We are planning a two week trip in September 2026, ending with 5 days in Munich for Oktoberfest and for day trips from Munich. Starting in Amsterdam for 3 days and Brussels/Bruges for 2 days. I'm having a hard time figuring out stops for two additional nights between Brussels and Munich. We'll be traveling by train with carry on luggage only. We'd like to visit two towns in Germany with charm and history that are reasonably easy to access by train. We are very active travelers and are good with day stops, storing luggage at the station to explore before heading to a final destination for the night. I see Cologne is a two hour train ride from Brussels. Is this worth visiting? I'm interested in Heidelberg, Nuremberg, Würzburg, Rothenberg and the like, but not sure how easy they are to access by train. Very open to ideas in Bavaria! Thanks!
Posted by
Paradise
7933 posts
There are journeys from Brussels to Munich which take approximately 6.75 hours and require one change of train in Frankfurt. 8:25 - 15:12, for example. There's another at 10:25 which also has a chane in Frankfurt and takes the same amount of time. This 2-train routing via Frankfurt would be your most efficient train routing if you were going all the way to Munich.
You can have a look at the stops for this journey at the DB site. They include Aachen, Köln, Würzburg and Nuremberg (which is almost to Munich.)
Each one of these places is interesting and worthy of some time. My personal favorite is Nuremberg.
There are many other places you might stay instead by taking a short detour from this route For old-world architecture, castles, river cruises, and half-timbered buildings like you can find in Rothenburg, the Upper Middle Rhine Valley (between Koblenz and Bingen) is a good place to stay.
I would suggest getting off the train in Cologne for a couple of hours... see the Cathedral, have lunch - then get on one of the Rhine Valley trains there to the town of Boppard. See map:
https://www.seat61.com/images/rhine-train-map.jpg
This is Germany's most scenic train trip.
https://www.seat61.com/places-of-interest/rails-down-the-rhine.htm
I'd spend 2 nights in Boppard. Spend Day 2 doing short train outings from Boppard to towns like Bacharach, Braubach (home of Marksburg Castle) and take a river cruise between Boppard and Bingen to the south to enjoy the rest of this scenic trip from the water. (Boppard has a Guest Card program which provides free train transportation for most short outings.)
Braubach photos, 3 pages: https://www.stadtbild-deutschland.org/forum/index.php?thread/7322-braubach-am-rhein-und-marksburg-galerie/
Bacharach: https://www.mittelrheinentdecken.de/en/villages-towns-and-cities/bacharach/
Then finish your route to Munich from Boppard after your 2nd night. The DB site will route you properly. I suspect it will put you on a train to FRA airport, then to Munich directly from there. 9:16 - 14:29, for example.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
8605 posts
Cologne is exceptionally easy to visit by train. Because I like museums (not just art by dead white men), Cologne is a favorite of mine.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/can-i-see-enough-of-cologne
It is a long way from Cologne to Munich, and I don’t like one night hotel stays. If you arrive around 5PM anywhere, much will be schon geschlossen! I suggest a night in Antwerp, and a long ride from Cologne to Munich. Do not waste a night in Brussels.
Rothenburg ODT is a perennial favorite on this board. I’ve not been there. Going to Dresden in March for the World Orchid Congress,
Posted by
Lexington, KY (formerly Southeast US)
4516 posts
Russ, as always, makes a nice proposal.
Köln and on to Würzburg or Nuremberg would also be nice, too. It would be easy because all are on the train line.