I will be in Leipzig for a conference and have 3 days to travel by car to Frankfurt. I was considering this itinerary: Day 1: Leipzig to Bamberg. Day 2: Bamberg to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Day 3 Rothenburg to Frankfurt. I would like to see some quaint, quintessentially German towns. I would appreciate any suggestions anyone might have.
Posted by
Southeast US
3857 posts
@ Lubitsch... What a helpful post! I really appreciate that you (and others) hang out here on the board, providing the invaluable service of broadening travelers' perspectives on Germany beyond that created by the Rick Steves media world.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you Lubitsch, for your thorough response. I will be traveling with two older companions and do not wish to exhaust them by filling the days with excessive stops. Which 2 of the many towns you mentioned would you suggested spending the night in?
Posted by
the Netherlands
2487 posts
I'm very much in favour of the suggestion of a route including Fulda and Marburg. This area has a lot to offer of essential Germany. From Fulda to Frankfurt you'll pass Wetzlar, with an impressive cathedral and a good collection of half-timbered houses. A few kilometres further on, following the river Lahn, you'll find Weilburg with a beautiful and interesting palace (Schloss). And another few kilometres is Limburg an der Lahn, with a 13th century cathedral (Dom) and the city centre full of half-timbered houses.
This whole region is very nice, with gentle hills, woods, small villages, some castles and whatever you're looking for in Germany.
Posted by
San Francisco
14521 posts
As suggested, go to Naumburg. Naumburg an der Saale is the city in Germany famous for its two different church towers. I was only there at the train station once in 1999 to change trains, have yet really to see the town.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7323 posts
Christy, you did not give a month or year. But Erfurt has a massive and attractive (paid admission) public garden called EGAPark, and there is a Landesgartenchau 2017 in Apolda. You did indeed get a great reply, which didn't mention the slightly out of the way, but unique, Quedlinburg. I have not been to Rothenburg ODT, but many people here say that it is not as desirable or unique as Rick's books make it sound.
I happen to have a professional interest in the Gotha baroque theater, which is of the magnitude of the two other remaining (i.e. unburned down, undemolished) original Baroque theaters, Cesky Krumlov and Drottningholm.
We have not gone on the trip yet, so this is uninformed, but I am pasting my tentative selection list around Frankfurt below. I recently read about a reconstructed replica/archaeological site Roman village, that sounds perhaps touristy but maybe educational.
FRA->Höchst->Idstein->Bad Camberg->Limburg?->Bad Homburg->Kronberg (we're sleeping in Kronberg ... )
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, Gross Umstadt, Worms?, Gotha baroque theater.
Frankfurt: Römerberg, Dom (+Roman runins), Judengasse, Angewandte Kunst, Tram?
Frankfurt: Thu/Fri, Flower market Fri. Rheingau Wine Festival 30 Aug->8 Sept 11AM-11PM
I will say that I get the idea that Bad Homburg may be overrated. I don't know if the Felsenmeer is worth the drive.