Second Trip to Germany - Where to go?

"I have just started my search, I'm thinking Leipzig, Hamburg, Dresden, Nuremberg?? Please advice!"

All winners, there. Leipzig and Hamburg are particularly under-rated, in my opinion. With 7-10 days, though, you wouldn't have time for much else. Each city is worth at least two days... although perhaps you could see Leipzig and Nürnberg in one day if you cut down, and didn't plan any side trips.

Most foreign travelers don't go out of their way to visit zoos in Europe, but if you had to visit one, make it Zoo Leipzig. It's something else. It almost seems like a Disney park, albeit one without rides (except a brief one on a boat).

If you pick Dresden, try to fit in a side-trip to Meißen.

If driving, make Coburg a stop off between Nürnberg and Leipzig. The castle is huge, and in my opinion, the best in Germany.

I haven't been to any of the cities you list except Nuremberg. While there is a huge Hitler connection, I wasn't as impressed with the city itself as I thought I'd be. However, we have been to Bamberg several times and love the feel of the old town. It's a lovely town and worth considering.

We were in Nuremburg this years for two nights on the back end of a river cruise, and also did an easy day trip to Bamberg from there. I think Nuremburg is great, a very manageable city where you can see a lot in a short time. It was our second, having day tripped there from Rothenburg ob der Tauber on our 2006 trip. The German cultural museum there is amazing, along with the Kaisersburg even though it was rebuilt from rubble. Munich can be overwhelming and hard to see on a short visit, but in a day and a half in Nuremburg you can see a lot. Bamberg is a great stop too, I only wish we had been able to stay there a couple of nights and see the city after dark. Rothenburg is great too in my opinion. Some people are not keen on Baden Baden but we liked it a lot. I would like to visit Dresden myself on our next Germany trip, in addition to Goerlitz which used to be in Rick's book but I think was removed in favor of "Lutherland" stops. We also stopped in Regensburg on our river cruise and found it to be be very pleasant, although it did not have a lot of blockbuster sights it would be a nice place to spend a couple of nights. Overall Germany is a much underrated destination; enjoy your trip!

Four cities is a bit too much for just <10 days.... at least if you want to explore the surroundings too, which is highly recommended since all the cities you mentioned, except Leipzig, were completely leveled in WW2, and the smaller towns nearby usually were not. And Leipzig was mostly rebuilt in the 19th century.

Here is a map of Germanys highlights according to Baedeker, Germanys most popular travel guide:
http://i.imgur.com/9BcKenL.jpg

As you can see, all the mentioned cities offer plenty of sights nearby. In case of Dresden preserved towns like Bautzen, Görlitz, Meissen, Freiberg or Pirna, moreover castles, fortresses and palaces, and of course Saxon Switzerland. From Leipzig you could see Wittenberg (Luther), Naumburg, Weimar (Goethe and Schiller), the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm or the towns of the Harz mountains. And Hamburg is great in combination with the Baltic coast, Germanys most popular summer destination, which offers beautiful towns and resorts, and great beaches.
I'm not a big fan of Nuremberg, which to me is just another poorly rebuilt post-war city with some great sights like the castle area, the churches and two or three museums. But it's a good base for day trips to towns nearby, like Rothenburg, Bamberg or Regensburg.

I would recommend to drop 2 of the 4 cities in favor of some day trips. Either see
- Hamburg and the Baltic coast
- Dresden and Leipzig
- Leipzig or Dresden and Nuremberg
- Hamburg or Leipzig or Dresden and the Harz mountains

The Harz mountains are my favorite part of Germany. They offer many perfectly preserved towns full half-timbered houses. Two of them, Goslar and Quedlinburg, are World Heritage Sites. Quedlinburg is like a bigger and less touristy Rothenburg. Here you can read what others have to say about the town:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionReview-g198402-d2239030-Reviews-AltstadtQuedlinburg-QuedlinburgSaxonyAnhalt.html#REVIEWS

And here is a gallery with 130.000 pics of the Harz mountains:
http://www.raymond-faure.com/indexharzenglish.htm
(have a look at Quedlinburg, Goslar, Wernigerode, Stolberg, Wolfenbüttel, Celle or the cathedral of Halberstadt)

I've been to Germany several times but this last spring my husband and I did something different: we flew into Munich and rented a car to drive to and through the Black Forest (you could also do this from Frankfurt and do the reverse). We made our homebase in the little town of Gengenbach, then took day trips via the trains (which are free when you stay in a BF town) and by car to various little towns and villages. Even Strasbourg, France was just 30 min away. We had a blast and want to return to see more.

"I'm thinking Leipzig, Hamburg, Dresden, Nuremberg??"

Why is it that the only places people can think of are cities? There are so many interesting things in Germany that are not in big cities. I've spent almost 150 days in Germany, 83% of my time has been in towns under 50K population, 62% in towns under 10K.

Spend some time in Berchtesgaden, a national park with mountains and a deep alpine lake, population 7600. One of the most interesting, intact castle in Germany is in Burghausen, population 18K. Goslar, Harzburg, Wenigerode, and Quedlinburg are actually in the flat land north of the Harz mountains. There are quaint mountains towns like Braunlage pop 6300) in the mountains. The high point of the Harz is the Brocken, 3800 ft, the highest mountain in northern Germany, accessible with a narrow gauge, steam powered train.

Early in my exploration of Germany, I used the guidebook by Baedeker. It listed hundreds of places, not just big cities.

BTW, Gengenbach is easily accessible by train. No need to rent a car to get there and once you get there, you can travel in the surrounding area free by train or bus with a Konus card.

Natalia,
I would recommend you drop Nuremberg in favor of Berlin, unless you really explored all it had to offer on your previous trip. Berlin is a destination most people say can not be done in just one visit. Hamburg is a little far to the north of where you are saying you wish to visit, so if you need to drop a city for time constraints that would be the one to consider. But keep it if you drop Berlin, just keep in mind distances. The 'Green Vault' in Dresden is an absolute must see, so depending on the time of year you are traveling make sure to get a ticket in advance (summer especially).

Thank you all so much for the suggestions and for your time! My husband and I have just changed our minds! We are now decided on visiting Spain and Portugal. We were going to visit Spain and Germany, but we decided to dedicate the whole month we're in Europe to those two countries. We really want to go back to Germany, and we'll definitely do so in the future, so your ideas are very welcome! Thank you!

Natalia,

Although it doesn't matter now as you've chosen different countries, I was going to suggest Dresden as one of your stops. I was there in September and really enjoyed my time there. I would have liked to spend a few more days, so hopefully I'll be able to return in the near future.

I can't provide any comments on Portugal, but there's lots to see in Spain. One route that might work is Barcelona > Madrid > Granada > Sevilla (with day trips). There is so much to see in each of those cities!

From Sevilla you can travel to Portugal either via Bus to southern locations (Faro) or via budget air to Lisbon. I'd probably start in Portugal in the Algarve and work north to Lisbon.

Could you clarify if the 7-10 days is the total time for both countries?