Spend time in Munich or Wurzburg?

I've seen both the Residenz in Munich and the one in Würzburg. The Munich Residenz was tedious - what felt like miles of Rococo rooms with painted ceilings and endless displays of dinner ware. But the one in Würzburg almost made me sick. This was the residence of a member of the clergy, who had taken a vow of poverty. How could he justify living in such luxury and ostentatious wealth. Makes you wonder how he did with his vow of celibacy.

I would put my first priority with the Marienberg fortress across the river.

Würzburg is close to Rothenburg if that is somewhere you want to see. It's also near Bamberg and Russ's favorite, Iphofen.

Not that I don't like Munich. It's my favorite big German city. The Deutsches Museum is great. If you want to see a "Residenz", Nymphenburg was the summer residence of the Royal Family. The main building is a little like the in-town residence, although smaller, but the outbuildings in the park-like property give it a unique quality.

I cannot speak to Wurzburg, but I would recommend 2 nights in Munich and 1 night in Rothenburg. We arrived in Rothenburg around 2:00 p.m., I believe, and left the next morning around 9:00 or so. That still gave us plenty of time to see and experience Rothenburg. We did Rick Steves' walk through town, and walked most of the wall, stopping often for pictures. I'm not sure if staying any longer there would have offered much more. And there were many things to see in Munich, even if it is just walking through town and enjoying a bier garten.

I would spend time more time in Wurzburg. Just for a smaller city and the slower pace
I did not like Munich with its restored buildings and all the derelicts hanging around the main station.

Good questions you bring up Lubitsch, and maybe the source of my second thoughts. My mom and daughter are not as keen on visiting large cities, and I think they may find Munich daunting. Do you think that possibly true of Munich? I've been to (and love) Vienna, and do you think Munich has a similar small town feel within the bustle of a large city, and a similar clean, safe feeling? Personally I'd love to spend a day in Munich, but not at the risk of unnerving my travel companions (neither of whom would enjoy NYC). Perhaps knowing this could inform our decision.

My thoughts in spending time in Wurzburg instead of Munich is that we would get to see a residenz palace and have a "larger" town experience--we are staying in St. Goar and Rothenburg the rest of the trip so comparatively Wurzburg would be large.

I guess I'm also wondering if spending time in Wurzburg is a good substitute for Munich-- of course knowing that there is far less to do, but still give a similar larger-city flavor but at at slower pace.

I do appreciate the insights!

I too found the Residenz in Munich to be tedious. There were some interesting sights but I could not wait to escape.

Also like Lee I preferred the castle (Festung Marienberg) in Würzburg over the the Residenz. The Mainfränkisches Museum in the castle is my favorite regional museum in Germany housing my favorite work of German art, "Trauernde Maria aus Acholshausen" by Riemanschneider.

Würzburg is perfectly located in Franken (Franconia) for day trips to Bamberg, Rothenburg, Iphofen, Ochsenfurt or Markbreit.

In summary, Munich is good and we have visited it 4 times. Still, we prefer Würzburg and Franken. We are returning this spring for 5 days in the area (3 in Würzburg and 2 in Rothenburg).

Munich does have the best beer (Bier) in Germany that I have tasted.

"We'd be skipping the opportunity to go to Neuschwanstein if we spent time in Wurzburg, is that worth it?"

As I see it, you'd be skipping nearly 5 hours on trains and buses (round trip journeys from Munich) for a 30-minute tour of N'stein, which impressed me in much the same way that impressed the author of this review. Not very.

"My mom and daughter are not as keen on visiting large cities..."

So if you have no other plans for Munich anyway, I'd say neither Munich nor N'stein is worth it, IMHO. My choice would be to head north after your flight. Spend your 4-5 nights in just one place if you like, and use the trains to visit some of the other fine towns in this area.

Where to stay? My family of three has explored this area on separate occasions using Würzburg, Nuremberg, and Neustadt-an-der-Aisch as travel bases for day trips in this area. From any one of these, you can visit Bamberg, one of Germany's very best towns, Rothenburg, Bad Windsheim, Iphofen (see photos!) and the others mentioned.

Neustadt might be too small for you. I found it very charming, and not a tourist in sight. Here are some photos to scroll through. Just a pleasant, normal, little place that's centrally located for outings by train. Nuremberg is maybe too large for your group. Würzburg might work well. It's a train hub and has lots of accommodations choices. You can cover much of Würzburg on foot. Find a place near the station (the Hotel Regina is right across; we used the IBIS, which we found was a little too far from the station for our liking.) From Würzburg, there is an additional day trip you can make - Ochsenfurt and Marktbreit are neighbor towns - old-world wine towns - on the Main River only 20 minutes by train from Würzburg. In Rothenburg you will be spending lots of time with your fellow tourists. It's a curious thing that many of them catch the train from Würzburg and ride right past Ochsenfurt and Marktbreit.

From Nuremberg you can easily reach by regional trains with a Bayern Ticket at 31 Euro for all three of you (valid from 9am): Bamberg in 43 minutes (UNESCO world heritage city), Bayreuth in 54 minutes (though the UNESCO world heritage opera house is currently closed for renovation) [...] Ansbach 41 minutes (has also a nice Residenz) [...] Rothenburg

All the above mentioned towns are covered by the local VGN+ ticket (€19.10 for the family).
I agree that half a day in Rothenburg will be enough: seeing the Riemenschneider altar in St Jacob, climbing up to the tower of the town hall, walking on the walls. Rothenburg combines nicely with Ansbach and Bad Windsheim for a day tour from Nuremberg. Start from Nuremberg early (the VGN+ ticket is not subject to the 9am restriction of the BY ticket), skip two trains in Ansbach to see the Residenz (tours in German only, but since most of the guides are pretty uninformed, that's irrelevant - just request an flyer in English at the desk) and the market place (including St Gumbertus and St Jacob), proceed to Rothenburg (approx 40 min with one easy transfer at Steinach) and in the late afternoon to Bad Windsheim (nice altstadt - baroque town hall, gothic / baroque church St Kilian, a lot of half timbered houses; try the beer in the small Doebler brewery). You will be back in Nurenberg within one hour either via Steinach and Ansbach or via Neustadt an der Aisch.

I find Würzburg way more interesting than Munich but it is all personal opinion. The residence is awe inspiring. The vaulted ceiling painted by Tupelo will knock your socks off. Have never seen anything like it. Make sure you do the tour, so you learn about the hows and whys of it all. Miss the tour and you not only miss half of the palace that isn't open to the public, you also miss why it was all created.

Visit the churches there as well as the fortress up on the hill. Have a glass of wine on a terrace overlooking the Main.

@Lubitsch
OK I did not know Wurzburg was demanged in the war; but to be more precise I did not notice that I disliked the restorations there like I did in Munich. and if I could do it all over again I would have stayed in Wurzburg instead of Munich where by the train station my instinct was to keep looking over my shoulder; not so in Wurzburg.

Another Wurzburg fan here. It's a very walkable, small city and would be my choice. I stayed at the Hotel Sankt Josef (I think this is now called City Hotel) and had a good experience. Munich has never been high on my list. Maybe I should give it another try sometime. Maybe...

I visited Wurzburg for the first time last year and loved it. I thought the residence and the gardens were spectacular! I agree wih Ms. Jo - definitely take the English guided tour, and then you can see the other half of the residence on your own.

If you're looking for a hotel, I highly recommend the Hotel Alter Kranen - request a room that overlooks the Main river and the Marienberg Fortress for amazing views.

I like Munich too, but from what you've said, I think you're group would enjoy Wurzburg more.

Sounds like a great trip!

Wow! Thanks for all the great insights and opinions, it sounds like Wurzburg is a good fit for our trip, with lots to do and see, with a nice vibe. I'm looking forward to it!

I stayed at the Hotel Sankt Josef (I think this is now called City Hotel) and had a good experience.

If that on is booked, there is nearby the quite similar "Hotel Stadt Mainz". Hotel Franziskaner (Franziskanerplatz) is in the same category and is nice too.

In W'burg, at The Residence, be sure and check out the small chapel on one end. It is easy to miss and you really don't want to do that.