Weekend trip from Frankfurt Germany to ?????

Hi Erin, Since you don't have a lot of time I recommend traveling to the Mosel River valley, it's not that far from Frankfurt, plenty of great sites, Trier is a nice city to visit and you can get to Luxemborg easily from there. If you don't have a car it is easily accessable by train from Frankfurt. There is a great write up on the area on this website, just go to the Plan Your Trip, Best Destinations on the left side, Germany, then to the Rhine and Mosel Valleys.

It's about 4 hours away by train (probably about as far as Prague), but if dancing until 4 am is what you're looking for, head north to Hamburg. Although I dozed off at my normal time when I visited there, I'm told that city doesn't go to sleep until the mornings on weekends. If you're looking for something more sedate, head down to Heidelberg (although being a university town, you can party all night here as well) and take a cruise through the beautiful and under-visited Neckar valley. I wouldn't put it in the same league as the Mittelrhein, but it compares well to the Mosel... and it has more castles.

I think driving a car, after a long trans-Atlantic flight is dangerous. Do please take the train instead, besides which it will probably be faster. Studies have shown that over-tired drivers are just as dangerous as drunk drivers. You won't be getting any stamps in your passport going to these other countries. Hamburg sounds like a great idea, but think about Berlin too. Great nightlife in both cities. Trains to Berlin only take 4 hours. If you want to go to another country, take the train to Paris and it will take under 4 hours.

Hi, I agree with the vibrant choices suggested, Hamburg and Berlin, and even Cologne. A very lovely small place north of Frankfurt is Marburg an der Lahn, if you want to get away from big cities. I've always liked going back to see and visit the place.

Thank you all for your advice... I will definitely look into those options. Although the trains are nice as you get to look into the country side, I find that I really enjoy stopping off at the little towns and checking things out and getting off of the beaten path. Jo - I appreciate your concern and will be careful. I am one of those fortunate individuals who sleeps like a rock all curled up in a plane seat. I took this same trip last month, and woke up at 9AM in Germany and on German time. I didn't even get jet lag.

I like your idea of Prague. A flight from Frankfurt only takes an hour. Old town Prague is compact and easily seen on foot, and there is a lot to see and do.

All of the above suggestions sound very good. It all depends on how active you want to be. Hamburg, Berlin, Prague obviously are bigger cities with the accompanying nightlife/social scenes. The Mosel is a great quiet trip, by car or boat. We spent an idyllic week in Beilstein, a small town right on the river, highly recommended by RS. And yes, we stayed at Hotel Haus Lippmann. Beilstein also makes for an easy trip to Trier, Cochem, or Burg Eltz for a day. Marburg is an interesting town, but I'm not sure a weekend there wouldn't get repetitive. We didn't find much to do after a tour of the old town. But whatever you choose, enjoy!

Does it have to be other big cities? Why not the countryside? The Rhoen or Spessart mountains are only an hours from Frankfurt and are so green, quite and secluded - like a different world. For the Rhoen make Fulda your base. Then explore e.g. Mt. Milseburg. (www.rhoen.de, http://www.naturpark-spessart.de/etc/english.php)