Advice for 3 days in Bavaria

Chivito550

Hi all,

Looking for a bit of advice about a short trip to Germany I have planned in December. I am going to Nuremberg for the Christmas Markets. The markets are the main purpose of the trip, but I also want to check out the old towns in this area as I am really interested in old historic towns and architecture, and have always wanted to visit some small German towns.

I arrive into Frankfurt on the Friday evening at 8pm, and have booked a train from the airport at 10.02pm which will get me into Nuremberg late at 12:37am (I am staying a short walk from the train station so will be in bed by 1am, so the late arrival doesn’t bother me). Bit of a wait in the airport between arrival and train but I’m sure there’s many places I can have a beer during this time.

I then have all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and then all morning and afternoon on Monday, until my train leaves Nuremberg for Frankfurt at 16:00, arriving at the airport at 18:22 for my 20:40 flight.

So I have 2 full days, and a full morning and afternoon on the third day. What I was thinking was the following:

Saturday: Get a train out to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and spend 4-5 hours or so there, and get back to Nuremberg at around 5pm or so, and spend the evening at the big Christmas Market.

Sunday: Get a train to Bamberg, and spend 5-6 hours there, and get back to Nuremberg at around 5 or 6pm, and spend the evening at the Christmas Market again.

Monday: Do some sightseeing in Nuremberg in the morning, and spend the afternoon at the Christmas Market.

I love Christmas markets, and gluhwein, and have always wanted to go to a real German market, hence why I want to go on each day.

Bamberg looks appealing as it is UNESCO heritage listed, and it has unique smoked beer which I want to try out.

Roethenburg is appealing as I’ve always wanted to check out the place ever since I saw that iconic photograph (one of the most photographed parts of Germany).

Is the above idea doable?

And would booking a Bayern ticket for Saturday and Sunday be the way to go? U have my train tickets to and from the airport sorted.

munchkin_utd

yup, thats doable. Tight, but doable. I have heard that Nürnberg market is bedlam during the day at weekend so maybe best get out of town anyhow.

as for tickets, theres cheaper options than the bayern ticket.
You can get a day ticket for 2 for the full extent of the greater Nürnberg area for €18,00, which includes Rothenburg.
A day ticket for 2 for Nürnberg and Bamberg is then only €6,10

For future reference, if your flight is lufthansa, you can login to your flight details and tag on a train trip for only €29 and its a flexible ticket so you can just hop on the first train comes through with no worrying about flight being late.
And for current reference, if your flight is lufthansa keep an eye on strike details over the next month.

Chivito550

munchkin_utd wrote: »

yup, thats doable. Tight, but doable. I have heard that Nürnberg market is bedlam during the day at weekend so maybe best get out of town anyhow.

as for tickets, theres cheaper options than the bayern ticket.
You can get a day ticket for 2 for the full extent of the greater Nürnberg area for €18,00, which includes Rothenburg.
A day ticket for 2 for Nürnberg and Bamberg is then only €6,10

For future reference, if your flight is lufthansa, you can login to your flight details and tag on a train trip for only €29 and its a flexible ticket so you can just hop on the first train comes through with no worrying about flight being late.
And for current reference, if your flight is lufthansa keep an eye on strike details over the next month.

Thanks. My flight is with Aer Lingus. I managed to get a train journey for €19 each way from Frankfurt to Nuremberg, so €38 in total which is not too bad.

Where can I buy the day ticket for Greater Nurnburg area online? And where can I buy the Day ticket to Bamberg online? I'm afraid of paying astronomical fares on the day if I do not book ahead. I recall dropping around 50 euro return from Munich to Regensburg on the day last year, maybe more.

Mr rebel

Nuremberg is a great choice. I was there when the sun was blazing a few months ago so I can only imagine how winter fairytale it must look in winter.
Munich is only an hour and 10 minutes away by train...a wonderful city too but perhaps best saved for another time as you seem to have a packed itinerary already:)

EDIT: Nevermind, I see you've been there already. Regarding Nuremberg, I'm not sure you even need a day ticket as the city is small and very walkable. Though it is cheap anyway...think you can get one for €6 or so from the machines at the stations.

munchkin_utd

Chivito550, local tickets are the same price regardless of when you buy them.

I dont know what you were at going to Regensburg seeing as a bayern ticket would be half what you paid.

Chivito550

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Chivito550, local tickets are the same price regardless of when you buy them.

I dont know what you were at going to Regensburg seeing as a bayern ticket would be half what you paid.

Yeh I hadn't done my research. I was doing a 5 week trip around Europe, so only looked into each place as I was heading there. I'd just moved home from Australia at that point also so really put very little advance thought into the trip as I had a lot going on at the time.