If you had your choice about the following German cities

Another vote for Dresden and surrounding areas. Four days is plenty to see and do all the sights, in both the city and the surrounding areas.

I haven't been to Dusseldorf or Dresden, but here goes... From what I've read about Dresden, I would place that first on the list. It sounds like a beautfiully restored city with lots of churches, museums and palaces. I've been to Hamburg, and loved it... it quickly became my favorite city in Germany. Lots of great museums, elegant and beautiful buildings, completely different food from southern Germany. The whole city just had this great vibe. Minatur Wunderland was my "Must See", but I would doubt that would interest everyone on this website. Dresden only beats out Hamburg for me because I've already visited Hamburg. Bonn- pleasant city, but nothing too extraordinary. Cologne- not the most attractive city in Germany. Hannover- even less attractive than Cologne. Nuremburg is another good choice, but I'm not sure there's enough to occupy 4 days. Enough of the regulars on this website have been there, so I'll let others give their opinion on it.

Karen, I agree with Tom in how he rates the cities. I didn't know about the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg but that might be a good reason for me to go back, since I love any kind of miniatures. Tom, if you ever get to Bryson City, NC you might enjoy the miniature train museum. The layouts are fabulous; they really do not disappoint. http://www.smokymountaintrains.com/ Karen, if you're based in Dresden, you could do a side trip to Meissen, home of the famous Meissen porcelain and tour the showroom and factory. I couldn't find a website for them but the following website has the address about half-way down the page, in English. Also, if the weather is good, a boat trip down the Elbe river into the Sandsteingebirge (Sandstonemountains or Saechsische Schweiz - Saxon Switzerland) could be interesting. Of course, there are all the other fairly recently restored famous sights. Check out the Gruene Gewoelbe on the internet, I believe you can order timed tickets in advance and they have only a limited number of walk-up tickets per day. As you may know, both Hamburg and Dresden are located on the Elbe river. If you like fish, Hamburg is the place to eat it.

Dresden is a beautiful city and well worth a stop. And I'll also second the recommendation for a side trip to Saxon Switzerland it's a beautiful area on the Elbe river surrounded by a national park with huge rock outcroppings. The towns are adorable, and there's bike paths along the river connecting them. The S-Bahn line from Dresden will get you there.

Karen, I am familiar with all of the cities listed, visited all of them at least twice or more. Unless you've got something particular in mind you want to see in Hannover, such as the Herrenhausen Gärten, or want to practice your German with Hannover German, I would skip Hannover. For just beauty and the sights, I would pick Dresden. As pointed out you could take day trips to Meißen and Leipzig, that would take up 4 days, especially if you're interested in music and history. Stay in and visit Cologne and you can see Düsseldorf as well, since they are about 20 mins apart. I went to these cities to see specific sights with specific sights in mind. Bonn can be visited in an afternoon, see Beethoven's Haus. Hamburg is worth 3-4 days, it's the culture centre of North Germany. I like Hamburg but it takes getting used to. Numerous museums, both general and esoteric. Within 2.5 hr radius by train you can see as a day trip Lübeck, Schwerin in Mecklenburg, Eutin/Holstein and other small towns. I especially like Lübeck and Eutin. My choices would be a toss-up between Dresden and Hamburg...all things considered. The automatic elimination goes to Hannover.

For four days I would recommend Cologne, Bonn can be done in an easy daytrip from there (as can Dusseldorf). Dresden is also a great stop but four days may be too much. I like Hamburg but four days is more than I would stay. Haven't been to Nuremburg yet but I hope to get there when I'm in the area.

Why is it that everybody thinks of Europe only as cities. Of the 108 nights I've spent there since 2000, only about 12 have been in cities (2 in Mainz to be near FRA for a morning flight out and 10 in Munich). The rest have been in small towns. That's the real Germany. I've spent most of a day in Nürnberg and two hours between trains in Köln. I've heard good things about Dresden, and it's on my short list for future travel. However, when I go to Dresden I will probably spend more time in the nearby Sachsen Schweiz Nat. Park. Between Berlin and Hannover is a perfect gem that is unknown to most Americans, Harz Nat. Park. The Harz is this island of pine covered mountains jutting up from the otherwise flat plains of No. Germany. The highest mountain in No. Germany, the Brocken, is there. Although only 3800', at that latitude it's above the timber line and "bald" on top. Early Germans thought it was associated with witchcraft, and it is in fact the location of the Walpurgisnacht scene in Faust where the witches dance with the devil. Just below the park, in old East Germany, are the Fachwerk towns of Wernigerode and Quedlinburg. My point, there is so much more to see in Germany. Do some research and extend your boundaries outside the cities.

Sorry, but why wouldn't the cities be the Real Germany? That is where the history of Germany was made, where the kings and Emperors lived, where the wars were fought, the trade fairs were held, the coronations celebrated, the universities created, the Jewish Ghettos built, the art collections displayed. The cities are also where the majority of man made tourist attractions are, as well as the museums. Sure, it is nice to visit a small town here and there, take in and enjoy nature, but that would be like telling a visitor to the States that Circleville, Ohio is the Real America or to just hang out in the Catskills. Everything in Germany is the Real Germany, the Authentic Germany. Haven't seen any fake Germans yet. Back to the OP. I would give Berlin a sufficient number of days, like at least 4-5, perhaps visiting near-by Potsdam and if you haven't visited a concentration camp yet, then my suggestion would be to go to Sachsenhausen and the womans' camp - Ravensbruck. Dresden is an excellent choice, but Quedlinburg or Lübeck might be good towns to visit too.

While I've always thought Nurnberg is somewhat of a hidden gem, the Altstadt is pretty small and you can pretty much see everything in a day so I'd definitely choose Dresden over that as everyone I know who has gone there has raved about it. As Jo said, give Berlin a lot of time as there's a ton of stuff to see and do. I could spend an entire day just in the Checkpoint Charlie Museum alone.

I am only familiar with Nuremburg on your list. Been there a couple of times, well worth it. the area within the walls is very pleasant. May not be worth more than a day, although friends have stayed a number of days and enjoyed it.

Karen, In German a distinction is made on urban centres between Großstädte (big cities) and Kleinstädte (Smaller cities/towns). Not too far from Berlin is another big city worth going to, where I spent 2 full days...Magdeburg an der Elbe. Walk across the bridges over the Elbe as you can do in Dresden. (I would be totally surprised if you saw any Americans in Magdeburg) If you're interested in Prussian history, spend a day in Potsdam, as has been suggested above, and I suggest also Minden, (both Minden and Potsdam have museums on this topic), if you are going to be in Hannover. Minden can also be done as a day trip from Berlin.

I agree that Germany has beautiful countryside and many wonderful smaller towns and villages. But the OP asked specifically about these particular cities on her list. I have to also agree that plenty of time should be reserved for Berlin, as there is so much to do there and in the surrounding areas. Among the other cities listed, I would recommend Nürnberg and Dresden. For each, I was satisfied with two day's worth. The cathedral in Cologne is fabulous, but otherwise, I am not impressed with the city.

Thank you everyone for the tips! We've got a lot to decide before we leave March 10th. We actually are spending 3 days in Berlin, leaving for several days and then coming back for 2 more days before heading back home. The gate, check point charlie, Sachsenhausen and Ravensbruck, etc are all already on the list of must sees. We will probably also head to Potsdam one day, take a walking tour of Berlin and maybe even the zoo. This is actually our 5th trip to Germany and we have visited many small cities/towns (even spent a week and a half living in Miltenberg, one of my favorites) and quite a few large ones. I agree with Jo, the real Germany is the large cities as well. We've so enjoyed all of our trips and are hoping that our little one that is on the way will get just as much enjoyment out of our trips as he/she grows up. Thanks again for the tips! Any others please let me know!!!

Wait a minute...I thought Real Germany was a chain of hypermarkets. Actually, this reminded me of something a German exchange student from the north said a few weeks back about Bavaria...it wasn't very nice. I'm not sure he would agree that small Bavarian towns represent real Germany.