Cologne

Agree, not much to see in Cologne. You mention Prague, given your itinerary, I assume that to be the alternative to Cologne. GREAT choice. Prague is wonderful. However, be sure that you have 2 to 3 days, preferably 3.

Yes Prague was another option we've talked about. We would stay there at least 3-4 days. We're open to other German cities though if you have any suggestions.

There are so many things to see in Berlin, worth a week. My faves - the Pergamon is like walking back thousands of years into the past, the DDR gives a good hands-on picture of what it was like in East Germany under the Soviets. Much much more. A day trip to Potsam. And Dresden is worth 2 days without museums and only a 2-hour train ride from Berlin. I haven't been to Munich yet, but loved Frankfurt. Lots to see and do there too. And Mainz is a full day-trip from there. I liked Trier and Aachen much more than Cologne.

Dusseldorf is surprisingly a nice place to visit, 4 to 5 hours around the waterfront. Interesting architecture.

We did Munich, Prague, Dresden, and Berlin this spring. Honestly, I didn't much care for Prague and wished that we had spend another night or two in Dresden. I really want to go back to Dresden when I have a car. I think that there's a lot to do in the area.

Cologne is Germany's most "Bohemian" city. It's the people and the nightlife (and actually the entire lifestyle) that makes Cologne so different from the rest of Germany. That's why almost all the TV stations, entertainment companies, TV and movie production firms of Germany have moved to Cologne over the past 20 years (many of them used to be in Munich, but there isn't enough authenticity left, they say). And there are very cheap flights between Cologne and Prague, just for the record. Getting from Düsseldorf airport to Cologne is a bit tricky. Not because of a lack of trains - there are plenty direct ones per hour. The problem is: You cannot buy the tickets on bahn.de as they are part of the Rhein-Sieg Verkehrsverbund (public transport association). The dominant Verkehrsverbund in Düsseldorf, however, is the Rhein-Ruhr one. So at the airport you must find the ONE ticket vending machine carrying the round, green VRS logo as well! The fare from DUS airport to Cologne will be around €10 one-way.

Everyone seems compelled to go to Prague. I made my first trip there in April 1990, and loved it. I returned for several days in 1998 and found prague to still be lovely, but it was beginning to be overrun with tourists. In May 2011 I took my sister there and about all we saw was the other tourist taking photo's of the major sites conjested with tourists ... I would take any of the time you have planned for Prague and add it to germany - probably Cologn, with day trips to Aachen and Koblentz.

Well, what I've read online (at TripAdvisor, mostly) is that Cologne is much nicer than Dusseldorf. I've been to Cologne twice, but never to Dusseldorf, so I can't confirm that. I won't urge you to go to Cologne art museums if you don't want to. But how about the superb Roman museum, the Medieval Schnutgen museum, the botanical garden, the superb Applied Art museum which has almost no paintings and is enjoyed by lots of people who hate art museums, the treasury under the Cathedral, the landmark architecture of the Kolomba museum (well, there's some art there, like Richard Serra's (American) Corten steel "The Drowned and The Saved", in an open-roofed ruined courtyard) ... Locks of Love on one side of the Hohenzollern Bridge, superb (lighter ... ) beers. Cologne has a number of splendid older churches and historic buildings. There's a neat archeaological dig in the Medieval Jewish Quarter, and if you sign out the key, you can visit a Mikveh that's hundreds of years old. Great city!

Thanks everyone! We have decided that each of us can choose a city and my husband and FIL have chosen Munich and Berlin. I would like to try a new one but figuring out which one that logistically works and has sights to see is what I'm having difficulty with. I would love to go to some of the art museums but the other two have no interest in them and I'm not sure my daughter would be quiet in them for very long. If anyone has any other suggestions send them on. Thanks again!!

I think Tim makes some very good points. People tend to write off Cologne as a city with little to see other than the cathedral. So, not true! They are missing out on one of the most historic cities of Germany, one that dates back to Roman times. The Archbishop of Cologne was extremely powerful, and there are many ancient churches in the city, as well as Roman ruins. If one takes a bit of time to discover what this city has to offer, I think you will like Cologne. Personally, I like walking around in the Belgian Quarter. Lovely, turn of the century architecture set in leafy, residential streets. The Alt Stadt is interesting too. Lively night life and after all, it is the 4th largest city in Germany. The pedestrian shopping zones are nice too.

Cologne has a very unique culture within Germany. My highlight would be visit to Papa Joe's Bier Salon in the Altstadt. This place has an amazing collection of coin operated music machines and player pianos. The best is a creation of Papa Joe himself, two robots dressed as Cologne's most famous characters, Tunis and Schael. This mythical "Laurel and Hardy" team play a real tuba and accordian, and all you need to do is a 1 Euro coin in the slot on the wall and pick your favorite tune, German traditional or contemprary, and watch them go into action. If you are lucky, You may get there when Papa Joe's son is doing his tribute performance to the great Berlin cabaret performers of the 20's. Put you lock on the Hohenzollern Bridge. Mr Minute will have your lock engraved in minutes. See Trip Advisor review for details.

Given you present plan of Munich and Berlin, I would definitely opt for Prague as the third city. It is nicely between the other two and about 5 hours by train from each. We were in Prague in 2010 and I do not understand the complaints about the number of tourists. If you really stop to think about it, there being a lot of tourists may be the best indicator that there is something of value there.