Help with our itinerary

On an 18 day trip I would want to plan a day in the middle where i did not change location. And realistically I prefer at least two nights in each location and three is better, but this already seems to be busy trip so I assume you like that approach.

Day 1 - Paris to Bacharach (since you mentioned it) is about 5 hours on the train (Bahn.com) , with a bit of sightseeing (Rhine cruise to the Lorelei and take a local train back?) - Day 1 gone).

Day 2 - Bacharach to Nuremberg is about 4 hours on the train, with a bit of sightseeing in N - Day 2 gone.

Day 3 - Nuremberg to Munich is about an hour on the fast train, and you have most of a day of sightseeing - Day 3 gone.

Day 4 - Flight to Venice from Munich (Munich airport is significantly outside the city so you may want to plan for a hotel near airport if you book an early flight to V).

Obviously you can spend an extra day and night in any of these places so pick one after going through some guidebooks and RS videos (all available for free on Youtube).

Have a great time!

"We have around 5 days..." for "a general, fun taste of Germany - a quintessential German experience."

The Rhine is one of those place that Germans consider especially German. Me too. 5 days is about right for #1 - you aren't sure what else now, but a small amount of research will turn up lots to see and do - and a lot of it is "typisch Deutsch."

I like Bacharach - it probably has the nicest buildings on the Rhine - and it's OK for a short visit of 1-2 days. But there are other choices - one in particular that's much better for a longer stay... Boppard is one of the "more German" of the Rhine towns, in part because it's a mini-mecca of sorts for the locals who live, work and shop along the river. Boppard has a multitude of dining choices compared with Bacharach - and some of those enjoy a river front view (Bacharach has nothing at all on the waterfront.) Besides dining, day trip logistics are important if you want to see the area - and Boppard makes for a better base for day trips by train and by river boat. If you want to head to the Mosel region to visit Cochem or Burg Eltz (Rick Steves' favorite castle in Europe) Boppard makes the journey a good bit shorter than if you stay in Bacharach. But from Boppard you can still visit Bacharach very easily - and St. Goar (Rheinfels Castle) is on the way to Bacharach.

Map: click on the towns for information... http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/city-cities.php

The Boppard chairlift is another treat - again, it's about the views, and after a short walk from the very top (to Gedeonseck terrace) it's also about the beer:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198627-d3306006-Reviews-Sesselbahn_in_Boppard-Boppard_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/0b/6e/e8/37/restaurant-gedeonseck.jpg

Nice wine garden in Boppard: https://www.deutschlandgourmet.info/bilder/gross/5710-Restaurant-Weinhaus-Heilig-Grab-Boppard.jpg

The very best Rhine castle is in Braubach, just across the Rhine and north from Boppard; get there by train alone, or use the ferry crossing + a walk into Filsen + train to Braubach:

https://www.marksburg.de/en/

And the cherry on top is that all innkeepers in Boppard hand out VRM Guest Tickets - a travel pass that will cover most of your train outings in this area for free:

https://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets/tickets/ticket-offers/network-tickets/

Thank you so much for all the great information. I will definitely look into Boppard. So would this make sense?

June 18: leave Paris by train in the morning to Boppard
June 19: stay in Boppard (tour area)
June 20: stay in Boppard (tour area)
June 21: train or ferry to Oberwesel to stay in Burghotel Auf Schönburg (Castle hotel, and the reason we were looking at the region to start with)
June 22: train to Cologne, 7 pm flight to Venice (Cologne is cheaper than Frankfurt for the hopper flight)

Yes, that does make sense. You won't have time for everything, but you'll have some very good choices in front of you.

Auf Schönburg will cut into your sightseeing time to a degree because it's an experience in itself, and once there you will probably want to stay put. You will require a taxi ride to reach the castle - inquire with staff or mgmt. about that - and to return to the station for your 2+-hr. train ride to CGN KölnBonn Airport (that's the name of the train station to use with the DB site when you prepurchase your train ticket for June 18. Saver fares include at least one high-speed/long-distance train and are currently around €18 each that afternoon for the 3-train sequence that gets you to CGN.)

That said, FRA has an advantage for you; getting there is faster and easier - and more certain - when you travel to FRA from Oberwesel, which sends off DIRECT trains to FRA airport. The RE (regional express) is direct and gets you there in just 1 hour at €20. And because it's a regional train, that price at the station is the same and will remain the same (unlike the saver fare, which rises as tickets sell) so you do not have to pre-purchase this ticket. It is scheduled every 2 hours or so - sample departure times include 9:30, 11:30, 13:30, 15:30... Use this station name to find the train to FRA schedule at DB: Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Regionalbf

When I am headed to any airport in Europe, it's a strong priority to get to the airport easily and dependably at the time I want to get there - and from Oberwesel, this direct train option to FRA would be my choice. You can also find connecting train options to FRA at the DB site with saver fares (priced at €18 each) but I would avoid those. They always include long-distance IC/ICE trains (which are not as reliably on time as the regional trains tend to be) and you always have to change trains (so you must fuss with your bags, possibly in a rush - and must rely on additional trains for timeliness.)

On Google flights I am seeing three pm Lufthansa flight options priced at $74 for FRA - VCE vs Eurowings $62 for CGN - VCE. I haven't flown Eurowings but I think the ground transport time and other issues with reaching CGN - and my good experiences with Lufthansa - would encourage me to opt for FRA.

Once again, excellent advice! I have never tried Google flights before, but you are right, there’s not much price difference...Expedia’s price was $163. I think I might be closer to having a plan, so thank you!