Which city should I visit for first time to Germany

Hi all,

I originally thought my only option to visit a city in Germany was Munich. But now, because of the way the flight is scheduled, I won%26#39;t be flying into Germany, but I have the opportunity to travel to Germany by train via Paris.

For a first time visitor to Germany, which city would be better: Berlin or Munich?

I can take a night train from Paris to Berlin or Munich. I thought about spending one less day in Paris and maybe visit both Berlin and Munich. But travelling between Munich and Berlin by train is too expensive. However, I can get good train fare travelling between Paris and Munich or Berlin.

So for people who have been to both cities, which one would you choose?

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Why only these two cities? There are plenty of other cities in Germany that are excellent to visit and a lot closer to Paris. In and around any place in Germany you should be able to easily spend a week or two without running out of excellent things to see and do, after all Germany has over 30,000 castles and palaces alone. You might consider Stuttgart ( www.stuttgart-tourist.de www.tourismus-bw.de www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de ), birthplace of the automobile with its excellent Mercedes Benz and Porsche Museums besides a lot of other good sights in and around it. Just click on my name to see my hundreds of forum posts about this region of Germany. The high speed French TGV runs frequently between Paris and Stuttgart. For travel between Paris and German cities, train tickets can be as low as 29-39€ if bought early enough before the specials sell out.

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Thank you for your suggestion. I choose these two cities simply because I honestly don%26#39;t know about other cities in Germany: I picked Berlin because it%26#39;s the capital and the image of modern Germany. I picked Munich because when I think of Germany, I think of Munich.

I will definitely look into your post. In an ideal situation, I could spend 1 week in Germany. But unfortunately, I have very limited time and it will be my first trip to Europe.

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I think I would pick Berlin. It is exciting, vibrant, and there is soooo much to see and do there. When you get back to Dallas, you will be happy that you went to this world capitol. You are correct that it is more the %26quot;new%26quot; Germany, but you have a lot of history wrapped up in this city, and there are lovely neighborhoods that did not get bombed, if you desire to walk around and see older Germany. The public transportation is excellent, the food and lodging is reasonable and of a wide variety, and honestly you can%26#39;t go wrong visiting here.

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You don%26#39;t say when you will make this trip.

There are specials for the trains from Munich to Berlin from EUR 29,00.

DB timetable

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

From: Munich

To: Berlin

How much time do you have?

While 2 days maybe OK for Munich, you really need 3-4 days for Berlin. Munich is however a good base for day trips to other places in southern Bavaria. E.g. Neuschwanstein Castle.

Both cities are quite different. Munich is at least somewhat typical for Bavaria. Berlin is only typical for Berlin (certainly not for the rest of Germany).

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Berlin and Munich are interesting, modern cities that could occupy you for a week or longer. But for a first time visitor to Germany, I think you might enjoy seeing a bit more of old-world Germany as well if you have a week. Munich and Berlin were largely flattened and rebuilt after WW II, of course, as were most major cities, so it might be wise to get into the countryside a little bit too and see some well-preserved towns as well.

Marcopolko%26#39;s suggestion of the Stuttgart might work well for this purpose. Stuttgart was targeted heavily too by Allied forces, but it%26#39;s an interesting place and not far from the gorgeous towns of Tübingen, Schwäbisch Hall, Bad Wimpfen, and Calw in the Black Forest. Stuttgart is a good deal closer to Paris, with good connections as well. If you%26#39;re returning to Paris, you could take a slightly different route back - head northwest in the direction of Mainz and loop through the castle-stuffed Rhine and Mosel Valleys before re-entering France at Saarbrücken.

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Thanks for all your suggestion. My time currently is anywhere between April 1 - April 8. I will be in Paris by the April 1 and must be there by April 8 to head back to London.

I can travel by Eurostar to either Paris or Brussel. I%26#39;m still looking to see if it%26#39;s better to travel to Brussel. Then do Brussel - Brugge - Paris - (insert a German city here) - Brussel. I understand 1 week is a very short time.

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%26quot;I will be in Paris by the April 1 and must be there by April 8 to head back to London.%26quot;

There may be no need to head back to Paris as many German cities have flights to London inexpensively. Two discount airlines which I am familiar with: www.germanwings.com www.tuifly.com . Airberlin and Ryanair are other options, and I%26#39;m sure there are several more.

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