Rhine or Heidelberg or ?? in November

If you were to do the Middle Rhine, your primary focus is likely on the outdoors--river, views, etc. I think it would be chilly and grapes would be dormant. You might consider that kind of trip at a warmer time of year. You could consider some time in Switzerland. You could stay in Basel and perhaps take some day trips to Luzern and Bern. If the weather turns out to be on the chilly side, you have city activities to enjoy. If you wanted to spend a night or two in Luzern and the skies were clear, you could consider a boat ride and then a trip up to the top of Mt. Rigi. You'd want to have warm clothes or really layer up.

In November maybe Bayern, Franken - Bamberg or Nürnberg? Culture, sightseeing, museums, Bier, Bratwurst, Schäufele mit Kloß? The weather really does not matter. 3-4 hours by car or train from Frankfurt, then another 3-4 hours on to Heidelberg.

Thanks for the suggestions. We stayed in Luzern several years ago, and we live in California wine country, so don't need to make those things a priority. I like the Bamburg/Nurnberg direction--that's new to us. We could take the train over there for a few days, then double-back to Heidelberg.

A new thought is that we'll be there on Nov 11, Armistice Day which happens to be the centennial of the end of the Great War. There must be some special observances of that momentous event, right?

Cities are good, charming towns are even better

Why not do a road trip from Frankfurt to Heidelberg? Take a train to Aschaffenburg and spend the first day there. Then rent a car work and your way to Heidelberg via Mespelbrun (fairy tale castle with moat), Klingenberg and Miltenberg (both are charming towns on the Rhine), then to Eberbach or Mosbach, and then along the Neckar River to Heidelberg. Google those locations and see what you think.

11 November is St. Martin's Day (it is not a German Holiday). There are children lantern processions (many homemade lanterns) starting at churches and sometimes lead by an actor impersonating the Saint, usually dressed up as a Roman soldier riding on a horse. It can be a lot of fun watching kids that can be sometimes rambunctious. Chem lights and battery powered lamps have replaced most candles in the lanterns. Usually starts early evening and not too late at night (17:00). You could watch and then have a good traditional Gans/goose dinner. I would check with the local tourist office for information for the city you choose. Nothing really going on for Armistice Day.

I don’t like changing places or deviating too much. For such a short trip I would head straight to Heidelberg. Public transportation to a few smaller destinations as day trips: Bad Wimpfen is a terrific little place (salt mine tour close by at Bad Friedrichshall), also Erbach/Michelstadt, Ladenburg, wine villages of Bad Durkheim and Deidesheim. A walk to Neckargemund.

You will love Heidelberg in November. The University will be in session, so there will be lots of students there. It will be cloudy and cool, if you're lucky (hope it won't rain) and the ivy covering some homes and buildings will be red. Heidelberg is a "big little city" which means it's easy to walk but it's very bustling and busy and has lots to offer. Go up the funicular to the Castle and walk down. My favorite town in the whole wide world.

+1 for TC's ideas, also consider Gross Umstadt. The point is that Aschaffenberg has two major INDOOR attractions, plus the birthplace of artist Ernst Kirchner and more. No boat rides on the Rhine in November I think. I prefered the boat from Bingen to Boppard to either car or train views.

The season is an argument for Frankfurt museums if you like that sort of thing.

"Our interests in Europe focus on history & culture. Cities are good, charming towns are even better."

The problem with visiting small towns is that they're usually Deadsville in November, so you must be somewhat strategic.

"...we'll be there on Nov 11..."

For a look at local culture, do some looking around for local festivals. The broader area near Heidelberg might be productive. One very popular place with Germans is the Pfalz region which includes the north/south "German Wine Road" or "Deutsche Weinstrasse" just to the southwest. "Kerwe" is a festival that takes place in many small towns and that's been around since the Middle Ages - and really brings people out of the woodwork. It has church roots but is a largely secular event nowadays. Eschbach, Niederkirchen, Roschbach and Dörrenbach are small towns that do a 4-day Kerwe celebration from November 9-12 (see German-language calendar link.) Typically there's a parade, wine and food stands, music, a public roasting of local personalities, kids activities... lots of local color. Dörrenbach's Fest looks like fun (parade on Sunday 11/11.)

Local history: In between Heidelberg and Dörrenbach is the city of Speyer... LOTS there and in nearby Worms as well.

Historical museum of the Pfalz: https://museum.speyer.de/nc/en/sammlungsschaetze/

UNESCO World Heritage Speyer Cathedral: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198634-d319916-Reviews-Speyer_Cathedral-Speyer_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

Speyer Technik Museum: https://speyer.technik-museum.de/en/

Local Jewish history: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198634-d2277182-Reviews-Mittelalterlicher_Judenhof-Speyer_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

More in Speyer: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g198634-Activities-Speyer_Rhineland_Palatinate.html#FILTERED_LIST

Worms Cathedral: https://www.dw.com/en/worms-cathedral-celebrates-its-1000th-birthday/a-44066097
Osthofen Concentration Camp memorial site in Worms: http://www.gedenkstaette-osthofen-rlp.de/index.php?id=42&L=1

Russ has some good ideas. Also consider driving along the Neckar river from Heidelberg. it's scenic with vineyards (although likely the leaves will be off by mid-November) and many charming small towns along the way, and it's virtually unknown to American tourists (and not particularly heavily tourisited by Germans, even!)

There's a few castles - Burg Hornberg, Burg Gutenberg, Ehrenberg, the spa town of Bad Freidrichshall, the extremely underrated medevial town of Bad Wimpfen, the old castle at Hirschhorn with a very good modern German restaurant in the town center, another charming medieval town, Besigheim famous for it's biannual wine festival, and on and on. Some of these cities are on the "German half-timbered road" and from Besigheim you could follow the Enz river to Vaihingen an der Enz and into the Swabisch Alb area which has more castles, more preserved towns, more great scenery, etc.

It's a bit off the beaten path, but that's part of the appeal. Real Swabian food, wines, and culture. Plus it's quite short driving times (or doable by public transit, which is quite good in this area). Feel free to PM me if you're interested in this route, I can be more specific if I dig up some pictures and notes I have from traveling around this area.

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. After thinking it over and studying the map, we're happy to use Heidelberg as our home base, seeing that city one day, and using the others for daytrips to other nearby sites. There appear to be a variety of places accessible by a one-hour train ride. Or is a car a better idea? I don't mind driving, though good public transit is a luxury we like to enjoy on trips to Europe (we don't have as much of that in Los Angeles, but slowly getting better.)

Heidelberg is well situated for train day trips so unless there's something specific you'd like to see that's difficult to get to without a car, I'd stick to the train.

Heidleburg is great, but you have seen much of the great places in SW Germany, so not sure what else to recommend. Have you been to the Black Forest?

November is not a great time to tour Germany. Take a warm jacket, hat and sweater underneath.

Thanks to all. We are here now, and have enjoyed our first day in Heidelberg. Tomorrow I think we will visit Bad Wimpfen, and probably Speyer the next day. Then I’ll have one more free day to go somewhere on Tuesday.

We will take the bus/train to these places. I can see the connections on the myVRN app, and does that mean these are reachable with a local daypass on the transit system, not using DB?