Region bases
Pick the base town before the hotel.
A German region is not one place to sleep. Each guide compares three or four base towns by rail access, what they put within reach, and what they cost you in daily travel, then lets you compare live rooms around the base you chose.
Current guides
Start with the landscape you want.
Saxon Switzerland
Three or four nights of Bastei, Schrammsteine and fortress walking from one base, mostly by S-Bahn, tram and ferry.
- Stay length
- Three nights for the Bastei, the fortress and one Schrammsteine day; four if you add the Kirnitzschtal or a Dresden museum day.
- Arrival
- Dresden is the gateway; the S1 runs every 30 minutes along the Elbe to Bad Schandau.
- Season
- Tram, fortress and late ferries switch to winter hours on 1–2 November 2026; S1 works in late October and November.
Moselle
Three or four nights of wine villages, a castle and a river boat from one Moselle town, by train or by car.
- Stay length
- Three nights for Cochem, one wine village and a boat; four to add Trier's Roman sites or the Calmont climb.
- Arrival
- Trier and Koblenz are the rail gateways; RE 1 and RB 81 each run roughly hourly along the valley to Cochem.
- Season
- Boats run May to October; Reichsburg and chairlift go to winter hours from 2 November; Christmas markets from 20 November 2026.
Black Forest
Three or four nights of walking, spa and one mountain railway from a single base in the north or the south, never both.
- Stay length
- Three nights for one city or spa base plus two mountain days; four if you add a second valley or a lake day.
- Arrival
- EuroAirport bus to Freiburg hourly; the hourly Schwarzwaldbahn links Baden-Baden and Triberg but not Freiburg.
- Season
- Schauinslandbahn closed 16 Nov–4 Dec 2026; Feldbergbahn winter dates unpublished; Freiburg market 19 Nov–23 Dec 2026.
Middle Rhine
Two or three nights of castles, the Loreley and one boat leg from a left-bank town, by train or by car.
- Stay length
- Two nights for Marksburg, the Loreley and one boat leg; three to add Rheinfels, Ehrenbreitstein and a wine evening.
- Arrival
- Left-bank trains run all year; the right bank (Rüdesheim, St. Goarshausen) is bus-only until 12 December 2026.
- Season
- KD liners end 18 October 2026; both cable cars pause 2–18 November; Christmas markets from 19–20 November.
Harz
Three or four nights of steam trains to the Brocken, two UNESCO old towns and forest walks from one Harz town.
- Stay length
- Three nights for the Brocken day, one old town and the castle or the mine; four to add the second UNESCO town or a Walpurgis night.
- Arrival
- ICE to Hannover, Braunschweig, Magdeburg or Halle, then regional trains to Goslar, Wernigerode or Quedlinburg.
- Season
- HSB winter timetable 27 Nov 2026–4 Apr 2027; Christmas markets from 20–25 Nov 2026; Walpurgis 30 April 2027.
Before booking, check the last connection to your base town, seasonal closures, the precise address and the full price.
Other kinds of base