What if you could wander a baroque palace one day, hike to an alpine gorge the next, and finish the week having dinner under the Eiffel Tower—with your kids in tow?
That’s exactly what we did on our multi-week vacation throughout Southern Germany and Paris.
We flew from Los Angeles to Frankfurt, picked up a rental car, and turned the journey into a road-trip loop of castles, wine towns, mountain trails, historic cities and, finally, a few magical days in Paris (with a side of Disneyland, of course).
We wrote to help us remember the details and to share with family and friends.
Highlights
- Frankfurt → Stuttgart – easing into Germany while staying with friends
- Stuttgart → Würzburg → Eibelstadt – palaces, bridges, fortress, beer and wine fests
- Romantic Road to Füssen – Rothenburg ob der Tauber and storybook towns
- Füssen, Tegelberg & Oberammergau – Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, cable cars and painted villages
- Linderhof → Berchtesgaden – Eagle’s Nest, Lake Königssee, Wimbachklamm, St. Sebastian
- Munich & Dachau – city squares, beer halls, and a powerful memorial visit
- Black Forest & Lake Titisee – waterfalls, open-air museum and forest walks
- Rüdesheim am Rhein & Loreley – wine town and castles along the Rhine
- Train to Paris – Eiffel Tower, Seine cruise, Père Lachaise and Disneyland Paris
We kick off the trip by flying from Los Angeles to Frankfurt, picking up a rental car, and getting our first taste of German autobahns on the drive to Stuttgart. We stay with friends, explore the city center and Schlossplatz, and ease into German life with home-cooked meals instead of hotel breakfasts.
In Part 2, we head to Würzburg, touring the Würzburg Residence, Old Main Bridge and Marienberg Fortress before diving into local culture at the Kiliani Volksfest. One evening we drive to tiny Eibelstadt for its annual wine fest—live music, Franconian wines and long tables in the streets—then officially join Germany’s Romantic Road and stop in medieval Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
This is the “fairy-tale” chapter. We base ourselves in Füssen to visit Hohenschwangau and world-famous Neuschwanstein Castle, then take the Tegelberg cable car for sweeping alpine views. Afterward we stay in Oberammergau with its painted houses and finish with a visit to King Ludwig II’s ornate Schloss Linderhof and its unusual grotto.
Part 4 covers a lot of ground. We spend several days in Berchtesgaden visiting the Eagle’s Nest, Lake Königssee, St. Bartholomew’s Church, Wimbachklamm gorge and the postcard-perfect Parish Church of St. Sebastian. Then it’s on to Munich’s Marienplatz and Hofbräuhaus, the sobering Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial, waterfalls and farmhouses in the Black Forest, and finally Rüdesheim am Rhein with a river cruise past the Loreley Rock.
We trade forests and castles for city lights and head to Paris by train. We visit the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, enjoy a dinner cruise on the Seine, wander Père Lachaise Cemetery to find Jim Morrison’s grave, and then finish the entire trip with a day of rides and fireworks at Disneyland Paris.
Travel Tips for Following This Route
If you’re planning something similar, I’ve tucked practical tips into each post—about renting a car in Germany, timing Neuschwanstein tickets, visiting Dachau with kids, what to pack for alpine and forest hikes, and how to make the most of a short stay in Paris and Disneyland.
Next up:
Part 1 – Landing in Germany: Trading LA’s freeways for Germany’s Autobahn
