My kids and I will be traveling by train from Paris to Rothenburg. Besides Heidelberg, does anyone have any recommendations for interesting towns that are about half-way between Paris and Rothenburg, not far out of the way and would break up our 8-hour trip? My son is 13 and my daughter is 18. Thanks for all of your help.
Posted by
washington
837 posts
Not sure where you are finding an 8 hour train connection from Paris to Rothenburg. Everything on the German site, usually very complete, shows 12 to 15 hours. From the transfers shown on the DB Bahn site along with a map, it appears that Mannheim and Stuttgart, primarily Stuttgart would be the choices among cities. There have been several posts about Stuttgart, generally centered around the Porsche and Mercedes museums. Might be of interest to two teens.
Posted by
Paradise
6664 posts
I don't know what David is looking at. It's 8 hours (or a little less) less to Rothenburg from Paris by train. The 8:01 departure routes you through Cologne. Good place for museums and to take in a massive Gothic Cathedral. Or take the same train and change there for the Koblenz area; see a real medieval castle that's never been destroyed/reconstructed in nearby Braubach: http://www.marksburg.de With this detour, your total journey time to Rothenburg is about 9 hours rather than 8. Braubach is a fine little village for overnight.
Posted by
Kingsport, Tennessee, USA
1 posts
There are two Rothenburg's. I assume Carol means Rothenburg ob der Tauber, while he was looking at the one near the border of Poland in NE Germany.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8961 posts
May I suggest Frankfurt, as it is a bit less than 4 hours from Paris? Tons of history and plenty of museums. Rothenburg is then about 2.5 hours from Frankfurt.
Posted by
Stuttgart, Germany
3049 posts
As others have noted, the fasted routes are A) Taking a Thayls to Cologne (Koln) and transferring or
B) Taking a TGV to Stuttgart and transferring I've done the latter route (Paris to Stuttgart), it's just under 4 hours so it would be the mid-way point, and the same is true of Koln as well. Both would be nice for an overnight. Stuttgart is rarely a destination for tourists but as mentioned it's the world HQ of Porsche and Mercedes-Benz and there are excellent museums for both easily accessible to the main train station. The downtown (Mitte) area has both a baroque and medieval palace, the latter of which has a nice little museum about the history of the state, with a crypt too, all fun activities for your teens I think. Most of the city does not look "historic" however, as it was bombed heavily in WWII and mostly rebuilt in a modern style. There are a few squares that are historic and lovely, though, and the regional Swabian cusiene is the best German cusiene, in my opinion. Maultaschen (large ravolis served in many different ways) is a must. I haven't been to Koln but it's supposed to be a fun city and obviously it has the famous cathedral. Stuttgart's churches are pretty lackluster. Hope this info helps you make a decision!
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8173 posts
Carol: I would suggest to go thru Cologne. The cathedral there was the tallest structure in the world for over 300 years (until the Eiffel Tower.) They also have a very nice central city. You don't say where you're going after Rothenburg. You're relatively close to Munich, and I would certainly suggest visiting there. Needless to say, it's a fun place, and has many things to do.