I have never been to Germany but will be visiting in a little less than a month.
I am wondering if it is possible to drive from Frankfurt to Paris or are the borders closed to this. What are the alternatives and which, if you know, is the cheapest way?
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Closed Borders??? What in the world are you talking about? This is France and Germany you are talking about, both members of the EU. You go from one to the other just like going from Ohio to Michigan. You might want to check out a few guidebooks from the library or do some online reading.
The easiest and fastest way is to take the train from Frankfurt to Paris. Takes less than 4 hours. You could never drive it that fast. The trains go around 200 km an hour.
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%26gt;The trains go around 200 km an hour.
Beyond Metz the trains regularly run at 320 km/h - try to drive that fast :-)
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Taking the train would be the quickest way to get from Frankfurt to Paris. You can go to the websit below to look at times and costs:
www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml
Trains are clean, fast, run on time. Only downside is not being able to just go stop when you see something and spend an hour or two.
Good luck.
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Thank you all for your advice.
I%26#39;m sure I will have plenty more questions. I will be visiting a family member in the army and they were unsure about if you could drive to Paris, LOL
Does anyone suggest a specific hotel? We are trying to have a budget conscious good time.
We were hoping there would be some one and two day tours offered by the closest army base as there have been since they arrived but there are none the week that I%26#39;ll be there so now we are trying to put together an itinerary to see Paris.
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Which Army base and in which city are you looking for a hotel? The USO offers lots of tours, but frankly it is very easy to get around the country here without being on a tour.
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My family member is stationed in Wiesbaden but I don%26#39;t know the name of the base.
I think we were so dead set on going to the tours through the USO that we didn%26#39;t look into anything really on our own and now we%26#39;re panicking.
As for hotels, I was just trying to get an idea. My family member doesn%26#39;t know much about the area as they have only been there a few months so they are just as lost as I am. I however am more computer savvy and know that there are people like you all that I can reach out to and get info.
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Weisbaden Army base is in Wiesbaden. They even have their own hotel, though you can get cheaper places with considerable more charm. Your family member can at least go over to the USO and ask for assistance.
From Wiesbaden it is easy to just get on a train or a boat, and go down the Rhein river to all kinds of nice little towns, with castles and everything. Mainz is right next door with a fabulous cathedral and lots of Roman ruins. Frankfurt is a half hour away and it has lots of historical things to see as well as something like 46 museums and art galleries. Heidelberg is about 1.5 hours away and that is truly a lovely town. Cologne is probably less than 2 hours away if you take the slow train and I do recommend the slow train. There are vinyards to visit all over the place, festivals going on everywhere, like jousting tournaments, wine fests, this week in Frankfurt, we are having a dragon boat fest and at the end of the month a HUGE international gymnastics festival which will be having a gigantic party on the river every night.
You say you are computer savvy, so why not get out a map, look at places near Wiesbaden, and start googling. If you see a place that looks interesting, google it (most towns will have a website and many will be in English) then come back and ask us about it, since different people on here are knowledgable about different places and things, like trains. It helps to start a seperate thread about this.
Taking a train to Paris is not going to solve your problem of not knowing what to see or do once you get here. In fact you will find people in Germany to be a bit more friendly and be willing to speak a bit more English than in Paris or France in general.
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Thanks anyway.
I know how to look up things on the computer but it is quite different when you are from a totally different country. I travel all over the US and plan it from my computer but am skeptical of doing do so in Germany.
The information thus far has been helpful.
If anyone else has suggestions for places to go and ways to get there, I%26#39;m open. If not, have a great day.
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You just had some great suggestions in the post before your reply...why don%26#39;t you follow up on those, and do check websites found all over Trip Advisor. The Middle Rhine Gorge is just a few kilometers away, and as already posted, full of vineyards and castles. Wiesbaden is very well located for travel to it and has good train connections..I have travled through there many times.
As already suggested, keep checking this site and read other%26#39;s post. When a website is listed, click on. Surely the site%26#39;s pictures will give you a good idea of all the wonderful places to visit. It%26#39;s not that foreign--it%26#39;s an adventure!
Last, if doing it on your own doesn%26#39;t sound like what you want to do, you or family should in touch with the Wiesbaden USO--they surely have many tours available.
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American Arms Hotel Wiesbaden
wiesbaden.army.mil/sites/about/lodging.asp
www.armygermany.com/index.php…
Other hotels
http://english.wiesbaden.de/
http://www.hrs.com
Army installations in Wiesbaden and Mainz 1980
usarmygermany.com/Communities/…20List.htm
usarmygermany.com/Communities/…20List.htm
Most have been shut down however in the mean time.
Wiesbaden bus network
eswe-verkehr.de/images/download/Liniennetzpl…
Single ticket from Frankfurt Airport to Wiesbaden is EUR 3,70. This covers the S-Bahn trains to Wiesbaden. And also the buses inside Wiesbaden.
sights
Wiesbaden (a famous 19th century spa town becoming a state capital)
http://english.wiesbaden.de/
Mainz (with deeper routes in history)
mainz.de/WGAPublisher/…hpkr-5nkgnz.en.html
During the inauguration of their new cathedral on 29. August 1009 the building burnt down. Mostlikely by torches they used for the illumination on this day. Thus they had to rebuilt it. Due this accident they have to wait till 10. November 2036 to celebrate the millennium of their cathedral.
Rheingau (famous wine region (Riesling))
http://www.rheingau.de/languages/english
Middle Rhine Valley (Germany out of the picture book, UNESCO world heritage)
http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de
http://www.marksburg.de
http://www.burg-eltz.de
