My daughter is going to be studying abroad in Chambery, France next June for six weeks. We have been to Europe once before, just having a taste of France and Black Forest, Germany. We would like to see Munich for a couple of days and, having seen Rick Steves gorgeous tour of the Rhine and Mosel, I am wondering if anyone can help me in planning an overnight trip from Munich to the Rhine (which Castle hotel to stay in what town, and can we hop on and off a Rhine river tour in the towns we are interested in, or is it better to take the train? Should we start in Koblenz or St. Goar and take it to the Mosel as Rick suggests? We plan to spend 2 days in Munich, a day and overnight in Rothenburg, and then on to the Rhine for a day or two before heading back to France where my daughter is studying. Is the train ride from Munich to the Rhine area too long - is my itinerary too much? My girls and I really want to take advantage of being in Europe. Could anyone please help?
Posted by
Hood River, OR, USA
30 posts
My wife, kids and I have done this several times and it never gets old.
I would suggest taking the train from Munich to Ausburg, then drive The Romantic Road from Augsberg to Wurzburg, stopping in Nordlingen, Dinkelsbuhl and Rothenburg (this would be the best town to stay the night in on your way to The Rhine - best preserved medieval town with the only complete wall surrounding it).
Then take the train from Wurzburg to Mainz.
Start your Rhine trip (I would again suggest driving this section) in Mainz. Drive down the left side of the Rhine, stopping at some castles along the way.
Stay overnight in Schloss Schoenberg (Castle Hotel - very nice, wonderful champagne breakfast included).
Then continue down the Rhine on to Koblenz, again stopping at some castles along the way, to the Mosel River, up the Mosel to Burg Eltz (best preserved and most beautiful castle in Europe).
Drive back down the Mosel to Koblenz and take the train to France.
Have fun!
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
80 posts
Use www.bahn.de to see all the train schedules and prices and times in Germany. Click on
"Internat.Guests" to see the page in English and then click on "Timetables" on the left side. Good luck!
Posted by
Paradise
7063 posts
You CAN do that, but your destinations are very spread out, and it sounds very rushed. Not clear if your 4-5 days includes travel time to/from Chambery.
Not much time: I'd pick either the Rhein/Mosel or Munich/R'burg.
Rhine/Mosel: best place for real knights' castles. Burg Eltz is a must. Marksburg Castle in Braubach is a must-tour on the Rhine. Cochem is a great town with its own castle - okay tour, excellent falconry show on castle grounds. For a castle-hotel, the aforementioned Auf Schoenburg in Oberwesel is an excellent high-end choice. Spend a couple of nights on each river. Stay in Cochem on the Mosel - very atmospheric and not overtouristed yet in June. Take a daytrip to Trier (larger, interesting Roman history), Bernkastel, and Beilstein (by boat from Cochem) and of course Burg Eltz.
Big-city daytrip: Cologne is great.
A car in Cologne is useless but good for Burg Eltz, Bernkastel, and for the Auf Schoenburg (high on the Rhine Cliffs.)
Posted by
OP
19 posts
Thanks all for the advice! Now I can better plan my itinerary. Also checking out that train website suggested. Will post again after the trip! Good luck to you all!