Weekend Break In germany

Hi

I am looking at a weekend break in Germany in March - I have done Berlin and Hamburg but was looking for somewhere different to go

Anything goes really, castles, maybe some military history and of course good food and wine

Any suggestions?

Many thanks!

Nigel

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Why not try Stuttgart (www.stuttgart-tourist.de), you can fly there inexpensively from Stansted with GermanWings- www.germanwings.com , and even more inexpensively if you sign up to be advised of their frequent specials, sometimes even free flights.

Stuttgart has Germany%26#39;s third most Michelin starred restaurants after much bigger Berlin and Hamburg, and Baden-Wuerttemberg, its state, has almost a third of the top restaurants in Germany. Stuttgart is also Germany%26#39;s largest wine city, and the vineyards almost reach down to the main train station.

There%26#39;s enough to do in and around Stuttgart to easily last you a weekend or weeks. Some of the highlights: the Mercedes Benz Museum (Stuttgart is after all where the car was invented) with 160 cars displaying over 120 years of automotive history, the museum is loved by all visitors irregardless of age or gender; Europe%26#39;s second largest mineral waters has three associated large spas, in the Leuze one you can swim in bubbly carbonated water; Wilhelma is Europe%26#39;s largest combination zoo-botanical gardens set amidst the nice Moorish architecture of this former palace; the ballet is world-reknown and the opera Germany%26#39;s opera house of the year 6 out of the last 10 years; you can go up to the observation deck of the world%26#39;s first modern TV tower; there are many other very good museums; 15 minutes away by S-bahn is Esslingen with its well preserved medieval center; another 15 minutes away by S-bahn is Ludwigsburg with Germany%26#39;s largest perfectly preserved (all original, not a 1950s rebuild like many others) Baroque Palace (Swabian Versailles) with its tourable royal chambers, four excellent museums, extensive gardens, and two smaller associated palaces set in a deer park (several days to see it all); any town at the end of the 6 S-bahn lines except Plochingen (which would appeal only to people liking modern architecture- Hundred Waters) is nice for a visit of a few hours, including Marbach the poet Schiller%26#39;s birthplace and Weil der Stadt the birthplace of the astronomer Keppler; Burg Hohenzollern by Hechingen is picturesque and fairytale-like and is one of the most important castles in Germany being the family seat of the influential Hohenzollern family (www.burg-hohenzollern.com); and Hohenneuffen nearby is the largest castle (fortress) ruins of the Schwaebische Alb (low limestone mountains with numerous castles and caves)- see www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de choosing the English option which will have Hohenneuffen, the Ludwigsburg palace and gardens, the Stuttgart palaces and Wilhelma in it.

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I%26#39;ll also mention, seeing you are from England and might like to do some inexpensive shopping, Metzingen (www.metzingen.de) close to Stuttgart has Germany%26#39;s most factory outlets. Of course, Stuttgart has good shopping also.

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Hi Nigel

As you have done two of the bigger towns already, I would recommend a smaller town just to get some new impressions.

Stuttgart would definitely be a good choice but also the following towns would offer many interesting things to do and see:

- Heidelberg (famous castle ruin, beautiful old town, nice area, great wine)

- L��beck (cheap flights with Ryanair from London-Stansted to L��beck, world cultural heritage, very picturesque old town, many interesting museums, churches, good fish dishes, great marzipan shop)

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Thanks everyone so far for your help, It has been most useful!!

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%26gt; Anything goes really, castles, maybe some military history and of course good food and wine

perfect for this would be

Middle Rhine Valley, Moselle Valley

(albeit May-October would be even more perfect than March there)

http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de

http://www.burg-eltz.de

http://www.trier.de

http://www.bruecke-remagen.de/index_en.htm

You could fly with Ryanair to (Frankfurt-)Hahn.

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I would recommend Munich and as day trips you could visit the Castle of Neuschwanstein and/or Salzburg in Austria.

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