Germany road trip: Stuttgart to Munich to Frankfurt Need suggestions

Since you will be driving, here is a suggestion since I lived in Aschaffenburg and Wurzburg. First, take the train to Aschaffenburg, stay a night there and rent the car the next day. Not a good idea to drive right after an overnight flight -- especially if you are not familiar with the road system around Frankfurt. In Aschaffenburg there is a lovely castle named Johannesburg (sp?). There is also Pompeiigean (sp?) which is a replica a villa in Pompeii. If you drive the old road (not the autobahn) between A'burg and W'burg, just south of Haibach which is just south of A'burg is the village of Messpelbrun. It has a fairy tale moated castle that has been in the same family for 5-600 years. In W'burg visit the Prince Bishop's Residence. Be sure to see the Hofkirche on one end of the Residenze. Easy to miss if you are not looking for it. The Marienberg Fortress is ok but if time is tight skip it. The view of it from the town is more impressive that the view of the town from the fortress. From W'burg it is a short drive from Rothenburg, Milltenberg (sp?), Heidelberg, and then on to Munich. You should be able to google all of these and see what you think.

We’re actually coming from Amsterdam in the train and before we leave thought we’d spend a day or 2 in Frankfurt. We fly home to nyc from Frankfurt so could spend time on that end instead.

We’re driving to Stuttgart to visit the Porsche factory and museum and want to spend 7-10 days on trip. So what would you recommend based on all that?

Thanks!

Get an early start in Frankfurt and head to Aschaffenburg (only 50 or so miles) for part of the day, then take the old road to Mespelbrunn, then on to Miltenberg (very pretty old town) and stay overnight in Heidelberg. Then on to Stuttgart and then on to Munich. Did very similar trip from Aschaffenburg. Time in each place depends on your interest. Hope this gives you a jumping off point to start that leg of your trip. You might want to drop the car in Munich and take the fast train back to Frankfurt.

Sorry, don't waste any time in Frankfurt. It you want to see the Romantic Road, head to Wurzburg than on the road down to Munich.
http://www.romanticroadgermany.com

You can return to visit Stuttgart if you want to see the Porsche and Mercedes factories.

There is plenty to see in Frankfurt am Main, and lovely half timbered (Fachwerk) villages and towns all around it. Have a look at Braunfels, Idstein, and Büdingen among many.

Below is a paste of the places we considered or went to from Frankfurt suburbs last fall. Note that we stayed outside the city (end of the line of an S-Bahn specifically to make car touring easy, and took the S-Bahn for our one day in Frankfurt proper. I would add that you need to consider just how far you are willing to go for a daytrip. All I mean is that Germany is a huge country, and you CANNOT see the entire place from Frankfurt. If you are using trains (which is fine), you need to use different criteria than I did. We typically saw three small towns a day, with a high point like a garden show or major museum that took more time.

FRA->Höchst->Idstein->Bad Camberg->Limburg?->Bad Homburg->hotel

[luxury hotel]Schlosshotel Kronberg Hainstrasse 25 Kronberg ,DE 49-6173-70101 (S4 S-Bahn
:08/:38 inbd,:25/:55 outbd@Hauptwache )

Lorsch, Felsenmeer Lautertal,Michelstadt, Miltenberg, Aschaffenberg, Steinheim,
Gartenschau Kaiserslautern (somewhere else in future years), Gross Umstadt, Worms, Gotha baroque theater (TOO FAR).
Römerberg, Dom (+Roman ruins), Judengasse, Angewandte Kunst, Palmengarten, Stadel Museum, , Flower market Fri. Rheingau (Franfurt streets) Wine Fest. (end of August) 11AM-11PM

Time spent in Frankfurt is not wasted time. Anyone who says that knows nothing about this city.
There is so much to see and do here, chock full of historical sites, medieval churches, beautiful neighborhoods with half-timbered buildings, some of the best Farmers Markets around and dozens of museums.

We're actually planning to drive from Stuttgart to Fussen and then work our way back up to Frankfurt along the Romantic Road, ending up in Frankfurt. Plans changed a bit. Flying from Amsterdam to Stuttgart to visit the Porsche factory and then taking it from there. Probably hope to spend 12 days exploring.

Thanks for all the help!

Sorry, I have spend time in Frankfurt. The city was bombed into rubble in WWII and the interesting sites nearby are interesting, but pale compared to what is in Bavaria or the Black Forrest.

If you call up things to do in Frankfurt on tripadvisor, all the things to do are miles away from the city
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187337-Activities-Frankfurt_Hesse.html

You fans of Frankfurt, how about posting something that compares to the Romantic Road, or the Castles in Bavaria, Oberamergau's Passion Play site or Salzburg, Austria and Berchtesgaden.

I think what you mean is that, although the northern terminus of the Romantic Road Coach is in Frankfurt (probably to accommodate those who fly into FRA), the actual Romantic Road starts or ends in Würzburg.

geogagriffith. Please, the next time you are in Frankfurt let me know. I would love to show you the many things I think you are missing.

As to the myth that the entire city of Frankfurt was bombed into rubble? It just isn't true. Only the inner city was bombed with phosphor bombs, leaving many of the stone buildings intact. The wooden buildings burned down. Have you never been to Höchst which is on the Half-timbered route, seen the Justinus church built in 850? Most of Sachsenhausen, Bornheim, Nordend, Westend, Sechbach, Bergen Enkheim, Fechenheim, Heddernheim, and Alt Griesheim all survived the war with very little damage at all. You will find many buildings from the middle 1800's to 1900, as well as quite a few from the 1600-1700's.

I just looked at that Trip Advisor link you posted and all of those places are in Frankfurt itself, so no idea what you are talking about that everything is miles away.

My son and I are planning a trip to Germany to trace our roots. US naturalization papers show that my G-Grandfather was born in Wirtzburg and his wife was born in Alderberg both in Bavaria. They immigrated to NY in 1884. I suspect that Wirtzburg is now Wurzburg and Alderberg is now Adelberg (near Stuttgart) but I’m unsure. Can anyone help me with this clarification before my son and I make the trip in a couple of weeks?

Thank you,