Advice needed from Paris to Germany

Looking at the replies on Luxembourg, I am now thinking of dropping it entirely and just concentrate on 2 bases to minimise travelling and take more daytrips out of the two bases. And then stay a night & fly out from Frankfurt. Should Cochem or Trier be recommended as the base? What daytrips will you recommend? I want a easy to plan, relaxing trip that is not so complicated for us two direction idiots. Many thanks!

From Paris you could take the Thalys train to Cologne. From Cologne it's easy to do the Rhine and Mosel river valleys but also the baroque Chateaus around Düsseldorf - and of course experience the "Prague of the West" which is Cologne (some say it's Germany's most Bohemian city). From Cologne to Frankfurt it's 75 minutes by bullet train. From Frankfurt to Paris it's ca. 3.5 hours by bullet train.

From your proposal, I think you have Rick's book. Is this your first trip to Europe? I would suggest that Trier (a nice visit) is too remote for a long-term base. And by eliminating Luxembourg (my recommendation ... ) you don't need to stay in Trier. Check the May boat schedules for Rhine and Mosel. Assuming the Mosel is more important to you than the Rhine (not my preference for a first visit!) I would stay between Mulheim and Koblenz. But you should consider Koblenz or one of Rick's Rhine towns for a better choice of excursions. Because Koblenz is so much bigger, it has less character but better connections and location. Although you are right to fly Open-Jaw, see if they'll throw in a connection from Cologne, which is a world-class city. And the Cathedral there is the most-visited single building in Germany, including all of Berlin. Rail travel in Germany is very easy, and reasonably priced. Be aware that there are train lines on both sides of the Rhine, and one may be more useful to you than the other.

I choose Cochem apparently because of the falconry show & its proximity to burg eltz :-) Thanks will be taking Trier as a daytrip out of Cochem I hope that's not too far out.

Find train schedules on the German Rail (Bahn) website. The trip by train from Cochem to Trier takes only about 45 min each way, so a day trip is a definite possibility. Rail (train) would be the most cost effective way to get around as long as it goes where you want to go. Most of the places you list are accessible by train, with the exception of Burg Eltz. Most people take the train to Moselkern and then hike about an hour to Burg Eltz. On weekends, there are also buses every few hours each way between Treis-Karden and Hatzenport, with a stop at Wierschem, a short walk from Burg Eltz.

Cochem, great choice, lovely town. Happy Travels!!

Cochem is the ideal town to base out of to see the Mosel, and Trier is an easy day trip from there, just did this last summer and had a blast. We did manage to take public transit to Burg Eltz (don't miss it!) but had to do so on a Saturday, be sure and check train/bus schedules in advance, or be prepared to hike! (The hike down was lovely, but we were glad we were only doing it one way)

Cochem is beautiful. We were just there last week. It is very centrally located to visit several other little towns along the Rhine and Mosel.

We actually travelled from Luxembourg to Paris by train. We were on a high speed train, so the trip only took about 2 hours. The train was very comfortable and had room for luggage. I believe the tickets for coach were around 50 Euros each.