Suggestions to a newbie for a 2 day vacation close to Nuremberg or Frankfurt in January

I would go from Nuremberg towards Frankfurt with stops in Würzburg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber and the Tauber Valley with Weikersheim and Bad Mergentheim

Can be done by train to Würzburg direct and with stops to Rothenburg o.d.T.

Check connections from Nuremberg here

Nuremberg Würzburg 1hr direct
Würzburg Rothenburg and viceversa 1hr 1change

Direct train connection Nuremberg to Frankfurt 2hr stops in Würzburg

So what I would do travel to Rothenburg via Würzburg and stay there for the night see the city
Returrn to Würzburg early the 17th and see the historic center continue to Frankfurt later the day

I'll expect you will have time to wander around Nuremberg, at least in the evenings. Do so. Nuremberg is one of the better cities to walk at night, within the old city walls. The path along the Pegnitz is well lit, and you can get some good photos on the west side of the city for the Water Gate and the Trodlemarkt. There's an old winestube at the Trodlemarkt (right by the bridge) that's good for a meal and a beer. The walk up the hill to the castle is good too. The open market, and the shops under the bahnhof are good for just a quick grab and go snack. The bar at the Meridian is one of the better hotel bars.

As for what to do on the two days you have to explore, it kind of makes a difference as to what your interests are. Rothenburg is a common tourist destination, but Christmas is over, and fasching is only just getting started, so you want to aim for something you'll enjoy. If you do want to visit Rothenburg it's much faster to take the train to Ansbach (30 minutes) and then either the bus or a taxi to RodT.

Two good big cities that are on the way to Frankfurt are Bamberg and Wurzburg. Bamberg being know for the walk along the river and its beer. Wurzburg for the castle and residence, which are fabulous. Either one can be easily reached by train, and both have good train connections to Frankfurt.

You could also easily go straight to Frankfurt, and from there explore that city, Mainz, Wiesbaden, or even Heidelberg; all of which are less than an hour by train.

If you wanted some smaller towns, I'll suggest Neustadt (on the Aishe) or Kitzingen, or, closer to Frankfurt, Aschaffenburg. These are mid sized towns with interesting history, attractive architecture, and a lack of tourists.

In a totally different direction, you could also consider Heidelberg (about 3 hours by train) or Stuttgart, which is closer. Heidelberg has a great castle, and really good shopping (away from the tourist zone) especially for stuff like old books. Stuttgart has the Porsche and Mercedes Benz museums, which if you're any kind of a car freak you need to see. And you would be hard pressed trying to do both in one day. Both of these cities also connect to frankfurt quite easily by train.

What are your interests? Is there anything that appeals to you in terms of art, music, history, etc.?

For what it's worth, I was in Nuremberg for 4 nights in 2022 and made two day trips from there that were very nice. One was to Bamberg and one to Regensburg. Both are close distances by train and very walkable and both were worth visiting.

Bamberg was a lovely and charming city. It’s no wonder that the entire Altstadt is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s known as an example of how central European towns were often built up around the layouts established in the early Middle Ages. Their Dom is huge and magnificent and contains the Papal Tomb of Pope Clemens II, who died in 1047. He was originally from Bamberg and loved it so much that he wanted to be buried there. There is also the tomb of Heinrich II and his wife/consort, Kunigunde, created in 1513 by the amazing sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider, and it was gorgeous.

The Altes Rathaus, the medieval town hall in Bamberg, is a beautiful building with amazing frescos painted on it. It stands on an small island in the middle of the Regnitz River. Legend has it that the Bishop of Bamberg did not give permission to the townspeople to build a town hall, and so the townspeople drove wooden piles in the river and built an island to house the town hall.

Regensburg is also worth a visit. Don't miss the St. Peter Dom, which is immense and quite gorgeous inside. And Germany's oldest stone structure; the Porta Praetoria, is located in Regensburg. It is the remnant of a former gateway dating from 179 AD that once led into a Roman military camp called Castro Regina, and is almost 2000 years old. The town itself is lovely, too. It's bigger than Bamberg, lacks a bit of the old-world charm that Bamberg has, but is still worth visiting.

You can also tour the Altes Rathaus, which houses the tourist info center, which offers guided tours. It's is an amazing building that dates from the 13th century and consists of the Town Hall tower, the Gothic Imperial Chamber building and the baroque Town Hall. The tour includes the dungeon area. This is where the interrogations were. Nobody could be tortured to death legally, but they used torture as a way of getting people to confess. The guide told me that all of the instruments of torture are the original ones that were used. During the 1800s, officials locked up the room with everything inside. It wasn’t opened until the 1900s, when they decided to exhibit them.

I will say that I was torn for weeks over which towns to visit as day trips from Nuremberg. I only had time for 2 day trips, and I had Bamberg, Regensburg and Wurzburg on my list. I watched quite a few videos of each place, and eventually decided on the first two, but still plan to get to Wurzburg one day.

How about Würzburg, Bamberg or Heidelberg?

If you are a hardcore foodie nerd, Berlin with Green Week starting Jan 17 is must-have. Berlin is good reachable from both locations by train.

Also, since you're staying in Nuremberg, I highly recommend the restaurant Literaturhaus Nürnberg, which is wonderful. It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I enjoyed it so much, I ate here 3-4 times during my stay. I especially liked that it is patronized by locals, and everytime I went, I met someone who lived there. Once I sat next to a group that was having their monthly book club meeting (I loved being able to practice my German). Rick Steves mentioned it in his guidebook as a good place to eat, and he was right.

They have a large menu with good choices. For example, my breakfast one morning was four different soft cheeses, some Swiss cheese, German bread and butter, a fruit and yogurt salad with pomegranate, apples and grapes, and scrambled eggs served in a cute little jar. This makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Scrambled eggs get cold very quickly when served on a plate. But if you serve them in an enclosed jar, they stay warm. It's located on Luitpoldstraße, which is the street that sits between the train station and the Altstadt.

Just coming to my mind: Herzogenaurach near Nuremberg has a nice old town and offers various factory outlets from sport brands Adidas, Puma and others.

Thanks a lot for the detailed suggestions. helps a lot. really appreciate the gesture :)
Will be checking out Nuremberg, Bamberg and Heidelberg.

Just a couple of followup qns
1. Any suggestions on must visit places in Nuremberg?
2. Am going to stay in Frankfurt and visit Heidelberg - any suggestions for Heidelberg other than the castle?

...any suggestions for Heidelberg other than the castle?

You must spend at least part of your time there exploring the old town (altstadt). Do some google research on the old town and you'll see why the suggestion.

You might want to leave some time for Frankfurt as there is certainly enough historic and interesting sites to see here. What are your interests and I can make some suggestions. The weather may not be ideal, so perhaps some museums and/or medieval churches?

For Heidelberg, other than the castle, do include the Apotheke museum that is up there and included on your ticket when you ride the funicular. Back down in the Alt Stadt, the church is beautiful and interesting, but I also like the Jesuit church a few blocks away. It has a cool, peaceful feel to it. Near by is the Student Prison, one of my favorite things to see in Heidelberg.