Germany - France Itinerary

Cologne is worth more than one night. Perhaps you could balance cultural and food opportunities in Cologne with those in Munich, where we stayed 3 nights? Do you need two nights in both Bacharach and Cochem? Do you care about the Romantic Road towns?

There's nothing wrong with Strasbourg, but you've been to Colmar which is "prettier".

We prefer to stay 3 or 4 nights in one place, but you seem to have plenty of experience to "know" your moving-around preferences. Personally, we would never stay in this many places in three weeks, but the decision to travel primarily by train is entirely reasonable. Will you do the Black Forest another time?

Tim, thanks so much for your response. Ideally we prefer to stay 3-4 nights in one place, too. Of the destinations listed, could you suggest 1-2 to remove?

We do plan to return to Germany another time and visit the Romantic Road towns. Since we can fly directly from SFO-Frankfurt, we like the idea of sampling a little bit of Germany before going to France. Bacharach looks like a good town to get over the initial jet lag. I like your observation about Strasbourg. The reason I added Strasbourg was to break up the travel time from Cologne to Beaune.

Any other recommendations for getting from Germany to France?

Note my correction "Cologne" for the second "Munich" in my second sentence. I know so few of your destinations that I am reluctant to suggest specific cuts.

I would observe that Cologne is exceptionally well-connected to Brussels, although I prefer to stay in Antwerp, from where it is easy to get to Lille, France (once called "Little Paris".) I have Louvre-Lens on my future list, We enjoyed three nights in Besancon, but we had a car, to follow the trail of Courbet. I'm not crazy about driving, but you might consider this for part of the trip. You'd want to return in the same country for the best price.

Another approach might be to fly to Cologne from Frankfurt (arrival morning connection, say on Lufthansa, booked integrally can be almost free on United ) and go from Cochem to Trier, and then to France. Do Not consider boating upstream on the Rhine. Alternatively you could go to the Black Forest and then, I'm sorry I missed the Le Corbusier chapel in Ronchamp. You could also exit Germany through Weil am Rhine (Vitra Design Museum) and the Basel museums. Except for Lille, I can't vouch for the train connections - see Rick's boilerplate Euro train map on the main part of this site.

Consider Restaurant Pic in Valence. I think she is opening a place in New York City in the next year. No other reason to visit Valence, I think. I think you've been to Alsace, but L'Auberge de L'ill was one of our most memorable meals.

Thanks, Tim. I like your idea of starting in Cologne. I noticed that there is a 1 hour train from Frankfurt airport to Cologne which might be easier than changing planes! I'm also considering going from Cochem down to Baden-Baden or Freiburg to enter France.

If you want to consolidate, maybe choose between Alsace and Burgundy and spend 3 nights in whichever you choose instead of 2

PS Why not fly into Munich and home from Marseilles? Flying will take up most of the day.

Thanks, Adam for your suggestions. We are thinking about dropping Strasbourg since we have already been to Colmar, but are concerned about the long train ride from Cologne to Beaune. Your idea of flying into Munich is a good one, although then we would loose Bacharach, Cochem and Cologne. Do you have any recommendations of places to visit for 3 nights in Germany on our way from Munich to Beunne? We are traveling by train.

"I like your idea of starting in Cologne. I noticed that there is a 1 hour train from Frankfurt airport to Cologne which might be easier than changing planes!"

Absolutely right - take the train instead.

"Ideally we prefer to stay 3-4 nights in one place, too."

Neither Cochem nor Bacharach works well as a single base town for the Rhine and Mosel. After your 1 night in Cologne, what you might do to achieve a 4 night stay in ONE place is take the train to Boppard, a lovely town with a nice old town and riverfront that's more centrally located for train travelers. It has lots of accommodations and dining choices.

View of Boppard
Boppard's riverfront
Boppard, market square cafes
Popular Boppard eatery
Half-timbered buildings in the old town
Ohm Patt, popular B&B
Outside the Ohm Patt
Gedeonseck terrace, near top of Boppard's chairlift

You can do day trips easily from Boppard to Cochem (1 hour) or to the Rhine towns (St. Goar, 10 min.; Oberwesel, 15 min.; Bacharach, 20 min. When you do your cruise, take the train to Bingen and cruise back north to Boppard (2.3 hours) and you will have seen the best of the river.

If you stick with your 2-town idea, be very careful about location in Bacharach - lots of complaints about train noise there because some places have locations like THIS.

Day passes while on the Rhine/Mosel include the 1-day Rheinland-Pfalz ticket, the 1-day VRM mini-group ticket, and the 3-day VRM mini-group ticket (which offers 3 days for the price of 2.) These passes cover trains, buses, and some ferries. They also give you a 20% discount on KD cruise fares.

VRM ticket offers

If traveling from Munich to Beaune, I would go ahead and make the trip all in one day, to reduce your different hotels and avoid duplicating Alsace. For two morning departures, DB train schedules suggests a bus to Zurich, then train Dijon, and one more connection there; total travel time 7 hours. For me, that travel day is not a hardship.

I think the key is to decide which cities on your list are highest priority to visit and which are lowest.

Thanks everyone. Russ, your photos are great! This helps in refining my itinerary.

Christine,

I hope I'm not beating a dead horse, but flying into Munich does not lose Bachrach et cetera if you travel from Munich to the Rhine. You could take the train, at least as far as Frankfurt, or drive.

It's not a short trip but shorter than a flight from Nice to Munich, all things considered.

Of course there are many considerations and you know best.

The trip to Beaune from Cologne does look daunting, but flying into Munich would not make that any worse.

Good point, Adam. Thanks for your suggestion.