Lower Rhineland drive

I think it really depends on what you want to see.

We really enjoyed Worms. The cathedral there is fascinating. There is a lot of Luther history there as well. I am not normally one to go wandering around a cemetery, but the Jewish cemetery there was really interesting. Very old graves and we were there in December and the moss on the graves was very bright green and the trees had lost their leaves so it looked really eerie. It was fascinating to know that it wasn't touched by World War II. I wish we would have had more time to do the Nibelung Museum.

Heidelberg has a different feel to it. It is very touristy and is a university town. I spent 4 weeks here during a summer exchange program. The old town is worth walking through. Parking is kind of a pain. The road to the castle was closed so that is the one thing I still want to do there lol.

Since you will be in Baden-Baden and have a car - I am going to recommend Soufflenheim in France, it is right over the border and is known for their pottery. It is a super cute little town too. Full of half timbered houses. If you google Alsace Pottery you can see some pics of it.

The Lower Rhine (Niederrhein) lies well to the north beyond Bonn. The area you are referring to is the Upper Rhine (Oberrhein) which lies roughly between Mainz and Basel. See the colored Rhine map segments below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Rhine#/media/File:Rhein-Karte2.png

Here are some suggestions for truly lovely towns "between" Baden-Baden and FRA airport - the place you will be "on your way back" to, if I am guessing correctly. Heidelberg (on the Neckar River) will be near the northern end of this drive down the Neckar Valley route.

• Besigheim (wine town NE of Baden-Baden, just north of Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg)
• Bad Wimpfen
• Gundelsheim, mainly for Burg Guttenberg castle + falconry show
• Heidelberg
• Ladenburg

From there, continue north along the "Bergstrasse" or Mountain Road through the wine towns there, which include lovely Heppenheim.

Speyer is also worthwhile... lots of Jewish history there, an impressive cathedral, the Technik-Museum, if such things tug at your sleeve.

but RS seems to think it's not worth the visit (!!)

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! (RS)

My knowledge of Germany is far inferior to Russ', but I'd point out that Lorsch has a UNESCO WHS, although it is not IMHO a must-see. But it's a pretty little town. You might find something relevant in the paragraphs of this Trip Report that begin "Day 2".

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/baltic-germany-fachwerke-landesgartenschau

Of course Heidelberg is worth it. Keep in mind Rick probably wrote this statement 40+ years ago when it was a military headquarters and there were military bases all around this part of Germany. So, the town was full of American military families. They are not there anymore. He really should come visit again. He said the same thing about Mainz, but have no idea why. The city is chock full of historic sites, including one of the more impressive, ancient cathedrals in Germany.

Yes to both Worms and Speyer. Both have beautiful old cathedrals (very similar to Mainz and same ages) and both have a very old Jewish heritage with interesting sites to match. They, along with Mainz are the 3 SCHUM cities.

Rick Steves has for many years given short shrift to places that had significant postings of American armed forces after the Second World War and during the Cold War. Why? Dunno.

But Heidelberg and Frankfurt are two that get that treatment. I love Frankfurt and its surrounding area - going there again in a few days. And have made several trips to Heidelberg and its surrounding areas over the years. Some pretty decent stuff there.

I go shopping most years at a shopping centre on the outskirts of Baden Baden but have only stayed there twice. A different experience, and I am not talking about the spas there. (We visit spas - Thermen - on every trip, all around the country and have developed our favs, Baden Baden is too expensive for our preference, but good fun).

Speyer is really nice, the unique cathedral is one we like a lot as well as the atmosphere of the city and its Technik Museum. If you like Jewish history Speyer is full of it.

Will you be there in Spargel season? May for white asparagus (and a little green). On every menu in more ways than you can imagine. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Comes from the fields all around. Worth the trip on its own. Then a month later the roadside stands switch to selling local strawberries.... Then later still it is local cherries..... it is a good part of the world.

Northeast of Heidelberg is the Odenwald, a beautiful forested area.

I don’t know if Heidelberg being an army HQ negatively affected Rick’s opinion. When I visited there were plenty of soldiers around - it was a Saturday - but they in no way affected my visit. Heidelberg is very nice with the ruined castle overlooking the riverside town. As mentioned by others, the Odenwald is nice as is Bad Wimpfen

So I shared the Technik museum and Speyer with my husband, who is very into the history of technology, and he is SO PSYCHED to see this place! In addition, I'm Jewish and have a lot of my own family history in the same general area (Rust). So I guess Speyer it is -- and it should be very interesting for sure. I'll do a little more investigating. Thanks so much!!

BTW, we are in Baden Baden for three nights, picking up a car there after exploring Baden Baden itself on the first afternoon. Our plan is to go north, as described, on our first day. Then we'll spend the second day exploring some Black Forest spots that are south and east of Baden Baden. From there we're headed to Fussen via Lake Constance (making it a longish day trip). We have two nights in Fussen before turning in our car in Munich and continuing our journey by train.