Hi,
What's the trip like from Nuremberg to Berlin? Should we rent a car or take a train? We're two adults who like seeing small towns and pretty scenery.
1) Is it worth renting a car and stopping along the way? Which route should we take and where do you recommend stopping?
2) Is it better to take a train? If so, is it a pretty ride? Will we miss seeing any sites if we drove?
Thanks for your suggestions!
Karen
Take the train! Easy, comfortable & a delightful way to spend just over 3 1/4 hours on DB’s ICE train.
By car it would be just driving down Autobahn 9 (A9); easy driving close to Berlin but more stressy the more you come to South and cities. South of Hermsdorfer Kreuz the landscape along the route becomes more scenic.
Detour via A4 possible to visit Erfurt and Bamberg.
Main sights on the way:
+ If you are architecture fan Dessau is must-have for Bauhaus.
+ Erfurt is worth a stop, also some castles around. Close Weimar is known as ciulture destination.
+ Same for Bamberg with beautiful UNESCO world heritage old town (little detur from A9 via A70)
+ Bayreuth is also culture and Bavarian history destination.
More sights along the way you can find on this map by German Travel Board; choose different options on the left hand side.
All these destinations are available by ICE fast trains. Only advantages by car you would be more time flexible at the one or the other destination and that you can explore the landside.
If you drive by car follow all speed limits directly and accordingly to max. +10 km/h. A lot of speed controls.
I was driving the A9 and A70 end of last year every week to Bamberg.
Thank you! Both comments are helpful.
Is the train ride pretty?
Imo the train ride is not really pretty - only a small part between Erfurt and Bamberg has short scenic elements through which the ICE trains drive with 270-280 km/h. Mountains are not crossed by high-speed trains; a lot of tunnels on these parts of the route.
The trains are fast, comfortable and very efficient to come from A to B without traffic jams but Deutsche Bahn sometimes has delays; less on this route but can happen.
Thanks, Markk. You're very helpful.
My suggestion would definitely be to take the train. It will be faster and a more efficient than travel by car, and will also let you enjoy the scenery and relax rather than having to watch the road. It also avoids the problem of dealing with traffic once you arrive, and returning the car.
Ken, which scenery do you mean concretely on which train route between Berlin and Nuremberg?
