I have about 5 days in Germany, I am debating whether I should tour small towns near FRA (where I will be flying into and out of Germany) or visit MUC or TXL. This will be my first trip to Germany, which city or cities should I visit to get a "typical" German tour? TIA.

LAX

I don't think Berlin has the 'typically German' feel you're looking for. The following is very touristy, but that's what we are, right? Travel over to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, spend a night, then down the Romantic Road to Munich. I'm prejudiced, as I lived there for 2 years, but think Munich is the greatest town in Germany. So much to see & do, no matter what your interests. (BTW, let us know them & we can make suggestions...) It's a beautiful city & you won't be bored. Can do a day trip to the Alps or Schlo� Neuschwanstein from there, too.

My vote would be for Munich. I just was just there and loved the city - very clean, friendly, a lot to see and do. And for the most part, the locals switched to english once they heard me butchering their language
Now take it with a grain of salt, as I've never been to Berlin.

Depending on when you travel, you might consider travelling along the Rhine River and catch a wine festival in one of the small towns (Mainz is beautiful). We took a day trip via their "bullet train" and went to Cologne and walked thru the beautiful church. I would choose Berlin over Munich because of the history. You can see how they used to live in the old East Berlin area, which is now a very desirable address to have. You can walk around and still see parts of the wall, and imagine how difficult it must have been to have lived in a divided city, and how lucky we are. If you are interested, there is an old concentration camp about an hour by train outside of Berlin called Sachsenhausen. The Germans used it during the war, and then the Russians used it up until about 1950. That is an excellent place to go and reflect and to pay your respects to the many thousands of people that lost their lives there. That's my 2 cents worth.

Fra is nothing really to see about. )

Defenetly vote for Cologne, you will love the church and the surrounding, also Berlin as well as Munich are just some hours away by train.

Munich is a bit more touristy if you are into "wow - how old of a building" and a lot of museums which berlin does have as well. it is more of a personal choice.

I would take a look at the offerings on the website and try to decide which kind of additional programm you want at the site.

Berlin should be less expensive than Munich or Fra.

Three opera houses in Berlin, vs one in Munich - I vote for Berlin!!

(Actually, you'll have a wonderful time in either city).

IMHO, the foregoing suggestions were all quite enlighting. My personal favorite as a foreign guest of Germany when I am there is Munich. I also like Koln and enjoyed Berlin as well. Remember, your interests may be different as I travel to Europe regularly and FRA or Munich are usually arrival airports then I use the great DB train system for the rest of my European travel.

My suggestion for you is to grap a travel reference at the library or purchase it your closest Barns&Noble Book store and compare what the "travel experts" recommend with this post and others. Also, they will explain the transportation options you have when in Germany.



Have fun...as I am sure you will.

Hi,

Both Berlin and MUC would be good cities to visit.

Both are relatively easy to get around with good transport links.

Regards

TBS

I do like Berlin for the history, the old western part and the old eastern part, the Museum Island, Alexanderplatz , the palaces and Potsdam.

Stay three nights in Munich and two nights in Berlin. You will get an impression of both and it is nothing but a 45 minutes short hop. You might fly into MUC, continue to TXL (BER) and fly from there to FRA - no problem, Germany is a very accessible country.

You could even do two nights in MUC and FRA and a night in Cologne. The high speed trains go every half hour between FRA and Cologne and they take only about an hour.

I travel between London, DUS, MUC and BER very frequently and see most cities once a week and it is not a problem at all, much easier than eg travelling between IAD, NYC and ORD or SFO and LAX. Check-in times are short (arrive 20-30 minutes before departure is fine in TXL), airports easy and the train system is fantastic. You will for sure enjoy it.

By far the best way. Both cities are fantastic. Assuming that you do not travel to Germany frequently, you�ll definitely miss something by skipping one of these great cities. Go for both!

If you only do one, I'd go with Munich and its environs. You seem to get a more authentic German feel. Bavaria has so much to see and do.

Ahem.

You are going to get a BAVARIAN feeling.
Germany is more than just Lederhosen.

I am German and let me tell you that Bavaria is quite different than northern Germany for example

My personal experience has been that people in Munich are much warmer and friendly.

Berliners seemed very closed and private, based on my observations and interactions. I am told that Berliners are known for this.

Berlin was a delightful city to tour, though.. in terms of history.

I agree that Bavaria has so much to see but a more "authentic German feel"??? HELP!! You get a Bavarian feel. I am German but for sure not Bavarian (and more than 65 Million German are far away from being Bavarian).

What's so bad about getting a feel for Bavaria? It is a lovely part of Germany -- not the whole culture, but a very nice part of it.

I'd vote Munich if I had to vote between Munich and Berlin, but Berlin is certainly worth a visit.