Travel to Rothenburg ob der Tauber from Munich in July 2016

Do not do as a day trip from Munich. Stay over night (or two nights) in R'burg because it is not all that far from Frankfurt and no need to back track a long distance to Munich. Best to travel by train.

I would stay over a night. In fact, for my two trips to Rothenburg, I've stay over two nights each time and had a full day there plus dinner.

i would be surprised if shop there were not open 7 days a week. I can't find hours for the most famous - Käthe Wohlfahrt's Christmas shop. The Criminal Museum is open Mon - Sat, not on Sunday. St. Jakobs church, with it's Riemenschneider alter is only open Mon - Fri. You can walk the Wehrgang on the wall any time. The Night Watchman tour is daily at 8 pm.

The fastest way from Munich to Rothenburg, 2½ hrs, is via the ICE to Nürnberg, then trains to Rothenburg via Steinach. If your son is under 15, the cost with advance purchase is probably 48€; if he is over 14, it's 67€.

Driving will take 2¾ hours via Nürnberg (per ViaMichelin) AFTER you get the car, assuming you don't stop, take a wrong turn, or get in a traffic jam. It will cost about 25€ just for gas, not including the cost of rental.

It will take a little longer (just over three hours) by regional train with changes in Treuchtlingen and Steinach. Again, if he is under 15, it will cost 28€ for a 2 person Bayern-Ticket. If he is over 14, it will cost 33€ for a 3 person Bayern-Ticket.

Stay a night or two on the trip from Munich to Frankfurt.

Definitely travel by train using a Bayern ticket and plan on staying one or two nights.

This trip is just for the M-I-L and the child, right?

Actual train time from Munich to Frankfurt on the fast long-distance trains is just over 3 hours. By way of comparison... If you stop over in Rothenburg overnight and use the Bayern/Bavaria ticket for Munich-R'burg and another the next day for R'burg-Kahl (Bavaria border town) + a ticket for the last stretch to Rothenburg, you will have nearly 7 hours of actual train time on 6-7 different trains, and you'll spend in the neighborhood of E75-E85 for those train rides.

Rothenburg is a very popular destination with tourists but you might be better off with a choice like Wuerzburg, a handsome wine-town on the Main River which is also a stop on the 3-hour+ Munich-Frankfurt ICE train route. Wuerzburg, also on the Romantic Road, has some actual attractions, like the UNESCO World-Heritage Residenz Palace and the Marienberg Fortress as well as Riemenschneider works in its churches and museums.

http://www.romanticroad.com/wuerzburg/sights.htm
http://www.taubertalurlaub.de/files/images/wuerzburg/festung_marienberg.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Markt-Falkenhaus-Wuerzburg.jpg

It would be perfectly possible to take a direct morning train from Munich to Wuerzburg, stow bags in a locker there, and spend 6-8 hours there - then in the evening take a direct train to Frankfurt. You will likely find cheap discounted fares at DB for this much easier trip, perhaps for less money than taking all those pokey trains to and from Rothenburg, which impresses me more as a place given over to tourism with its many gift shops, its museum of torture devices, and the like. (Even Rick refers to Rothenburg as a "medieval theme park" in one of his articles.)

I would definitely try and stay overnight, and two nights would be better than one. The train connections are not that convenient, as I recall it's at a dead end line of the train system. From Munich it's either 2.5 hours with three changes (yikes) or over three hours with two changes. (Bahn.de shows the 8:22 has changes in Nueremburg, Ansbach, and Steinach, all with five minutes or less to make the switch). That said, I would not rent a car just to stop in Rothenburg (it's worth going to, just don't rent a car only for that). My wife and I were there in May and we did not find the crowds to be too much at all, but that was ten years ago. In July I would expect it to be a total zoo, so all the better reason to stay overnight. I think Rothenburg is a very worthy visit, and did not find it to be over the top. It will provide a nice contrast to the big cities.

This is a duplicate post of another identical.

There are more answers on the twin, also in the Germany Forum.

sw,

I agree with the others, it would be best if you spend at least one night in Rothenburg ODT, and preferably two nights. How much time to spend there will depend on how much you want to see. One night generally only provides a few hours to sightsee in the afternoon and evening of arrival day, and perhaps a couple of hours in the morning of departure day. Overall that's not enough time to see much.

(Bahn.de shows the 8:22 has changes in Nueremburg, Ansbach, and
Steinach, all with five minutes or less to make the switch

If you look at the detailed connection on the Bahn website, the change in Nürnberg is from track 6 to track 7, cross-platform, and in Ansbach it's track 2 to track 3, also cross-platform. Surely one can walk across a platform in 4 or 5 minutes.

If you've ever been in the station at Steinach you know that it is a VERY small station. Track 2 to track 5 is actually a one-platform change. A lot of people will be going to the shuttle train to Rothenburg; just stay with the herd. The driver is not going to leave the station if there are passengers on the platform waiting to board.

But given the difference in the cost, I would take the regional connection at 9:36. It only has two connections, a 5 minute cross-platform one in Treuchtlingen and the same change in Steinach.

Stay at least 2 nights if you can and be sure to take the Night Watchman's tour--it is kid friendly. Very entertaining!
http://www.tourismus.rothenburg.de/index.php?id=516

I would definitely encourage staying 2 nights in Rothenburg. I have been there many times and love this place. It is even more charming after the tourist bus passengers leave in the evening and before they arrive in the morning. I don't think I have recently been in Rothenburg on a Sunday, but I can assure you that any store counting on tourist business will be open on Sunday. I'm not sure about some of the "attractions" but for me the attraction is Rothenburg itself. And definitely do the train. It is not difficult at all. On my last trip I went from Nurenburg to Rothenburg with transfers in Ansbach (4 mins. No problem) and Steinach (14 mins.) On my 1st solo trip I had my 1st experiene using the trains and didn't have any problem with the transfers at all. Some were very short and some were long. On one leg of my journey I think I had to transfer at least 4-5 times from where I stayed with friends in Switzerland to get to Rothenburg. It was a very long day, but I love the trains!

Loved Rothenburg- we stayed 4 days while we visited Germany last month. Had so much fun exploring the town and meeting the wonderful people.. if you get the chance I would def opt to stay a night at least. Zur Holle or Alter Keller are great places for dinner also Käthe Wohlfahrt & Anneliese Friese for Christmas, then the Kriminal Musuem. Walk the walk too if you get the chance.