Are these cities overnight stays or just quick day trips?

Rothenberg is good for one or two nights at the most. Nearby are Heidelberg, Wurzburg, and another quaint town named Dinklesbuel (sp?). TC

Rothenburg is worth a visit if you're headed in the general direction, but it's not as unique as advertised. Give it a few hours during the day, or stay overnight if you want to follow the cheesy nightwatchman's tour.

If you plan on doing any hiking in Berchtesgaden, I would give it three nights to give yourself a buffer against bad weather. If not, you could probably see it as a daytrip, most likely from Salzburg.

We spent three nights (2 days) in Berchtesgaden. The first day we took the Ramsau bus out to Wimbachbrücke and hiked in the Wimbachklamm. We had lunch there, then returned to the Hbf and took another bus to Königssee and went up the lake to the Obersee (Salat). The second day we went up to the Eagles Nest for lunch, the spent the rest of the day in the museum of the Dokumentation Center and exploring the bunkers.

As for Rothenburg, we spent 1½ days (2 nights) there. Arrived at noon day one and left the morning of day 3. We spent much of the whole day walking the Wehrgang on top of the wall. seeing the museum in one of the towers, and visiting the big church in town and the Riemenschneider altar. We just peaking into the Christmas shop and didn't bother with the C & P Museum.

Hi Marie,

We loved Rothenburg and the highlight was the Nightwatchman Tour at 8pm. A bit "cheesy", but fun and informative. The other highlights were the 500 yr. old woodcarved alter by Tilman Riemanschneider in St. Jacob's church and walking the wall in the evening. The Crime and Punishment Museum was interesting. 2 Nights was right for us.

Berchtesgaden is one of our favorite areas to base at in Germany. We've stayed roughly 17 nights during 5 trips ('06, '07, '09, '10 and '13) so far. It's a beautiful alpine area central to so many sights. Berchtesgaden, Konigsee, Jennerbahn cable car, Salt Mines, Sommerrodelbahns (luge rides), Eagle's Nest, Rossfeld Panorama Road, Salzburg, The Salzkammergut (Wolfgangsee, St. Gilgen, St Wolfgang, even Hallstatt) plus "Mad" King Ludwig's Herrenchiemsee is an hour away and even Zell am See is only 1:30 away.

Paul

I've stayed nights each of the past two times in Rothenburg. I could easily stay a couple of days more.

I've stayed 3 nights each of the past two times in Rothenburg. I could easily stay a couple of days more.

I think Rothenburg is best if you stay there overnight. It is less crowded and I found it really pretty at night. I really enjoyed the Nightwatchman's tour, cheesy or not! It was entertaining and a good way to learn a little about the town. I visited Berchtesgaden as a day trip from Salzburg and saw everything I had wanted to see there (Eagle's Nest in the morning, Koenigsee in the afternoon.) It is a relatively short and cheap bus ride to Berchtesgaden from Salzburg. If you are doing more than what I did I would probably stay overnight.

We stayed three nights in Berchtesgaden and found it great for day trips. I guess the same would apply for Rothenburg if the appeal is the town at night. If I were making that choice, I would probably stay outside the town, maybe the castle at Colmberg, and visit Rothenburg in the early evening. But, to each his own.