with Dresden and Leipzig as they were more Eastern bloc style which is not my cup of tea. But maybe I'm wrong! I watched the video about them and my 8 year old said "that looks like here". LOL. I wouldn't mind visiting them all, but it's a lot of moving around.

I'm not the parent, so I'm getting secondhand info, but I was told that the choir didn't want visiting families to go to more than one or two performances, so as not to make the other children feel bad. I do see an informal concert scheduled at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, so that is something to consider. Is it extra special for performances? Or just the Bach connection?

What an interesting perspective. Perhaps other group dynamics are different - our families were inclusive so the kids without families were included and very happy to have people they knew in their audience. Or perhaps there are an overwhelming number of families traveling and not enough room. I will say that I am stumped. But people do things in different ways.

While the staff at Thomaskirche are so nice and accommodating, it’s a fact that it is a prestigious place to get to sing because of the history (as opposed to being over the top beautiful or more amazing acoustically than other churches) and not everyone is able to sing there. Attending a concert is more a matter of being able to share that with their child. But that is also family dynamics.

I liked Leipzig and Dresden both (haven’t been to Berlin). They are smaller than Berlin and Prague and strike me as being fine for kids, although I haven’t taken any kids there. Leipzig was MUCH more charming than I expected and I need to go back. Dresden is very manageable. You will encounter far more crowds in Prague in the tourist areas. Oh, and all I meant with the comment about Berlin was that if you start there earlier in your trip, you would have time to see whatever you want, with then time in the middle of your trip for a third city. I didn’t mean you needed to add more days.

That's a good point about Berlin and Prague. I didn't want to do big cities for too long either but the rest of the family is more interested in moving around less. But I am going to take your ideas and present that at Christmas, you have given really good food for thought.

It is impossible to overstate the vast amount of superb art museums in Dresden (and porcelain in Meissen). For those interested in wars and history, the Military Museum (with trendy addition by Daniel Liebeskind) is one-of-a-kind in Germany, if a U-Bahn ride from downtown. It is not the case that Dresden looks, remotely, like photos taken in 1948. Just one example, the hand-reconstructed from rubble Frauenkirche is a major concert venue; just look at YouTube, no cost involved.

Leipzig: We were lucky enough to hear a choir rehearsal in the Thomaskirche, which by American standards, is not a very large in-town church. Bach not involve, the St. Nicholas Church was a MAJOR center of anti-Soviet occupation and a big factor in the Fall of the Wall. I don't see how someone interested in Bach or baroque music could skip Leipzig. There are only faint traces of Bach in Eisenach, but we were glad to see the Wartburg castle.

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/leipzig-iron-curtain

I will say that I'm sorry I did not visit Prague earlier in my European travels. It is a very rich, enjoyable destination. I also like to minimize hotel changes, but these are all superb destinations. A quieter, less bustling, but rich in literature, art and history is Weimar, in the same area. (Also Buchenwald by city bus, if desired.) Consider also the UNESCO WHS Dessau-Worlitz Gartenreich in this warm time of year.

I can't comment on west coast air connections, but I don't rate Frankfurt as highly as Berlin, which is good for a week on a first visit. I urge you to check two-segment flights; that's how we (from NYC, home of direct flights ... ) flew to start a vacation in Cologne, no extra cost because Lufthansa partners with United. Have you considered Hamburg?

I would suggest 3 full days for Leipzig, it's a major German cultural city.

En route to Berlin I support spending a day in Goslar. There are lots of other places too, the hard part is deciding since you don't have 3 weeks or so devoted to just this part of Germany.

You could drop Prague but I leave that to your family's decision.

Places to explore in Germany here....Dresden, Leipzig, Meissen, Jena, Erfurt, Naumburg an der Saale, Weimar. Halle, If you want WW2 site Torgau an der Elbe, Halbe, Fürstenwalde, not to mention the Greater Berlin area.

Don't drop Prague, it's way too good to miss. And I'd aim at routing back from there to Frankfurt via Nuremberg; at least long enough to spend 5-6 hours walking into the old city.

Oof, tough. Leipzig and Dresden are worth visits!

I would consider the Harz, as someone suggested. It's very underrated and prettier than people realize. Places like Goslar and Wernigerode are great!

Thank you all for your info, there’s a lot to think about. If old architecture was important, would you choose Leipzig or Dresden? I can only pick one.

Both cities were heavily bombed. I think Dresden "seems" older, and has some trendy non-downtown areas, like Berlin does today. But the two cities aren't really comparable. There's also the question about whether you consider an accurate "wiederaufbauen" to be an "old building". And how old do you mean? Not many places Bach set foot are still standing, but the church in Leipzig is. I don't mean to be argumentative, but are you asking whether you can visit the Wartburg from Dresden? THAT'S an old building. But it's a very long trip, and I like Quedlinburg even better. Erfurt and Gotha are better answers to your question about architecture.

It is possible to attend a concert in Leipzig or Dresden from the other city, I suspect. (No research done.) Prague and Berlin are farther away from those two.

I don't have children, but I want to point out the German love of children. There are three opera houses in Berlin, and the one I know most about, Deutsche Oper, has multiple Family Backstage Tours and Family Performances in June, 2025. A few "Oma's Quarkbollen" from street carts go a long way .... I couldn't find when their annual community day is, but we went to one, free and a good time.

Speaking of "old stuff", it is difficult to overstate how wonderful the Green Vaults in Dresden are. There are few such displays in the US. The (NYC) Met Museum just put one up, but it's inferior to either Green Vault (except that you don't need a special ticket.)

Prague Castle (Hrad) is certainly worth seeing - right there across the river from the old town.

Tim, Erfurt is definitely on our itinerary now, thanks to the advice above from Russ, et al. We would be visiting Wartburg and other cities from there. My question about Leipzig and Dresden is related to our travel between Berlin and Prague. I know both towns were damaged and much is not original, I mean more, what looks like a modern city and what looks old world.

Re: damage? Prague was hardly damaged by war's end. It was taken in early taken, no dogged resistance there on part of the Germans.

If you mean Leipzig, some fighting occurred when the Americans reached the city, which also took place at the huge Battle of the nations monument, (Voelkerschlachtdenkmal built 100 years after the Allied defeat over Napoleon in 1813. Leipzig experienced none of the massive destruction as was the case with Berlin and Dresden.

If you want to see "original" architecture in Dresden, go to the its suburbs.

Fred, I meant Leipzig and Dresden.

I addressed the issue with Leipzig. When I've been out to the Battle of the Nations Monument taking the S-Bahn across from the train station, you see a good portion of the city before coming within sight of the huge monument on the S-Bahn. That part is the Zentrum, it does not look rebuilt.

If you're after a smaller place that escaped wholesale destruction in that part of Germany, I would suggest Meissen, Jena. Eastern Germany here has lots to see and explore by way of small towns, I'll be there towards the end of June too.

As suggested above, I would also recommend Weimar, one of my favorite small towns in Germany.

Limited museum capacity with the kids.

Would they have an interest in hands-on Roman history? If so, consider spending a night in Bad Homberg, a suburb of Frankfurt and then visit Saalburg, a restored Roman Fortress. Saalburg is interesting in the off-season. In the summer you may find reenactors on-site.

I think Dresden is what you are looking for. The Zwinger, the palace, the church--all have been meticulously restored, creating an beautiful old town. In some ways you can tell that it's been recreated, but then again, the Sistine Chapel has been restored. This is just a whole city and for other reasons. You can feel the old and the new, but that's part of the point, too. I absolutely loved Dresden.

Since you are traveling with kids...the Ritter Sport chocolate company has their flagship store in Berlin. Quite the selection of chocolates, samples, and an opportunity (paid, of course) to "make" your own chocolate bar. Just in case any of the children get museum burn-out:)!

I don't know if you have reserved your flights, but here's another option (similar to the route I fly from PDX). Fly nonstop SEA-AMS, then connect to Berlin. Return Prague-AMS-SEA. The only downside is that the return trip leaves Prague quite early to feed into the AMS transatlantic flight.

Both Berlin and Prague have great parks and biergartens. A win-win for kids and adults!