Frankfurt November 25-Dec 1

Absolutely get out of Frankfurt. Frankfurt locals will kill me for saying this, but even as a German with no distance to speak of to get there, I would never consider spending a week's vacation there.

Here are some towns within easy reach of Frankfurt that you may want to check out: Heidelberg, Speyer, Würzburg... On a first-time visit to Germany you will probably want to see standards like Rothenburg ob der Tauber (which is overtouristy for my taste) or the Rhine Valley.

There are a number of castles within that list of places to choose from. Don't try to fit everything into one week.

You can do a lot of that by train, but if you want to see small towns, you'll probably have to rent a car. Consider following a section of one of the theme routes for picturesque towns, like the Bergstraße or the Wine Route, depending on which region you want to focus on. Be aware though that using scenic roads through small towns is going to take you a lot longer. If you need to get somewhere fast, this is usually not the way to go.

With "Christmas festival" I assume you mean the Christmas markets? Not sure what there would be to navigate about that... you just go there and enjoy yourselves. :-)

Frankfurt is another big city like Chicago is another big city. Just because a city has skyscrapers does not mean it has nothing else.

Yes, Anna, am going to disagree with you, but then again the folks on this forum are used to me shouting out the praises of this city. Frankfurt has a 2500 year history and has played a much more important part on the German history stage than many of the other Germany cities. It just wasn't important to the Nazis as it was a liberal city and home to many wealthy Jewish bankers. Thus, Hitler hated Frankfurt and came here as seldom as possible and the Nazis built none of their well known style of architecture here. So, if you are looking for WW2 sites, there aren't any of those here except for Memorials to those killed.

If you want a city that is full of historical sites, medieval churches, great farmers markets, dozens of museums as well as being just about the best train hub in Germany for visiting small villages and other cities, then yes, Frankfurt IS the best place to spend a week.

Other nearby towns you might want to visit that are less than an hour by train: Mainz, Marburg, Limburg, Büdingen, Seligenstadt, Eltville, Gelnhausen, Wiesbaden, Bad Homburg, Kronberg, or even Heidelberg. A bit farther away, but still less than 2 hours, would be Speyer, Worms, Würzburg, Michelstadt, or Fulda.

Towns with early Christmas markets would be Rüdesheim - 21 Nov. / Mainz - 28 Nov. / Fulda - 25 Nov. / Frankfurt - 25 Nov. / Wiesbaden - 26 Nov. / Marburg & Limburg - 29 Nov. / Michelstadt - 29 Nov. / Heidelberg - 25 Nov. / Speyer - 24 Nov. 7

Would love to show Anna around some time, if she comes for a visit.

Thanks for the offer, I'll consider it! :-)

Joking aside, I have in fact at least been on a guided city walk in Frankfurt just last year. And I am always for promoting the less standard destinations in Germany and have done so many times for Northern German destinations, so we may not actually disagree as much as you think. Yet, even as a German resident if I had to choose a place to spend a one week's vacation, it would certainly not be Frankfurt. (It wouldn't be Neuschwanstein or Rothenburg either, but that's a different matter. ;-) )

Anyway, it seems that we have some first-time visitors to Germany here who have only one week to spend, and, Lokalpatriotismus aside, I think we can also agree that for them, Frankfurt probably isn't where they would want to spend that week, unless, as you suggest, to use as a hub.

I wish this website had a "like" button. I would "like" Anna's posts.

Thanks! * blush *

(Don't disregard Ms. Jo's advice though. She's a Frankfurt local after all, which I am not.)

We like small towns over big cities and would love to see a castle or
two if possible. We will be in Frankfurt for the first two days of the
Christmas festival...

Frankfurt's tourism department promotes its Christmas market with this photo:

https://www.frankfurt-tourismus.de/extension/portal-frankfurt/var/storage/images/media/bibliothek/headerbilder/header-weihnachtsmarkt-mit-skyline-winter/221751-2-ger-DE/Header-Weihnachtsmarkt-mit-Skyline-Winter.jpg

So with your stated preference for small towns, it makes good sense to get out and to move on to somewhere else after those first 2 days in Frankfurt.

...advice of what to do and where to go to make the most of our time
there but not be go go go too the extreme.

You do not have to travel very far to get to some nice smaller places in the scenic countryside. And since castles are on your list, I will second Anna's suggestion that you head to the nearby Upper Middle Rhine Valley. Use this map to find its location relative to FRA airport and Frankfurt. It's the zone in between Koblenz and Bingen that is most fetching. Boppard, St. Goar, Oberwesel, Bacharach, and Rüdesheim are the small old-world towns that draw the most visitors. You can get impressions of the region and these small towns at this webpage, which suggests a visit of 5 days.

Castles: Marksburg Castle in Braubach (near Lahnstein on the map) is open year-round and is a true must-see medieval castle. Braubach itself is small but very attractive. The entire stretch of the Rhine is lined with castles - some hotels, some in ruins, some in private hands. See this clickable map for information.

Now, in late November, when things tend to be very quiet, 5 days on the Rhine might well be overkill. But if your base town is well located - as it would be if you chose to stay in Boppard - you can do some day trips by train to the Mosel River towns of Trier and Cochem. Cochem's Reichsburg Castle will be open for tours for several hours per day. Besides the Roman stuff, Trier has an enjoyable Christmas Market that will be open during your stay.

Rüdesheim's Christmas market is very worthwhile - I'd try to stop in there one evening for sure.

Every town I have mentioned is well connected to the others and to FRA airport by train. If this area sounds interesting to you, check back in here for help with getting around. Boppard is not just a nice town and a good base town for outings, but also offers FREE local transportation to several nearby towns through the "guest tickets" it issues to all overnight guests - just one more reason to stay there.

It's sometimes very helpful to scan for upcoming events in the towns you are considering.
Here's one source for Frankfurt: https://www.frankfurt-tourismus.de/en/frankfurt/event
Unfortunately, only 77 events for the time you mentioned.