Need help on where to stay in Germany

Lubeck is far north kind of out of the way and I would daytrip to Munich or skip it.

At your level of information I recommend that you start with some orientation on Germany's official tourist website: http://www.germany.travel/en/index.html

You can filter the map by adding / removing interests.

Lindau by itself I would just do as an overnight. The whole Bodensee area can occupy several days if desired.

"I would like to see some castles as well"

The best concentration of castles in Germany and in all of Europe for that matter is found in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley (which lies roughly between the larger towns between Mainz and Koblenz.) It is easy to reach this area by high-speed train from Switzerland - or by car. Here are just a few of the castles - see also map link below.

Marksburg
Burg Rheinfels
Auf Schönburg Castle-hotel
Rheinstein
Reichenstein Castle-hotel
Burg Liebenstein Castle-hotel
Burg Stahleck Castle-hostel

Rhine Valley castle map + info

This part of the Rhine is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is dotted with not only castles but attractive old-world towns like Bacharach (home of Burg Stahleck,) Oberwesel (home of Auf Schönburg) and Braubach (home of Marksburg.) It's a good place for hiking and river cruising as well.

@Russ Thanks for the suggestion that sounds like an area I may like. How spread out is it? Or is it pretty consolidated. We would likely only be able to stay 2 nights. Is it as touristy as the Hohenschwangau castle (sleeping beauty castle) area or as touristy as the Rothenberg ob der area? Any of the castles you listed better than others? Thanks!

It's very compact. The Bingen-to-St. Goar cruise segment is only 18 miles, then it's about the same distance from St. Goar to Braubach for Marksburg Castle (the northernmost castle on my list and the most worthwhile IMHO for a tour - a never-destroyed medieval castle that has stood for close to a millenium.)

With just 2 nights, here's a doable outline: If you are arriving by train from Switzerland it will be later in the day; the last cruise leaves Bingen at around 16:30 - so cruising on that first afternoon would be smart. I'd book rooms in St. Goar, where your cruise boat arrives at about 18:00 and where you could walk the town and have dinner after checking into a nearby hotel (Rheinhotel St. Goar is just across the road from the dock and very nice w/ excellent breakfast - see this page for some very good anecdotal information about the hotel and St. Goar!)

On Day 2 you could visit Rheinfels Castle in the morning, have lunch, then cross the river by ferry (runs all day) to St. Goarshausen, where you catch the train to Braubach for Marksburg Castle (a 20-minute ride to Braubach.) The 13:00 and 16:00 tours are conducted in English. If you go on a German tour you can get a pamphlet in English to follow along. Return by train to St. Goar via Koblenz (change of train) and Boppard (which is a nice town to stop in north of St. Goar) OR return to St. Goar in reverse the same way you got to Braubach.

Here's a map that shows the St. Goarshausen - Braubach - Koblenz train route and stops on the east bank of the Rhine.

Day 3: After breakfast take the train to Bacharach (10 minutes) in the morning for a look around - 2-3 hours, lunch? Return to St. Goar for your bags (which you left at the front desk) then catch your train to wherever.

"Touristy?" There are plenty of visitors to both of these Rhine Castles in summer, for sure. But it's not the sort of insanity that surrounds the "Sleeping Beauty" castle (I believe you are referring to Neuschwanstein, which is located near the Hohenschwangau bus stop - but that's not the Hohenschwangau Castle.) Anyway... NEITHER of these Füssen area castles is a genuine castle - they are in fact more modern palaces. Neuschwanstein was built around the time Chicago got its first skyscrapers! So on the Rhine you will be stepping back through time across many centuries.

@Russ thank you so much for that schedule that sounds perfect! I think I will actually be coming up from Augsburg or Nuremburg instead of Switzerland but that still will work great! have you been to castles near fussen are these just as good and less touristy? Thanks

Been to them all - See note at end of my last post about differences.

German newspaper piece on Neuschwanstein:
https://www.dw.com/en/is-neuschwanstein-all-its-cracked-up-to-be/a-17887035

Hi,

You made some good choices on that list...Lübeck and Meissen, both of which are well worth your time, aside from Munich. The place to "avoid all together" is Rothenburg.

Of those listed, admittedly, I have not been to them all, only Rothenburg...once, Meissen, Lübeck (my first city in Germany after arriving in Travemünde), Munich.