Christmas Bamberg-Munich-Salzburg

"tips for a winter visit to this castle?" It's the same as any other time of year, except that they close off access to the Marienbrücke. Because the Bavarian Alps are a big holiday destination, you may find the number of visitors significantly higher than the rest of the winter, but probably not as many as the summer peak.

Love Bamberg. Rothenberg never interested me (never been) but we really loved Nuremberg and it's an easier train ride I think. We spend two nights in Salzburg
for two nights but really just a day and a half. We explored the city and took bus to Berchtesgaden for a few hours.

We stayed in Rothenburg for two nights in May and absolutely loved it. I am guessing it will be much more crowded in December than when we were there. The Night Watchman tour was very entertaining if you will be there in the evening. We loved walking around the walled town and visiting the Medieval Crime and Punishment Museum. It is a beautiful town. We had a car at this time, so I don't have any advice about taking the train there.

Travel from Bamberg to Rothenburg is entirely within Bavaria, so the Bayern-Ticket would work. Just note that on a work day, you can't use the Bayern-Ticket before 9 AM. Also, the Bayern-Ticket is only valid on regional trains, but I don't think trains from Bamberg to Würzburg (if you go that way) are anything but regional.

Thanks for all the good tid-bits. This is helpful.

On the other hand, if you go to Rothenburg via Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof (change at Nürnberg Hbf, Ansbach, and Steinach), your travel will be entirely within the VRN (Greater Nürnberg transit district) and a VGN TagesTicket Plus, for 16,80€, will cover 6 people (max 2 over 18) for unlimited travel in the VRM for the entire day (no 9 AM restriction, until 3 AM the following day). If you purchase the TagesTicket on Saturday, it is valid for travel until 3 AM Monday morning.

I am a fan of Rothenburg; but, it is a 2hour plus ride from Bamberg each way. You would lose half a day of sunlight just in the round trip. I would save Rothenburg for another trip. Nürnberg and Würzburg are good places to visit and require about an hour or less each way. Coburg is on my to do list. There are so many worthwhile places to visit that I try to minimize my travel time.

Thanks. It's a v. good point about the distance and the daylight! I'm leaning toward Nurnburg now. Thanks.