Anyone have a recommendation on travel itinerary for southern Germany/eastern France/Switzerland/Luxembourg?

This kind of depends on what you want to see, honestly. IMO, Frankfurt is not worth spending any time in. It's the financial city of the country and the only city in Germany with a skyline. Fortunately, you're close to some cool stuff.

If you head west from Frankfurt you're wine country, you can also easily get to Luxembourg. Personally, I would not go NW of Frankfurt. There's not a whole hell of a lot to do up there.

If you head south of Frankfurt you move towards Baden-Wuerttemburg which is probably my favorite part of the country. You're also in wine country and BW is home to the Black Forest. Lots of really great hiking opportunities here if you want to pursue that. There are also a lot of old-school thermal baths and spas in this region. There are loads of really great towns in this state: Mannheim, Heidelburg, Stuttgart (home of Porsche and Mercedes) and, much further south, Freiburg. There are also plenty of really pretty "dorfs" ("villages" in German) in the Black Forest that are very quaint. Sasbachwalden is our favorite. You can also easily visit Strasbourg, France from this part of the country. Although, I found it to be way too busy for my taste. It lies on the Rhine and the river cruises stop there along their journeys.

If you head southeast of Frankfurt you get into Bayern which is where the things that you picture Germany being about exists: Lederhosen and biergartens. From Frankfurt, it's easy to train to Nuremberg and Munich. Even Augsburg or Regensburg are both really pretty.

Edit: I'd advise picking one region/state and exploring only it. Don't try and combine something like Munich and Luxembourg.

I lived in Frankfurt for eight years as a military dependent. I have been back several times and am taking kids for the first time this summer.

Five days in Germany is a little short. Your biggest mistake could be spending too much time getting from one place to another or trying to see too much. Here are some possible stops.

If you want to stick around the Frankfurt area, the Rhine Valley is great and only a few hours away. Burg Eltz is an excellent small castle that is in great shape. Close by is Marksburg, which is more traditional and sits high above the Rhein with great views. A Rhine River cruise is an easy way to see a lot. Heidelburg is pretty cool and about an hour south of Frankfurt. Rothenburg is a medieval walled city and one of my wife's favorites, about three hours away.

Your other option is to catch a train or a quick flight to Munich, which is great by itself but an excellent jumping-off point for day trips to Bavaria and its castles like Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, or even Salzburg. If you visit Munich, Dachau, a WWII concentration camp, is about 45 minutes away. It's a powerful experience that should not be missed. You can arrange tours to all of these from folks like Radius Tours that offer transportation.

Your last option is Berlin, a pretty cool city, but you'll spend a lot of time traveling back and forth.

I'd get Rick Steve's Germany guidebook, a quick way to research possible itineraries.

Thank you. These are great recommendations. Just did it on a whim, since there is a direct flight from San Antonio. Any other reccos are appreciated. I will research in the meantime.

Wiesbaden, Mainz, Bacharach are all good options and variety based on impact from the war.

Just returned from a 15 day trip. FWIW....Cologne, Strasbourg, Basel and Lucerne all great cities to visit.

If you're into cars/racing, the Nurburgring is about two hours from Frankfurt.

Day 1 - Arrive Frankfurt, drive to Heidelberg. See castle ruins, visit the Red Ox pub. Stay the night in Heidelberg.
Day 2 - Drive to Munich. Visit Dachau early, then later eat and drink in the Hofbrauhaus. If there's time, visit the Frauenkirche and also see the Glockenspiel. Stay the night in Munich.
Day 3 - Drive down to Neuschwanstein castle and see both it and Linderhof. Stay the night in nearby Garmisch for a wonderful Alpine village experience, at the foot of Germany's highest peak in the Alps, the Zugspitze.
Day 4 - Drive east to Salzburg and see Mozart's birth home and some of the Sound of Music locations. Stay tne night in Salzburg.
Day 5 - Drive back toward Frankfurt. Stop in Rothenburg for a cool medieval walled city (Dinkelsbuhl also is great, and less touristy, but a bit further south. Drive back to Frankfurt in the evening, stay the night near the airport somewhere.
Day 5.5 - Hop on plane home.

Aggie87 said:

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Day 1 - Arrive Frankfurt, drive to Heidelberg. See castle ruins, visit the Red Ox pub. Stay the night in Heidelberg.
Day 2 - Drive to Munich. Visit Dachau early, then later eat and drink in the Hofbrauhaus. If there's time, visit the Frauenkirche and also see the Glockenspiel. Stay the night in Munich.
Day 3 - Drive down to Neuschwanstein castle and see both it and Linderhof. Stay the night in nearby Garmisch for a wonderful Alpine village experience, at the foot of Germany's highest peak in the Alps, the Zugspitze.
Day 4 - Drive east to Salzburg and see Mozart's birth home and some of the Sound of Music locations. Stay tne night in Salzburg.
Day 5 - Drive back toward Frankfurt. Stop in Rothenburg for a cool medieval walled city (Dinkelsbuhl also is great, and less touristy, but a bit further south. Drive back to Frankfurt in the evening, stay the night near the airport somewhere.
Day 5.5 - Hop on plane home.

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This is a lot of driving, but if you were to do this itinerary it makes more sense to swap days 3 and 4. Don't head west of Munich for the Allgaeu to then turn around and go east of Munich for Salzburg, to turn around once more and go back north west of Munich.

FancyKetchup14 said:

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Aggie87 said:

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Day 1 - Arrive Frankfurt, drive to Heidelberg. See castle ruins, visit the Red Ox pub. Stay the night in Heidelberg.
Day 2 - Drive to Munich. Visit Dachau early, then later eat and drink in the Hofbrauhaus. If there's time, visit the Frauenkirche and also see the Glockenspiel. Stay the night in Munich.
Day 3 - Drive down to Neuschwanstein castle and see both it and Linderhof. Stay the night in nearby Garmisch for a wonderful Alpine village experience, at the foot of Germany's highest peak in the Alps, the Zugspitze.
Day 4 - Drive east to Salzburg and see Mozart's birth home and some of the Sound of Music locations. Stay tne night in Salzburg.
Day 5 - Drive back toward Frankfurt. Stop in Rothenburg for a cool medieval walled city (Dinkelsbuhl also is great, and less touristy, but a bit further south. Drive back to Frankfurt in the evening, stay the night near the airport somewhere.
Day 5.5 - Hop on plane home.

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This is a lot of driving, but if you were to do this itinerary it makes more sense to swap days 3 and 4. Don't head west of Munich for the Allgaeu to then turn around and go east of Munich for Salzburg, to turn around once more and go back north west of Munich.

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That works.

Drive wise:
Frankfurt to Heidelberg - about 1 hour
Heidelberg to Munich - almost 4 hours
Munich to Salzburg - 1.5 hours
Salzburg to Neuschwanstein - almost 3 hours
Neuschwanstein to Garmisch - 1 hour
Garmisch to Rothenburg - 3.5 hours
Rothenburg to Frankfurt - 2 hours

While that is a lot of driving, the OP wants to spend their time in southern Germany (and also eastern France, Switzerland, and Luxembourg). 5.5 days isn't enough to visit all of those destinations IMO, so this seems to be at least a "doable" option given where they want to spend time.

If that's too aggressive, maybe omit Salzburg altogether from this itinerary and focus more on the other locations.

Also, I think the OP should consider starting and ending this trip in Munich instead of Frankfurt. It would make everything easier to drive to and from. Really no reason to start and end this trip so far away from the places they want to visit.