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Rhine or Bavaria?

I will be in Germany on business (flying to and from Frankfurt) but will have a few days for sightseeing. I am planning to travel around by train. So far, I know that I will be staying in Freiburg for work for a few days and in Wuerzburg for work for at least a day or two. There will be a 3-day break, Sat-Mon, in between. I booked a B and B in Bacharach for the 3-day period and plan on taking a boat cruise on the Rhine, visiting some of the castles (Rheinfels, maybe Marksburg) and towns/villages along the river. I like hiking so I am tempted to also take the train to Moselkorn (about 2 hrs from Bacharach ) and hike to Burg Eltz. I am wondering what do you think regarding this itinerary and whether my time would be better spent visiting Bavaria instead (since I will have to go to Wuerzburg anyway).

So, to clarify: Frankfurt-Freiburg-???Rhine???-Wuerzburg-Frankfurt? Or would visiting Nuernberg and surrounding areas be better?

Ideally, I prefer lots of walking, wondering around old towns, and not too many tourists :) but I think the latter will be a tall order during a summer weekend.

Posted by
12040 posts

It's not really a hike up to Burg Eltz. More like an uphill walk. Doesn't take terribly long.

"Or would visiting Nuernberg and surrounding areas be better?" If hiking is an interest, do some research on Fränkische Schweiz (Franconian Switzerland). Roughly, the mountainous region north of Nürnberg between Bamberg and Bayreuth. Despite the name, I don't think it looks like Switzerland at all, but it's very scenic and filled with great hikes.

Posted by
7072 posts

On the Rhine: the 2 castles, the villages, and the cruise, plus the trip there from Freiburg, and the trip from the Bacharach to Würzburg are likely enough to fill your time for a 3-night stay. If you have time for hiking as well, there are two premiere hiking trails right there as well - the Rheinburgenweg (Rhine castle trail on the west bank) and the Rheinsteig trail on the east bank. The scenery from atop the cliffs and highlands in this area is superb.

Rheinburgenweg
Rheinsteig

Bavaria? Your time could be spent equally well if you saw some of the Bavaria that surrounds Würzburg - head straight there for 3 extra nights. W'burg is an excellent place itself for sightseeing (Residenz) and a very good train hub for outings along the Main River (see Ochsenfurt and Marktbreit) or to Iphofen or to Bad Windsheim's fantastic Franconian Open-air Museum.

Ochsenfurt photos
Ochsenfurt, Marktbreit video
Iphofen photos
Franconian Open-air Museum