Germany, Paris, Prague whirlwind trip in 11 days

A little harsh of a response but okay. When an American doesn't get to Europe very often they want to see as much as they can. The route we picked gives us a taste of different areas of Germany, Paris, and Prague. Not ideal, I know. The longest time on a train is 5 hours and the other times an hour or two. Being from the states that is nothing. Thank you for being direct with your thoughts but they didn't help with my question about which train pass or passes to buy.

Have you already purchased plane tickets round-trip to Berlin?
If you could could fly into Paris and home from Berlin that would save time and streamline your trip somewhat.

Unfortunately we did. It's a ticket we can't change either, we tried.

It's your trip and you can do whatever you want! i agree, no need for harsh responses.
I'll have to think about the German passes, but I can say right now that you do not need any type of transit pass in Paris.
Depending on your arrival airport, you can take the bus or RER to your hotel. The RER is also your way to Versaille. Have you booked a hotel in Paris? My personal thought is to find something close to St. Michel metro area. You then have access to the RER and many major attractions. You are walking distance to Notre Dame, river cruise, the Louvre. Luxembourg gardens, Ile de Cite and all of the fun of the Left Bank. You are also a straight shot on the metro to Gare d'Est where your train will leave to Stuggart.

There are many hotel choices in this area. You didn't ask for recommendations but the Henri Iv on Rue St. Jacques is a favorite of mine.

I would stay in hotel at airport when you arrive in Berlin and fly to Paris the next morning. Sightsee in Berlin at end of trip since you have to return there for plane. I would cut Prague and spend another day in Paris. Less really is more.

We booked an Air BnB in Paris, Le Marais area. Going to Versailles was an idea but not set in stone. There is a lot to see in Paris so we probably won't make it there. Since the train travels through Strasbourg to Stuttgart, it seemed like a great time to check out that town. Looking at train schedules, I wasn't sure if we needed to buy a separate ticket to stop in Strasbourg, or if the German rail pass would let us go from Paris to Strasbourg, then continue on to Stuttgart.
I was previously not very clear about what kind of travelers we are. Our travel ideal would be walking around towns, eating and drinking local food/wine/beer, meeting local people, and viewing the architecture especially with churches and castles. We will want to see a few of the big tourist things in certain places but getting caught up in tourist traps is not our thing. Traveling by train is also part of the adventure for us because we don't have that here. We want the flexibility to be able to jump off trains in smaller towns and check them out as we see fit along the way if that makes sense.

that sounds like a great trip! We will be hitting some of those cities in Oktober!
Going from Berlin to Dresden is maybe 2 to 2.5 hrs...Go from Berlin to Dresden, then on to Prague (2 hrs from Dresden by train).
You can then head to Rothenburg ODT from Prague, on to Stuttgart, etc and then on to Paris.

Since doing research for our trip, I realized I knew NOTHING about Berlin - it is an international city with all kinds of cultural activities, food, museums, history (especially if you are interested in WWII). I only knew about "checkpoint charlie" , The Berlin Wall, etc.
There is oh so much more....check out Charlottenburg Palace, Tiergarten, Dom, Museum Island and more! Your Eurail Pass should give you free S bahn rides too.

Let me know how it goes! Have a grand time!
Arlette

Marais is an excellent area for your location and what you indicated you enjoyed. You might want to look at Paris Walks website. They have two walking tours of the Marais and both are excellent. No need to book their walks ahead of time, you just show up.

Hi, Lynn. Baxter22 is correct. It is your trip, and you can do whatever you want. I'm concerned, though, that you are not going to have much time to do the things you mentioned in the post where you defined your travel style. IMHO, you also cheat some of the places your are planning to see (e.g., Berlin, Paris, Munich, Prague). I would encourage you to narrow your focus to Germany (bases of Berlin-Stuttgart-Nuremberg? + some day trips), but if your are set on the present course, I would suggest:

-Skip Versailles and enjoy Paris itself -- you could easily fill a month there and you have 1.5 days.

-Stuttgart itself is an overlooked city in Germany and has a lot to offer. For some very interesting modern architecture, look up the city library on Google images. Esslingen is a gorgeous medieval town full of Fachwerkhäuser (half-timbered houses) that is a 10-minute train ride from the Stuttgart main train station (instead of 2.5 hours each way to Rothenburg ob der Tauber); it's town center was located far from it's industrial center, so the town center was spared Allied bombs during WWII. It also has a very interesting library, by the way, that is located in a gorgeous old (old, old!) building. Ludwigsburg is also a 10-minute train ride from Stuttgart main train station and has a lovely Baroque palace with gardens (a nice alternative to Versailles if you would like to see a palace).

-I think it's hard to get much out of Munich in a few hours of walking around it. The old town was basically rebuilt from rubble. So, you're just looking at rebuilt stuff designed to make it look old. To me, history is what makes Munich interesting, and you don't have time for that. I would skip it and head on to Nuremberg. It has a great fortress to satisfy a little castle-lust and a wonderful old town. I I haven't been to Bamberg but hear great things! Cut Prague and you have time for a full-day day trip to Munich.

I have no idea how to advise you about train passes. My travel style is to stay 3-10 days at each "base," so it's always cheaper for me to buy point-to-point tickets.

Good luck with your planning. I hope you have a very pleasant trip!

The truth is sometimes hard , you would do well to heed the counsel Lubitsch provides , it is absolutely on the mark .

Hi,

You don't have much time for this trip. I would focus on Berlin, (plus Potsdam) Munich and Dresden. Between Berlin and Munich skip Stuttgart and Nürnberg, take the night train to squeeze another day. Forget the Rhine area this time.

You definitely can do a trip in 11 days, if you drop a few places. Concentrate on just traveling in Germany. As a pass user, I would not recommend one for you since your travel time is too short, if you had close to 30 days, then yes on the Pass.

I’m assuming you want to go to Stuttgart to visit your friend...

As usual Lubitsch is a little bit offensive but nevertheless he hits the nail on the head. Assuming Lubitsch is German he is very direct
(as the average German is), but he tells you the truth and nothing but the truth.

This does not seem like a viable itinerary. At all. Heed the German posters, they're right.
Berlin in 2 days (and with jet lag)? You're really going to miss out. I would cut your cities down (brutal cuts, not minor ones). Throwing France into the mix is too much.

In many parts of the US you have to travel 500 miles or so to see something interesting wheras in Germany (and in most parts of Europe) there is something interesting around every corner.

I haven't read all of your replies; so I apologize if this is repetitive.

Is there some reason why you don't want to get a France/Germany pass to include the trip from Paris to Stuttgart?

A Saver (2 or more people traveling together) Select Pass for France and Germany might work - if you plan on riding in first class. A lot of people believe that 2nd class is just as good as first class - but you will be spending a lot of time on trains and I would try to eke out every bit of extra comfort possible.

Also - you will probably want high speed trains, which require advance reservations at additional costs. Whether or not a rail pass is right for you is a close call - but the necessary reservations for high speed trains obviate much of the flexibility.

I would go for point to point tickets. I like to use https://loco2.com to buy train tickets.

Train from Nuremberg to Prague arrive around 2pm

There are no direct trains from Nürnberg to Prague. There is a DB bus which covers the distance in 3:30; book your ticket well in advance since prices may go up as your travel date approaches. If you want to travel by train you would take a regional train to Cheb (just over the Czech border) and transfer there to a long distance train. For my taste, landscapewise the train ride is much nicer but it takes at least one hour longer. You can find cheap tickets in the E-Shop of the Czech rail (never buy train tickets to Czechia from the DB web site!).

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to give me your perspectives and ideas on places to see or which train/bus possibly to take.
This isn't my first time to Germany or Paris, but it will be a first for my girlfriend. I learned the first time I was in Germany how much you can see in a small area. Each time I have been there, I have been fortunate to stay with local people who have driven me around. This time it will be different because our travels will only be by train, either reginal or bullet, with the exception in Stuttgart, where my friend will drive us to places around there. Deciding on which German rail pass will be a new experience for me but I'll manage. We will review our itinerary again with suggestions from the above posts.
Thank you again.

To make the most of your time and money, I would suggest cutting Paris. You can't really see Paris in such a short time and I would hate to see you waste precious time dealing with airports and all the hassles of flying. You need more time in Prague. I recently went to Prague in 2014 and it is amazing. We flew into Frankfort and took the train to Munich, then took a German bus to Prague. Neither German or Austrian trains operate in the Czech Republic. So, make sure you can take a train from Prague back to Berlin (flying might be a better option). We took a Czech train from Prague to Austria and it was an adventure (not a good one). Train Conductor spoke no English.

In 2016 I took the Czech CD train from Wien Hbf to Brno as a day trip, r/t, going on the Slavkov/Austerlitz...very nice, good speed, modern with regard to the "tech" stuff. I hadn't taken a Czech train since 2001. Repeated this day trip in 2017 with more time. No reservations needed. Maybe they were not possible, I didn't ask.