JSizzle424

Good morning!
My husband, myself, and our 1 year old are taking a trip to Frankfurt (sometime in the next 5 months, likely in April or May) to visit friends living there - it will be our very first time in Europe. We will be going for 7-10 days, and hope to take at least a couple excursions.
So, my question - if you were going to Frankfurt, what would be your top 2 places you'd recommend going to see? Prague, Luxembourg, Switzerland, etc? And why?
Thank you in advance for any input, insight, and 'sales pitch' you may give!

Fussgaenger

Frankfurt is in Germany. I'd suggest staying in Germany.

Spend a few days in the Middle Rhine Valley and on the Mosel River - great scenery, river cruises, lots of history, 1,000-year-old castles, old-world villages like Cochem, Bacharach, Bernkastel, and also Trier, Germany's oldest city with sights from ancient Rome. Then a few days in Franconia (northern Bavaria) for Nuremberg, Bamberg, Rothenburg, and Wuerzburg.

sassy27

I love Germany but have been to so many places to know this so I think you should branch out a little. Do you have any plans on going to France? I kept seeing people fly into Frankfurt and head either to Paris or Prague so they must be on the hit list. I did take the train to Paris and flew out from there. It was very easy to do. If you do stay in Germany look into going to Bavaria. You can also head to Austria from there. There are just so many choices and so little time. Come back and let us know what you decide.

nytraveler

No sure what you mean by "excurions". If you mean day trips most of the places you mention are way too far/long trip, esp with an infant. If you mean either staying a couple of nights or perhaps going after visiting your firends and flying home from the new city you canpick almost anwhere.

For info on travel look at bahn.de, the German railroad web site. It lists all of the trains in europe - althogh has costs only for those involving Germany.

For instance:

Train frankfurt to paris is about 5 hours each way

Frankfurt to Prague is about 6.5 hours each way

Frankfurt to Lucerne is more than 4 hours each way

It is possible to visit nearby towns in Germany or in a little over 2 hours you can get to Strasbourg which will give you a little flavor of France.

You really need to clarify what you mean for better responses.

Pegontheroad

I agree with Fussgaenger. I love Germany and find more to see every time I visit. Frankfurt isn't far from Rothenburg, which is a charming medieval city and not to be missed for the first-time traveler.

You could do a half-day cruise on the Rhine, seeing various castles and castle ruins. You also will be close to Burg Eltz, my all-time favorite castle, on the Mosel River, which connects to the Rhine. You could stay at the charming Hotel Haus Lippman in Beilstein, where my sister and I spent a couple of wonderful days, and drive the short distance to Burg Eltz.

Würzburg is nearby, with its wonderful Residenz, my all-time favorite sumptuous palace, Bamberg is charming, and Nürnberg is both historical and beautiful.

Bavaria (Bayern in German)is rich in scenery, gorgeous architecture, and German culture. Munich (München)is loaded with things to see and is close to Neuschwanstein, Ludgwig's fairy tale castle, after which the Disneyland castle is designed.

I find driving in Germany to be easy and convenient, but train travel is excellent as well.

Just my two cents.

pariswat

Brussels is also 4 hours by train

nytraveler

I don't think it worth all of the travel to have just one day in Paris - I would want 3 days at least to see anything.

The train times I gave are from Frankfurt Hbf. If there is another major station nearby your friend should tell you and you can check specific travel times on bahn.de. But the fastest train from F to Paris is more than 4 hours - not nearly 2 hours.

sassy27

Not that an hour makes a difference but Frankfurt to Paris was 4 hrs going from the main HBF when I took that train last month. There were stops along the way. A long weekend to Paris is doable if only to get a feel for it. You wouldn't have to do it all as I've been 6 times and there are still things I haven't seen. I think you need to decide how much you want to do with the little time you have. Cologne was really nice and I could have used another day instead of one. If traveling in one direction takes 3 or more hours and if not staying more than a day, I would cross it off the list. I am speaking from my experience as I've done Paris to Bruges and back for only 24 hrs and Florence to Venice and back in a day. It was too draining for me so I take more time.

Mainhattengirl

Frankfurt to Paris is 3 hours and 49min.

Büdingen is closer than Rothenburg and a lot nicer.

traveller1959

Föckelberg is pretty far from Frankfurt. It is a bit in the middle of nowhere.

Driving time to Saarbrücken is about an hour. From Saarbrücken, the fastest direct train to Paris is 1:49.

Frankly, with this, your question is settled. Go to Paris. Travelwise, it is the easiest "big" destination and it is certainly a first-rank destination in Europe (if not the world). You can take the 8:00 train and be in Paris before 10:00. Then you leave with the 19:06 train an be back in Saarbrücken before 21:00. Or better, you stay overnight in Paris.

The obvious German destinations are Trier (which I value higher than Luxembourg), the Mosel Valley, the Rhine Valley. There are also Kaiserslautern, Worms, Mainz, Heidelberg. Also, Strasbourg is in reach.

So, you will have enough to do to keep you occupied.