Rhine and Bavaria in early December

The Rhine towns and cities that exist for more than just wine and tourism do not shut down. You'll want to stay somewhere larger than Bacharach. Trier is very interesting but not very close to FRA for flying out. If you want to visit Trier I would suggest staying in Trier itselfd, on the Mosel, or in Koblenz, which is much closer to FRA (about an hour via the fast trains.) Mainz, however, is a much nicer place than Koblenz, especially at that time of year, when its Christmas market is in full swing. Rüdesheim, not far from Mainz, also has an excellent Christmas market. From Mainz, Trier is about 2.5 hours by train!, but you can easily catch trains north along the more scenic part of the Rhine (Rüdesheim and north) to Braubach, where Marksburg Castle, the best Rhine Castle to tour anyway, is open, and to Bacharach for a look around. There's a ferry in St. Goar for getting across the river if you need to. From Mainz, you're only 25 min. from FRA by S-Bahn. I would stay near the market (near the Dom and the old town) in Mainz if possible. There's an Ibis within walking distance for budget digs, and it's just a few steps from the Mainz Roemisches Theater train station. You can stay near the main Mainz station (Mainz Hbf.) but the walk to and from the interesting part of town will be a bit longer and will take you through the not so terribly interesting part of Mainz. The Königshof is a popular choice there.

Russ...Thanks for the reply! I chose Bacharach primarily because(1) we had to do some switching around of our itinerary because we couldn't get any rooms in Rothenburg for the last weekend of November[INVALID]most of the places worth staying were booked; and (2) Rick recommended it as a good home base being about an hour's drive from FRA. That's another thing[INVALID]we're renting a car and driving all over the region rather than "train-ing" it. I appreciate your suggestions[INVALID]I am surprised by them, though! In Rick's Germany guidebook, he puts Mainz and Rudesheim together in a tiny paragraph, basically stating they're not worth seeing[INVALID]too big or too touristy. I've been to Rudesheim, and enjoyed it (only one afternoon), so I was a bit surprised to see that. We need to stay somewhere close enough to FRA (1.5 hrs drive or less)...Mainz is your choice? What do you like to do in Mainz?

Just a couple of thoughts: . . . . ¶ Is that your order of travel, Würzburg, Munich, Reutte, Rothenburg? Würzburg and Rothenburg are very close together; save travel cost and time by seeing them together. I think a day in each, maybe three between them would be plenty of time. . . . . . ¶ By Reutte, I think you are planning on seeing the castles in Hohenschwangau, near Füssen. There are plenty of places to stay in nearby towns; there is nothing of interest in Reutte.

Lee: "Is that your order of travel, Würzburg, Munich, Reutte, Rothenburg? Würzburg and Rothenburg are very close together." That was our original itinerary...to see Würzburg then Rothenburg. Unfortunately, however, we had to do it in the opposite direction. Rothenburg was one of the places I really wanted to see[INVALID]but with when we're arriving, and when we would've left Würzburg, we would have arrived in Rothenburg when there were no vacanies at the places we wanted to stay. We would've had to stay in Dinklesbühl. As for Reutte...this is another one (like Bacharach) where we invested heavily in Rick's statements in the guidebook. We will have a car...is Fussen busier with a lot more to do? We can consider other lodging options for those days. Any suggestions? We were planning on seeing the castles and the Weiskirche. Thanks for the advice!!

Although I haven´t thoroughly explored any of the Rhine towns, the most interesting looking from a drive-by appeared to be Oberwesel, followed perhaps by Boppard. Both of these towns looks large enough that I can´t imagine they would completely close down in winter. One thing to keep in mind for December travel- daylight hours are very short. Your chances for outdoor site-seeing are limited to about 8:30 to 4:30.

Kirsten: Bacharach has lovely half-timbered buildings and some nice places to stay and eat. It's a great place in the warmer months when there are wine festivals and lots of visitors (although it is slightly overrun by North American R Steves followers.) But there's precious little to do there at that time of year, especially with the daylight hours so short. Rüdesheim, with its very atmospheric market (open in evenings) and its location on the east bank of the Rhine for access to Marksburg Castle, is very likely a better choice than Bacharach if you definitely want a smaller town; it's about the same travel time to the airport. I will say that I've never driven in and out of Mainz, which is indeed a bit of a tangle in the middle of town. Always used the train there. So a smaller town like R'heim might make things easier for coming and going. For a trip into Mainz one evening to see the market, you still might want to use the train - under an hour each way and 3.80 Euros each way.

There are many of us who question why Rick writes that Mainz isn't worth visiting. My guess? He didn't have anyone to show him the gems that are there. The cathedral should be top on the list for things to see in the Rhine region. 1000 years old, a massive, Romanesque basilica, it will surely impress you when you enter.... The 2nd biggest site would be St.Stephans and the Chagall windows. I truly cannot believe that Rick would not write about this if he went in and experienced the beauty of being inside this blue glow caused by these windows.... I also really like the Isis temple ruins located in the Römer passage. A visit to the Antique Ship Museum, the Roman Museum, and the Guttenburg Museum are well worthy of a visit....You might want to come see Frankfurt too, as the Christmas Market on the Römerburg is beautiful. Many of the medieval churches are open with great organ concerts in the evening. Lots of restaurants, as well as world class museums await you in Frankfurt.

Just a thought, Kirsten. Do not know your interests. However, if you wish to experience the Christmas Markets - the largest and most exciting is in Nurnberg with lots of entertainment and activities. It is set up within the walls of the Old Town and is magnificent!!

Hi Kirsten, Just a couple of recommendations: You'll find Fuessen "busier", plus it has a very nice old town pedestrian zone. I'd stay in Fuessen instead of Reutte anyday. We stayed twice at: www.hotel-hechten.com. In 2007, we stayed less than 15 minutes from Rothenburg ob der Tauber at: www.romanticroad.com/zumrappen. We'd stay here again in a minute. Paul