We were fortunate to have lived in Büdingen, Germany for two years while my husband was stationed there with the US Army. It was easy to fall in love with this picturesque town, which we did immediately! And although we had returned to Büdingen since that time, we had never considered booking a guided tour until this spring, 45 years later! What an unforgettable memory our English speaking tour guide created for us! We learned more during our time with our guide, Christa, than we did during the entire two years we lived in Büdingen! Christa brought the history of this quaint town alive for us with entertaining stories and special sights. Büdingen is a beautiful walled town complete with defense towers and it's very own castle, still inhabited by a prince! It's filled with charming half-timbered houses, an elegant church and delightful restaurants. Oh, how happy we were that we booked a private tour of this wonderful town through the Tourist Information Center (approx. 35 euros an hour). We'll definitely be returning with our children and grandchildren, so they too can experience, first hand, an historic Medieval town...free from the busloads of tourists that crowd the streets at the better known walled towns in Germany. Add this charming town to your itinerary if possible. I'm surprised Rick Steves hasn't discovered it.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32756 posts
If you look in the search button at the top of the screen you will see that it is not undiscovered among readers of this Forum. I also have suggested several times that people visit there, as has Jo and a number of others.
You post is a good reminder.
By the way, if you come back for a second post sometime, it isn't necessary to shout here. We are a nice group of people and every post gets attention. Writing in all uppercase is considered shouting on the forum.
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7033 posts
I loved Budingen and I, for one, am glad that it's not touted in RS book, otherwise it would be overrun like Rothenburg.
Posted by
Green Bay
20090 posts
I don't think we can blame Rick for all of Rothenburg's tourist popularity. The number of "donation" bricks in the city wall in Japanese is surprising, and they all were put in before Rick took his first high school Europe trip.
Posted by
Augsburg, Bavaria
2333 posts
There are even more (and older) in (US) English. As a little boy, I had to memorize the number. But like so much other and useful knowledge of mankind, I forgot that too ...
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8943 posts
Büdingen is one of my favorite towns in Germany. I always recommend that people book a private tour here with the TI so that you can go inside of those massive walls and up onto the towers. If you can manage to be there when they have their bi-annual Medieval fest, this is a fabulous festival.
For those short of time, going to Büdingen is a lot easier than going to Rothenburg as it is only an hour by train from Frankfurt with a group day ticket for 5 people only costing 28€, plus you don't have to wait for the tour buses to leave to enjoy the atmosphere.
Near-by Gelnhausen is also worth a visit since you have to switch trains here anyway if you are coming from Frankfurt. Frederick Barbarossa had a castle here and they have a church which was built around 1219 and is a real gem.
Both of these towns are original and were not bombed in WW2, unlike Rothenburg which lost about 40% of its' structures to bombing.
If you have a car, stop by Ronneburg Castle which is close to both of these towns. This is an original castle, not bombed or burnt down.
Or consider a stop at the Glauburg, which was a large Celtic settlement. The museum there is fantastic with all text in English and French as well as German and it is very interactive.
Posted by
Salt Lake City
1481 posts
Anyone stay in Büdingen? Do you have a hotel recommendation? Gary