We will have 18 glorious days on the ground to experience Europes Christmas Markets for the first time. Our itinerary is set and we have all our accommodations. I am seeking advice on best means of train travel and when to book, excursions, must sees and restaurants as I'm sure we may want a break from the market fare. We fly into Frankfurt and out of Munich.
Arrival into Frankfurt early a.m. take train directly to Heidelberg
Day 1 (1 night) Heidelberg
Strasbourg (2nights)
Colmar (3 nights) day trip to Equisheim & Riquewihr (can both be done in 1 day?)
Stuttgart (3 nights) day trip to Esslingen
Salzburg (3 nights) day trip to markets on Wolfgansee and concert at Mirabel Palace
Nuremberg (1 night)
Rothenburg ob der Tauber (2 nights) Nightwatchman tour
Regensberg (1 night) Market at Thurn and Taxis
Munich (2 nights)
The Romantik Hotel Markusturm in Rothenburg ob de Tauber has a nice restaurant. We really enjoyed the food and ate there twice. You will need a reservation. Gray Line bus tours has a good tour from Salzburg to the Christmas markets in the Salzkammergut (Wolfgansee). The tour was in the evening. We reserved the day before at their kiosk near Mirabel Gardens but you may need to reserve earlier now. It is a 50 person bus tour but not guided. They basically get you there and back which fit our needs. We went to various towns and cruised the lake. It was quite chilly so dress accordingly.