Cologne to Stuttgart

If you're stopping at more than one location along the Rhine and Heidelberg, that's going to be a long day of driving, particularly because you'll hit the murderous rush hour of the Frankfurt-Heidelberg-Stuttgart corridor (and Heilbronn, or Pforzheim and Karlsruhe, depending on which route you take).

Normally, I would say drive the whole Mittelrhein from Bonn to Wiesbaden, but you don't have time. There's a road that runs parallel to each bank of the river on each side for most of the scenic stretch (it deviates away from the river a little north of Koblenz). From Köln, I would take the A3 Autobahn, then make the appropriate exit to Koblenz. You don't have time to go back and forth from each side of the river, so choose either the best castle (Marksburg on the east bank), or the popular towns that people on this website like to visit (Boppard, Oberwesel, St. Goar, Bacharach on the west bank). If you choose the west bank route, then from Bingen, drive to Heidelberg along A61 to A6 to A5. If you chose the east bank, follow the Autobahn signs from Rüdesheim to Wiesbaden, then take A3 again to A67 to A5. Both options are reasonably scenic, although the latter moreso.

Finally, from Heidelberg to Stuttgart, I find that it's a crapshoot between goint via Heilbronn or Karlsruhe. Neither route is all that scenic, both are usually very congested, and with the sudden traffic jams that can develope (Stau), it's difficult to predict which route will take longer. If you can understand German, check the traffic reports on the radio.

One final note to avoid getting a speeding ticket. As you drive into Heidelberg, carefully watch the signs. When you see the city limit sign for Heidelberg, even though it looks like you're still on the Autobahn, urban speed limits now apply (ie, 50 km/hr). There's a speed camera waiting just beyond to catch you if you don't slow down.

and if you are stopping to "enjoy" some wine make sure you have a designated driver.

Drunk driving permitted levels are MUCH lower in Germany and enforced VERY strictly.

Right before the Heilbronn/Karlsruhe split going south from Frankfurt to Stuttgart is an electronic readerboard telling you which direction traffic is best. Pay attention and go the suggested route, we ignored it one time, took 4 hrs to complete the hour-ish trip from there.

Rick's opinion is that Heidelberg is touristy, crowded, and commercial. Along the Rhine, he prefers the small town of Bacharach.

You can catch Hwy A59 that goes past the Cologne/Bonn Airport and it turns into Hwy B42. It runs on the East side of the Rhine River. B42 later intersects Hwy B256 which you can use to cross the Rhine River. Turn South on Hwy L121 and it'll take you into Koblenz.

My favorite thing to do in Koblenz is to sit beside the Rhine River in the beer garden at the Konigsbacher Brewery and watch the tour boats go past--if weather permits. Follow the river road south (B9), and you'll eventually end up in Bacharach.

(I'd suggest you bypass Heidelberg & Frankfort.)

Bacharach's a great place to spend the night. It's a rather small town, but with many castles on the hillsides overlooking the Rhine. The city's famous for their sweet white wines, and there are some fine B&B's to stay in.

Area accommodations are well discussed in: http://www.bensbauernhof.com/accommodationsrhinemosel.html

The drive into Stuttgart from Bacharach is very easy getting off the river at Bingen and onto A61 heading south toward Stuttgart.

"Rick's opinion is that Heidelberg is touristy, crowded, and commercial. Along the Rhine, he prefers the small town of Bacharach"

Mr. Steves' opinion of Heidelberg has always baffled me. Yes, many tourists visit, but at any given time, their numbers are dwarved by the large student and regular population of the city. Drop of water in the ocean. Other than a handful of souvenir stands, there's very little that's distinctily touristy about the city, other than the fact that it's, well, gorgeous. Now, if you want touristy, crowded, and commercial, look no further than to some of the tourist funhouses highly recommended in the Blue Book, like Bacharach, Beilstein and Rothenburg odT.

I haven't found Heidelberg to be that touristy at all.

Last month when I was there, I had the Student Prison to myself until 2 people speaking French came in. In the Aula there was just 4 of us. Over in the very beautiful Jesuit church, only one other couple. In the Holy Spirit church there weren't any more people than what is usually in a landmark church in any city center, actually far less than what is in the Kaiserdom in Frankfurt on a normal day. Up at the castle, I would say over half the people walking by were German families. Yes, there were a few tour buses, American, Spanish, Italian, UK, and Asian, but in the Apotheke Museum there were no crowds, down in the castle there were no crowds. So, where are the summer crowds of tourists?

Weekends will see a good number of stag parties, but for the most part, the buses and trams just had students and the cafes were filled with students too.

Thank you all for the very helpful hits and tips. We will be taking your advise on the scenic roads along the Rhine and have decided to head from there to Wurtzburg for that day. I was afraid it was too much driving.
Here is our travel plans - I welcome your comments. First time so want to see a little of everything we can. P.S. Anniversary trip - so looking for beautiful sites and some relaxation.
Day 1 - arrive in Brussels, spend day, train to Cologne,
Day 2 - visit Cologne cathedral, enjoy the Festival of Lights,
Day 3 - rent car and head to Marksburg Castle and Reichenstein Castle, head to Würzburg
Day 4 - visit Würzburg Residenz, leisurely and scenic drive to Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Day 5 - 1/2 of Romantic Road (visiting small towns) to Augsburg
Day 6 - Augsburg toward Stuttgart but head south along scenic routes through Black Forest to some small town near Bodensee
Day 7 - visit Bodensee area, drive along scenic road on north side of lake then head back to Ulm
Day 7 - back toward Augsburg to pick up second half of Romantic Road heading to Fussen
Day 8 - Neuschwanstein Castle & old Castle - head for Oberammergau for the night
Day 9 - Partenkirchen - Garmisch and Zugspritze - back to Oberammergau for the night
Day 10 - head north to Dachau for 1/2 day, then return car in Munich
Day 11 - Munich - Residence Palace, Hoffbrauhaus, English Garden
Day 12 - Munich - Frauenkirche, Glokenspiel - Marienplatz, Viktualienmarkt

OK, let's comment here a little.

"1/2 of Romantic Road (visiting small towns) to Augsburg" Visit the towns that interest you, but don't feel compelled to drive the road itself. There's nothing to distinguish this road from any other in that region of Germany, other than the heavy tourist traffic in the summer.

"Augsburg toward Stuttgart but head south along scenic routes through Black Forest to some small town near Bodensee"
The Black Forest is further to the west. You can drive through the similar Schwäbische Alb mountain range, but not the Black Forest on this route.

"back toward Augsburg to pick up second half of Romantic Road heading to Fussen" The number of noteworthy towns south of Augsburg quickly tapers off. A better and more scenic route from the Bodensee to Füssen would the the Alpine Road. Remember... the Romantic Road is just a road. That's all.

"Day 8 - Neuschwanstein Castle & old Castle - head for Oberammergau for the night
Day 9 - Partenkirchen - Garmisch and Zugspritze - back to Oberammergau for the night" Why not just stay in Garmisch-Partenkirchen the entire time? This gives you a little bit of flexibility, in case the one day you have budgeted for the Zugspitze gets rained out or overcast. GaP is within easy driving distance of both Füssen and Oberammergau.

Thank you - that is good advice. we will look to see if we can get some time in the Black Forest.
I was looking at the map and 27 south from Reutingen shows as a scenic road and 32 (run somewhat parallel). Would you recommend one over another? If time allows maybe we can cut over to Black Forest at that point.

Friends recommended Bodensee - but would you suggest more time in the Black Forest or there?

Also - do you have favorite towns to see along first stretch of the Romantic Road? I have heard that the road is really nothing but it is the towns - it sounds like most of Germany is made up of these quaint adorable towns. Although I know we want to spend some time in GaP (thanks for the abbreviation).

sorry - one more question... is there a better place to get to the Zugspitze? Is Garmisch the best?

Thanks again!

Put the Black Forest in perspective. It's one of about 30 odd forested mountain ranges that criss-cross central and southern Germany. It's the most well known in the US probably because it was the first to be promoted as a tourist destination and probably because it's German name (Schwarzwald) translates relatively easily into English. Other than the fact that it's a little more extensive than the rest, though, there's not a whole lot to distinguish it from all the other ranges. And even the Black Forest's highest peaks around Freiburg pale in comparison to the Bavarian Alps. It's worth exploring IF your trip has you moving in that general direction. Your's, for the most part, does not. Based on your latest itinerary, your route has you skimming the Sauerland, Gladenbacher Bergland and Taunus, driving through the Hunsrück and Westerwald, further skimming the Odenwald, and driving through the Spessart and Schwäbische Alb mountain ranges. And this is even before you get to the mighty Alps. Even if you route included the Schwartwald, you would barely notice the difference from all of it's sister ranges.

B32 is nowhere near the Black Forest. You might be able to some of the peaks in the distance from B27, but on this side of the mountains, you're on the Swabian plateau. What you see of the Black Forest will look like hills. To get a better vantage, you would have to see them from the upper Rhine plain, from the west looking east. And your route has you nowhere near here.

Although there are some interesting towns in the region of the Swabian plateau, I find this area is generally not particularly rewarding for scenic drives. Go for the Bodensee, but don't waste too much time driving further north through Baden-Württemberg. The payoff in scenery just isn't that good.

"do you have favorite towns to see along first stretch of the Romantic Road?" I haven't visited all the highlighted towns, but from what I've seen, I liked Dinkelsbühl the best, mainly because I haven't seen another town elsewhere in Germany. And, it has a fraction of the trinket shops and tour buses that cover Rothenburg odT. But overall, I like the Deutsche Fachwerk Straße, the Straße der Romanik ("Romanesque), Alpenstraße, Deutsche Weinstraße, Burgenstraße, Bergstraße, Siegfried/Nibelungen Straße and the Deutsche Alleenstraße much better.

"is there a better place to get to the Zugspitze? Is Garmisch the best?" It depends. There's only four ways to ascend the Zugspitze. Take the Zugspitzbahn from Garmisch, the gondola from Eibsee (the Zugspitzbahn makes a stop here), the gondola from Ehrwald, or hiking from Garmisch. Now, I think the last option is the best, but that probably isn't everyone's cup of tea. The other methods depend on where you're coming from and where you're going next.

Hi,

Near Stuttgart is a town well known in German cultural history, Marbach am Neckar. Otherwise, go and see Heidelberg, regardless of the touristy factor...so what.