Recommendations for a first time traveler to Germany

How many days not including travel days will you and your wife be in Germany?

Sounds as if you could teach us a thing or two about visiting Germany.

I like going south on the Rhine River from Cologne. We've stayed in Bacharach a number of times over the years.

I do like to visit Munich for all the fine museums and palaces--in and outside the city. And we love the beer halls--other than Hofbrauhaus. I also like to visit Salzburg and spend the afternoon at Augustiner brewery's garden.

I'm not so big on Berlin. It's an important city, but it's not a very German city after being rebuilt. We found a bunch of deli food, fast food restaurants and Vietnamese restaurants. The museums there are an embarrassment--versus those of Amsterdam and Paris.

We did really enjoy Dresden and the incredible muesums they had there. And the big square there has all kinds of German restaurants. It's just 2 hrs.out of Berlin.

I'm more attuned to visiting the mountains south of Munich--and Tirol in Austria.

Continental.
We will be flying in and out of Frankfurt. We will be in Germany for 24 days. Yes, I can find my way around. There are some things that will need to stay off limits.
David, I hear you about Berlin. I have spent enough time there that I can engage in it. I think she will love my child's view of the city. My recollection is mostly from the 60's when I was very young. I have only been there 4 times since then and only once since the wall came down. The surrounding areas are often overlooked.

Thank you for engaging. I'm excited to learn ideas from other perspectives and experiences. I need to see some of these places through someone else's eyes.

Would she be interested in any of the medieval towns, like Marburg, Limburg, Büdingen, Michelstadt, Miltenburg, etc and some of the festivals that they have there? I think there are a lot of pretty towns up in the Taunus, like Kronberg, Oberursel, Bad Homburg, or thinks like the Roman fort, Saalburg, or the open air museum that is Hessen Park, or the Celtic settlement in Glauberg?

When you say Lieblos, do you mean the small town between Gelnhausen and Büdingen? Have only ever seen it from the train.

I actually do like Berlin a lot, but also enjoy Potsdam. Munich not so much, but I enjoy Regensburg, or Garmisch and that area around it.

If you're in Munich, I'd suggest going on to magical Salzburg and scenic Berchtesgaden.
And of course, the middle Rhine area.
I'll attach my 2022 Trip Report and perhaps you'll find something useful.
Have a great trip!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/san-diego-to-munich-just-getting-there-part-1

I recommend Berlin, Munich, and the Bavarian Alps. In Munich you can take a direct 2h train to Salzburg for the day.

What we learned living in Germany was that no American would think that someone from New York would have the same outlook as someone from Virginia, but they seem to think all of Germany is similar. As you must know, that is simply not true... Every area has its own traditions and food and preferred beer/wine. We lived in Franconia near Nuremberg, which is, as they are happy to tell you, NOT really Bavarian. Starting in Frankfort I think beginning with the ":Romantic Rhine" might be a good introduction for a few days of jet-lag tourism on a Rhine Cruise (I like Bacharach, although I understand some people's preference for St. Goar). If you like Rhine wine there are a significant number of younger vintners bringing acreage back into new cultivation for more modern wines. Then on south to Augsburg and Nordlingen (which I prefer to Rothenburg). Rothenburg has a great church and wooden altarpiece, but Nordlingen has a complete wall too and church made out of meteorite breccia. Then on to the more usual sites - Linderhof instead of Neuschwannstein - Munich which has spectacular Museums and art, Nuremberg for the Germanisches Historisches Museum and the Trials courtroom, and then north to Berlin, Potsdam and the "new" dynamics in the old eastern zone.

https://museums.nuernberg.de/nuremberg-municipal-museums/

I hope your wife likes beer and Riesling. Have fun.

Dont now what time of year you re going guess summer.

You said you like little places like Ulm
Then Regensburg also might be an option for a few night with day trips to Riedenburg and the Altmühlriver Valley and its castles, the Danube Gorge to Weltenburg Abbey and Kehlheims Historic Center and Liberation Hall on Top of a Hill with views.
or Passau 1 hr down the Danube river Dont forget a river cruise on Altmühl and/or Danube river

Kelheim is 25 km from Regensburg upstream and Riedenburg another 15km from Kelheim up the Altmühl

Passau ca 120km downstream from Regensburg

Regensburg itself a UNESCO World Heritage site

Here some links

Riedenburg

Weltenburg Abbey

Kelheim

Passau

Regensburg

Video about Riedenburg

Video about Kelheim

Video Boattrip Kelheim Weltenburg Abbey

Video Passau

Harz Mountains, North Sea Coast, Hamburg, the places you lived as a child, Berlin (despite the snobby advice from one poster to avoid it). I’ve been to every location I recommended (other than where you lived) and enjoyed all of it. I lived in Germany for 13 years and have nothing but warm memories….if you have the same you’ll know where to go.

Thank you all for such great information. It is very helpful. I am seeing quite a few places that I had on my list that are showing up here and some I had not considered. That will help me to drill in a bit more as I try to string an itinerary together.
Salzburg is a logical stop from Munich, but we have been there together and had a blast. We stayed for 4 nights in Vienna, rented a car and drove a Northern route from there to Salzburg (with many stops along the way). We stayed in Salzburg one night (about long enough) and the returned to Vienna via a more Southern route. A stay in Leoben for the Gosser brewery tour was a highlight. We stayed several more days in Vienna before returning home. For business I was visiting Salzburg at least twice a year beginning in 2008. A tip for anyone visiting. Look at staying in the nearby communities to enjoy a more local experience. I often stayed in Grodig. Use public transportation to and from Salzburg. It's a quick cab ride from there to the airport. There is a nice tram you can take right in the middle of the "town". There are a few very nice places to dine and guess what, a Mozart Kugel factory outlet so that you load up at bargain prices.... https://schoko.at/de And, if you are into local schnaps.......

Yes, the Lieblos near Gelnhausen. It's lost now to my blend of Hoch Deutch and Berlinerisms, but there was time when I spoke that local plat. I can't begin to understand how anymore. It's such a challenge. But as anyone who has travelled knows, drive 50 miles and you will run into another language that is equally challenging.

We do like beer and wine. We will need to spend a bit of time near the Rhine or the Mossel...TBD. I do think I owe her a peek at the church in Koln so that might determine our agenda somewhat. I am not a good one for boat cruises so a quick cruise w/o overnight will be about the extent.

I did mention that we are going in August. It is not the time I would prefer, but it is what we can schedule. As I had mentioned, we will visit the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen so by default we will be close to many of the interesting areas in that region. The VW show factory in Dresden is pretty cool if you haven't been, but in and of itself, Dresden is not one of my favorite places to visit.

And, yes, Potsdam is a very wonderful add to any Berlin visit. I have always enjoyed going there.

Since you mentioned beer and wine...

Get to Bamberg if you can. Franconian food, wine and their very unique smoked beer. Bamberg is also a small and beautiful medieval city.

" I have German planted in my brain." Fantastic ! With such a command of the language, I heartily recommend visiting the salient cultural and historical sites in North Germany and further into eastern Germany . I didn't begin studying the language until 18 as a freshman in college. Immersion only reinforces what has been acquired. How much time do you have ? Are you only bent on regional travel or it's " egal. ?"

If time is not really a pressing issue, I suggest Munich, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Berlin (with Potsdam) . How about other small places in Brandenburg? Neustrelitz, Rheinsberg,

Other interesting places to choose from: Bad Godesberg, Weimar, Lüneburg, Leipzig, Meissen,

I can't say enough about the north--and if you are from Hamburg, we of course only mean north of the Elbe, but in broader terms I could be convinced to include Niedersachsen in that . . . .

Seriously, the Harz--Wernigerode or Quedlinburg are high on the list.

Also, the towns of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Wismar, Stralsund, Greifswald . . . .

In Schleswig Holstein I would put Lübeck, Schleswig, St. Peter-Ording, Glückstadt on your list.

And in northern Niedersachsen, you can use a town like Aurich to explore hidden gems like Greetsiel. Or you could try Stade or Lüneburg.

Bremen is a great city. Beautiful and interesting.

And the star attraction of any trip to Germany would obviously be Hamburg. My biases are of course minimal.

Again, thanks for all of the ideas. Looking over these suggestions it occurs to me that I have never been to Hamburg or Bremen. My work in the electronics industry never took me to those places. Hearing them recommended makes me a bit curious.

I'm late to the party (finishing up a trip in Austria), but count me among those who adore Berlin. I'm up to 54 nights there since 2015. A favorite spot for me i the former Tempelhof Airport (Berin Airlift, Nazi history, aviation). WWII history. Cold War history. International food (I tire of German food pretty quickly). It's awesome.

A great stop between Berlin and Munich are Leipzig and/or Erfurt (the latter of which I found gorgeous for its half-timberred houses + Domplatz AND Willy Brandt visited here back in the GDR days and was met by throngs of cheering East Germans, much to the embarrassment of the DDR).

Have not made it to the Harz Mountains yet but have a 7+ day trip there sitting on my hard drive for implementation in the near future.

I liked Bremen quite a bit.

The Rhine and Mosel valleys are great. Rhein in Flammen dates for 2024: https://www.rhein-in-flammen.com/

Bavaria of course is gorgeous. Five days hiking around Berchtesgaden was not enough.