Where to go!

I%26#39;ve been to Germany a number of times but I have been Berlin too many times now (Not a bad thing) and I have been to Dresden.

I%26#39;m thinking of going to Germany again in the summer or possibly next winter but I want opinions on which cities are worth visiting.

I know I%26#39;m asking an impossible question as everyone has their own opinions about which city is better.

Here are some ideas

For example, always wanted to go to Munich not for Oktoberfest. Does Munich have many other beer festivals or do any other cities have better festivals. Are there many ski resorts in close proximity to Munich so I can go skiing for a day. Is Munich worth a short 2-3 day break?

Cologne, I can easily get to Brussells by train from London and then get to Cologne by train. Cologne looks nice from what I%26#39;ve seen and a friend has recommended it to.

Hamburg, The Beatles made their name there, it has got a good nightlife.

Karlsruhe, I%26#39;ve got a friend there

I just want a few opinions on what city is worth visiting or what places off the beaten track is worth visiting? Any ideas would be great: )

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Munich is a beautiful city and worth of a 2-3 day visit. The area within 2 hours of Munich has a lifetime of things to see and do.

From Munich you can go to:

Garmisch

Fuessen and the Neuschwanstein %26amp; Hohenschwangau castles

the Wieskirche

Regensburg

Passau

Salzburg

Chiemsee (castle Herrenchimsee)

Berchtesgaden (Konigsee, church in the Ramsau, Eaglesnest, Maria Gern)

Augsburg

Weltenberg (brewing beer at the monastery since 1050)

Many lakes and cathederals to see, drive the alpenstrasse, go skiing in Garmisch, go to Landshut,

or Mittenwald. Take the train to Innsbruck..

All pretty much within 2 hours of Munich...and I am sure I left out a bunch...so grab a book on Bavaria and map it out!

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Since you mentioned beer festivals, Munich%26#39;s is the world%26#39;s largest, and Stuttgart%26#39;s ( www.cannstatter-volksfest.de ) the world%26#39;s second largest from late September to early October. (Unlike Munich, however, there is little price gouging by the Stuttgart hotels.) Stuttgart ( www.stuttgart-tourist.de ) also has a very large wine festival ( www.stuttgarter-weindorf.de probably only in German) in late August early September, and the world%26#39;s largest Spring beer festival ( www.stuttgarter-fruehlingsfest.de only in German) from late April to early May. Then there is the Christmas Market ( www.stuttgarter-weihnachtsmarkt.de only in German) which is one of Europe%26#39;s oldest, largest, most visited, and most beautiful with all the stalls highly decorated and in a lovely setting by the palace square, the Old Palace, the New Palace and the Stiftskirche (old church).

Some excellent things to see and do in Stuttgart, birthplace of the automobile:

Mercedes Benz Museum

Porsche Museum

other excellent museums such as the Staatsgallerie for art, Linden Museum for ethnology, Museum am Loewentor for local dinosaur and Ice Age fossils, Wuerttemberg Museum in the Old Palace for history up to the early 1800s, etc.

Wilhelma ( www.wilhelma.de ) Europe%26#39;s largest combined zoo-botanical garden set amidst the nice Moorish architecture of this former palace

walk around the city center with the palaces, churches, opera house, Markthalle with sights and smells of gourmet foods from around the world, etc.

world%26#39;s first modern TV tower, has a viewing platform

three large mineral baths associated with western Europe%26#39;s largest mineral waters

world reknown ballet and Germany%26#39;s opera house of the year 6 out of the last 11 years

panoramic walks about the steep valley walls

extensive vineyards ( www.stuttgarter-weinwanderweg.de only in German) with nice walks through them with wineries, Weinstube%26#39;s and Besenwirtschaft%26#39;s along the way

Weissenhofseidlung where world-famous architects designed houses for a 1927 architectural exhibition

15 minutes away by public transportation in the form of the S-bahn are: Esslingen ( www.esslingen.de ) with its well preserved medieval center; and Ludwigsburg ( www.ludwigsburg.de ) with Germany%26#39;s largest perfectly preserved (all original) Baroque Palace (in www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de along with the Stuttgart palaces, Wilhelma, and other excellent places operated by the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg), the Swabian Versailles, with the longest and best European palace tour I%26#39;ve been on, four excellent museums, extensive gardens, porcellan manufacture and sales (Ludwigsburg Porcellan celebrated their 250th anniversary last year), and two smaller associated palaces set near a deer park (several days to see it all).

Venturing slightly further away, any of the towns at the ends of the 6 S-bahn lines are enjoyable to visit for a few hours: such as Weil der Stadt, birthplace of the mathematician/astronomer Keppler; Marbach birthplace of the poet Schiller (250th anniversary of his birth this year, so some special activities); and Schorndorf birthplace of the automobile inventor Daimler. All have museums dedicated to their favorite sons.

Slightly further away and accessable by train: the old college town of Tuebingen ( www.tuebingen.de )with its hilly cobblestone streets, half-timbered houses, castle, interesting nontourist shops, and one of Europe%26#39;s oldest universities (our favorite place in Germany to repeatedly visit) and nextdoor well preserved medieval Bebenhausen Monastery (in www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de ); Metzingen ( www.Metzingen.de ) which has Germany%26#39;s most factory outlets for some inexpensive shopping; Bad Urach ( www.badurach.de ) a lovely old mountain valley town: etc.

With a car, there are many other places that become easily accessable such as my favorite area of Germany, the Swabian Alb ( www.schwaebischealb.de ) with its many castles and caves and excellent cliffside scenery; the Black Forest ( www.schwarzwald-tourismus.de ); the walled cities of the Romantic Road; etc.

For other interesting places to visit in and around Stuttgart, just click on my name for my many forum posts for this area of Germany.

From the UK, Stuttgart is inexpensively accessable by Germanwings ( www.germanwings.com ) and TUIfly ( www.tuifly.com ), and there are other airlines serving Stuttgart.

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Thats great advice from you both. Thats really appreciated.

I still need to do a lot of thinking about where to go but at least the suggestions so far has made it easier for me.

Vielen Danke!