My 2 20+ daughters and myself will have 13 nights for our trip in May. We start off in Krakow (3 nights), Salzburg (3 nights), Prague (3 nights – transfer tour to Prague includes 4 hours in Cesky Krumlov), Rothenburg Ob De Tauber (1 night) and then have 2 open nights followed by Munich (1 night) and fly home. From Prague we have a transfer booked to Nuremburg so will arrive by 11 where we pick up a car rental for the remainder of the trip. We will land in Rothenburg on the Sunday of a holiday weekend when Meistertrunk (which we'd like to see) is taking place so could only get 1 night stay here – we need 3 separate beds so a little more challenging with accommodations. I'm trying to figure out from here what to do for 2 more nights, also knowing the Monday we leave Rothenburg is Whit Monday so lots of things will be closed. I was thinking of going to Fuessen, staying 2 nights then head to Munich early morning. We are fine with 1 full day in Munich as we've been here before. I'm now wondering if there other good suggestions for those 2 days that I should consider, or would you recommend heading to Fuessen as currently planned?
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
See Bamberg (fabulously well preserved, the whole city protected by UNESCO as a world culture heritage site, do your own "trunking" at the fine Brauereigaststätten (brewery-restaurants) there. http://www.reisefuehrer-deutschland.de/bilder-tipps/bayern/bamberg.jpg http://www.bamberg.info/en/ AND/OR see Nuremberg, just 45 min.s from Bamberg by regional train: http://www.nuernberg.de/internet/portal_e/reiseziel/museums.html http://www.nuernberg.de/internet/portal_e/reiseziel/sightseeing.html
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
"...we have a transfer booked to Nuremburg so will arrive by 11 where we pick up a car rental for the remainder of the trip..." That's an unusual choice. I wouldn't want a car in Munich or in the towns I'm about to suggest. And you don't need one to get to Rothenburg. The 3 of you can get to Rothenburg from Nuremberg (or the CZ border, for that matter) on a Bayern ticket - 29€ total: http://www.munich-touristinfo.de/Bavaria-Ticket.htm Use another Bayern ticket to reach the airport for your final night in Germany (from wherever you are.) From Rothenburg, you can reach Nuremberg or Bamberg on the same Bayern ticket. So even if you used a Bayern ticket every day after CZ, your total costs will be 87€. If you do go to Munich, the Bayern ticket is also good on all public transport within the city. Same for Nuremberg and Bamberg, I'm pretty sure.
Posted by
OP
Toronto, ON, Canada
201 posts
I currently have the car rental because of the limited time we have between Prague & Munich. With the current plan to head to Fuessen it made more sense time-wise than the bus. I couldn't get a car rental from Rothenburg so that's why I was going to rent one from Nuremburg. I had planned on dropping it off in Munich when we arrive since we don't need it in town. Currently staying downtown for the last night as the girls want to go to Hofbrauhaus. Nothing is carved in stone & still 3 months out to adjust the plans so really appreciate the assistance and suggestions. I will start reading up on Bamberg.
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
Füssen (presumably for the destination of N'stein, a destination of dubious merit, and/or Hohenschwangau) is well to the south of Munich of course and will require over 250 km of driving from Rothenburg. Instead, there's the Residenz Palace, right in the heart of Munich, and other nearby palaces and sights if your last day will be there: http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/objects/mu_res.htm http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/uebers/muenchen.htm Going to Füssen means flying right past lots of great castles and palaces much closer to the Rothenburg/Bamberg/Nuremberg area; see map: http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/index.htm The Residenz in Würzburg is a UNESCO-protected world heritage site: http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/objects/wu_res.htm "With the current plan to head to Fuessen it made more sense time-wise than the bus." Since the whole Füssen idea is the reason you need the pricier car option, well, you might just drop it - Bavaria is dotted with fine baroque structures in Munich and to the north.
Posted by
Stuttgart, Germany
3050 posts
It's tough with a holiday Monday. Almost everything will be closed. A scenic drive for that day might be worthwhile, driving down through the alps near the German-Austrian border and overnighting in some cute little Bavarian town down that way. It would be a long day of driving but since almost nothing will be open (aside from some restaurants) you won't be needing to stop and tour and see anything. Do you specifically want to see the castles near Fussen? (And no, they're not "overrated", Neuschwanstein just isn't medieval, it's still something to behold). I'm not sure if there's much point to staying in Fuessen for two nights. A lot of people are anti-one-night-stops but with a car, you could drive from Rothenberg odT, arriving in time to tour the castles, overnight in Fussen, then spend the next day driving to Berchtesgaden or Salzburg for another night. You'd see some great scenery and still have time in the afternoon to see either Salzburg or the Koeningsee or go on a brief hike. Then it's another 2 1/2 hours or so to Munich in the morning. To me this seems like a nice although busy - way to drive but not doing any super long hauls and seeing a bit of what Southern Bavaria has to offer. If you do drive from Rothenburg down to Fuessen, it might be worth it to pop into Ulm to see the cathedral briefly.