We plan to visit the markets in Nurnberg, Rothenberg and Frankfurt. Can you give me an idea of the train cost for 2 senior from Frankfurt to Nurnberg, then Nurnberg to Rothenberg and finally from Rothenberg back to Frankfurt? Any suggestions for hotels within walking distance to those markets would also be appreciated. Planned trip is from 12/8 - 12/14. We plan 2 days in Frankfurt and Nurenberg and 1 day in Rothenberg. Is that proper spacing. Thank-you
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8942 posts
Hotel suggestions for Frankfurt that are near the market:
Spener Haus, Hotel Mirimar, Hotel Neue Krämer, Adina Apts. Fleming City Look up ticket prices on Deutsche Bahn. There are no senior discounts. The earlier you buy your long distance tickets, the cheaper they are usually, unless you are riding regional trains.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
German Rail (Bahn) website Best to spell the towns "Nuernberg" and "Rothenburg ob der Tauber". If you purchase train specific, non-refundable tickets online right now you can get 29€ fares for two from Frankfurt to Nürnberg and from Rothenburg odT to Frankfurt. If you can't get those fares, you might want to use regional trains (about 1/2 hr longer) and a Bayern-Ticket (26€ for 2) in Bavaria (Kahl to Nürnberg or Würzburg to Kahl - Rothenburg to Würzburg is only regional) and a local Frankfurt metro (RMV) ticket between Frankfurt Hbf and Kahl for 7,60€/person). From Nürnberg to Rothenburg, use a VGN (local metro, Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg) Tageskarte Plus for 16,80€ for two adults.
Posted by
OP
Clearwater, Florida, USA
31 posts
Thank-you for the information on Frankfurt. Can you give me an idea what hotel costs will be that time of year? Am I in the ballpark at $100E/night for a double?
Mike
Posted by
Salt Lake City
1481 posts
A good place to get a survey of hotel prices in moderate to large towns is HRS.COM. Prices in cities near the markets might exceed your $100/night estimate. We have visited the Christmas markets 4 times and are going back this year. We found the prices near the markets in Frankfurt took a significant jump for early December compared to the rest of the off season. We have visited Rothenburg a couple times in Advent Season. We stayed at the Gasthof Greifen and the Hotel Raidel. Both were decent choices at reasonable prices. Gasthof Greifen tends to fill up a bit earlier as it is right on the market square. Raidel is only a few blocks away near several tourist shops that have some interesting offerings for the Christmas season. We had snow on our last visit and it was beautiful. We just stayed in chain hotels in Nürnberg. Hotels fill up early for Christmas market season. We liked well enough both the Hauptbahnhof Ibis and the Motel One City on Bahnhof Straße. Staying near the train station (Hauptbahnhof)is handy as there is an underpass into the old town and the edge of an extensive series of Christmas booth areas. Prices are elevated at this time of year as Nürnberg's market is so famous.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8942 posts
Not sure how energetic you will be on the 8th, but these are the small markets happening near Frankfurt: * 1-23 Dec. Marburg Christmas Market * 4-8 Dec. Buedingen Christmas Market * 6-8 Dec. Idstein Christmas Market * 6-8 Dec. Bad Nauheim Mountain Christmas Market * 6-8 Dec. Koenigstein Christmas Market * 7-8 Dec. Hofheim im Taunus Advent Market * 7-8 Dec. Neu-Isenberg Christmas Market * 7-8 Dec. Kronberg im Taunus Castle Christmas Market and the following weekend: * 13-15 Dec. Gelnhausen Heavenly Christmas Market * 14-15 Dec. Dreieichenhain Old Town Christmas Market * 14-16 Dec. Eppstein Christmas Market * 14-15 Dec. Schmitten im Taunus Christmas Market * 14-14 Dec. Weilburg Christmas Market These are the larger markets: * 25 Nov.- 23 Dec. Darmstadt Christmas Market, Around the Castle * 26 Nov.- 23 Dec. Wiesbaden Twinkling Star Christmas Market * 27 Nov.- 22 Dec. Frankfurt Christmas Market * 27 Nov.- 22 Dec. Seligenstadt Advent Market * 28 Nov.- 22 Dec. Aschaffenburg Christmas Market * 28 Nov.- 22 Dec. Ruedesheim Christmas Market of the Nations * 28 Nov.- 23 Dec. Mainz Christmas Market
* 29 Nov.- 21 Dec. Hanau Magical Christmas Market
Posted by
Salt Lake City
1481 posts
As an example, I just checked the Neue Kräme in Frankfurt for the beginning of your trip. It is 164$ per night. That is well above normal. Germany has excellent public transportation in its cities. It might be worth it for you to find a hotel in Frankfurt away from the market on an Ubahn line and buy group day ticket for public transportation.
Posted by
Greeley, co, usa
2399 posts
The Rothenburg town website has a list of all the hotels and if it exists, a link to the hotel website. I stayed here in '86 http://www.hofmann-schmoelzer.de/
and here in dec 2011 http://www.froehlich-rothenburg.de/
Posted by
Atlanta
967 posts
Mike,
Try to work your trip so you are in Nurnberg on a weekday rather than a weekend. It's a huge market, but it's so crowded on weekends that much of the charm is lost for me. Jo is THE Christmas market authority, and I love her posts, but I would swap a Frankfurt night for a second night in Rothenburg to get a little more small town between two cities. The Dinkelsbuhl market, very near Rothenburg, is very charming with virtually no tourists, but I don't know if it's open only on weekends.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8942 posts
If the prices for hotels are higher in the first part of Dec. in Frankfurt, it is because of a trade fair, not the Christmas Market. Euro Mold is being held the 1st week this year, and that is a fairly large one, and there are other smaller ones after, but they shouldn't affect prices.