In Two Weeks

With 2 weeks to explore Germany, you aren't that rushed and have some breathing room. You can see a bit of the best regions, including the star attractions of the Romantic Road and the medieval city of Rothenburg, as well as the university city of Heidelberg and the cathedral city of Cologne, the greatest stopover along the Rhineland. The tour comes to an end at Frankfurt, Germany's transportation hub, where you can make rail and plane connections to virtually anywhere in the world.

Days 1 & 2: Arrive in Berlin

Take a flight that arrives in Berlin as early as possible on Day 1. After unpacking at your hotel, set out to visit the Brandenburg Gate, symbol of Berlin, and then walk down Unter den Linden (the main drag of Berlin), stopping for a German pastry and a coffee at one of the cafes that line the edges of this boulevard.

Spend the rest of the morning at the Gemäldegalerie museum, viewing some of the great masterpieces of early German artists as well as an array of international painters (especially rich in the Italian department). If the weather's fair, take a boat tour of the Spree (the main river of Berlin) and have lunch in a typical tavern. In the afternoon, climb the dome of the Reichstag, the German Parliament building.

In what's left of your afternoon, visit what used to be called East Berlin, taking in the beautiful neoclassical square, Gendarmenmarkt, and exploring the rebuilt Nikolaiviertel (Nicolai Quarter). After a rest back at your hotel, take in some of Berlin's fabled night life.

On Day 2, begin your morning with a tour of Schloss Charlottenburg, one of the great baroque palaces of Germany. Allow at least 1 1/2 hours for a tour. Nearby you can visit Die Sammlung Berggruen, with its Picasso collection, if time remains. End your morning with a stroll through Charlottenburg's beautiful formal gardens, a walk into 18th-century gardening.

After lunch in a typical Berlin restaurant, head for the Altes Museum. Even if you don't have time to explore this Museum of Antiquities in depth, view the most famous lady in Berlin, the celebrated colored bust of Queen Nefertiti, dating from 1360 B.C. Highlights of the Egyptian Museum collection will rest on the ground floor here until 2009.

While on Museumsinsel, seeing the Altes Museum, head for the Pergamon Museum, with its Greek and Roman antiquities. The Pergamon Altar is the highlight of this collection, as is the colossal blue Ishtar Gate which once stood in Babylon in 575 B.C.

Spend the rest of the day going for a refreshing stroll through Berlin's Tiergarten, the most famous park in Berlin. That evening, take in a cultural presentation at one of Berlin's famous opera houses, perhaps a performance of one of its symphony orchestras. Not into classical music? Then head for the cabaret, old chum.

Day 3: A Side Trip to Potsdam

On Day 3, while still based at a hotel in Berlin, take the S-Bahn to the baroque town of Potsdam, on the Havel River. While at Germany's answer to Versailles, you can wander for hours, exploring the palaces and gardens of Sans Souci, which was the former palace of Frederick the Great. After lunch, you can also tour Schloss Cecilienhof, the former country house of Kaiser Wilhelm II and site of the 1945 Potsdam Conference that included Truman, Stalin, and Churchill.

Return to Berlin by fast train in the afternoon for a final look at Germany's unified capital. Before the day completely fades, pay a visit to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, in western Berlin, and stroll down the Kurfürstendamm (known as Ku'Damm), the most famous boulevard in western Berlin.

For something truly typical and evocative, have a mug of beer and regional food in a Kneipe (the Berlin equivalent of a London pub). Our favorite is Gaststätte Hoeck.

Day 4: Nürnberg

In 6 hours, you can take a train from Berlin to Nürnberg, deep in the heart of Franconia. This ancient city, heavily bombed in World War II, makes an ideal stopover on the way to Munich. After checking into a hotel and enjoying a lunch of Nürnberg-style bratwurst (finger-sized sausages), head in the afternoon for the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, the city's premier attraction. The National Museum is strong on the works of native son Albrecht Dürer, whose paintings are reason enough for a visit.

If time remains, visit the Kaiserburg on a hilltop at the northern edge of the Altstadt (Old City). Until 1571 it was the official residence of German kings and emperors. You might also get a look at St.-Lorenz-Kirche, across the Pegnitz River, dating from 1270. It's the most appealing of Nürnberg's churches.

Days 5 & 6: Munich

Take an early morning train to Munich (trip time: 2 hr.), so you can more or less get in a full day of sightseeing. For orientation purposes, walk over to the main square of Munich, Marienplatz, where at three times during the day you can witness a miniature "tournament" on its Glockenspiel, the city's clock tower. Climb or take an elevator to the top of the Rathaus tower here. This is the old city hall building, and from its peak, you'll have a panoramic sweep of the Munich skyline.

While you're in the area, stop at Frauenkirche, Munich's largest church, rebuilt in the Gothic style. For lunch that day, dine at Viktualienmarkt, Munich's most famous open-air market and one of the greatest such food markets in Europe.

After lunch, spend 2 hours at Alte Pinakothek, one of the world's greatest art museums, especially strong in European artists from the 14th to the 18th centuries.

To cap your afternoon, stroll through the beautiful Englischer Garten, and don't be surprised to meet some local residents in the nude. For your night fun, follow the oom-pah-pah sounds to the Hofbräuhaus, the world's most famous beer hall.

On Day 6, visit the Deutsches Museum in the morning. This German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology is the largest technological museum in the world. It even shelters the first automobile (a Benz from 1886). Allow at least 2 hours for a visit. After lunch, plan on spending the afternoon at Schloss Nymphenburg, the summer palace of the Wittelsbach dynasty. Allow at least 2 1/2 hours, with time reserved for a stroll through the famous Nymphenburg gardens or park. One of the highlights here is an array of ornate sleighs and coaches once used by mad King Ludwig of Bavaria.

After a return to town, consider attending a cultural performance at the Cuvilliés Theater, the most beautiful rococo theater in the world.

Day 7: Ludwig's Castles

It's easier and more luxurious to rent a car in Munich and drive to Germany's two most famous castles at Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. You can also travel by train to Füssen, 119km (74 miles) southwest of Munich, where you can then take the bus to Neuschwanstein, a distance of 7km (4 miles) east of Füssen. However, you'll spend so much time in travel that you'll have time to visit only one castle that day.

If you're that rushed, make it Neuschwanstein, as it's the true fairy-tale castle of King Ludwig. Hohenschwangau is not as glamorous or as spectacular. Tours of Neuschwanstein take an hour. But because of the rush of visitors to the area, there are often long delays in summer.

Day 8: Augsburg

For this part of the trip, you'll need a car. The trip can be done by public transportation, but you'll lose precious sightseeing hours going from place to place. If you rent a car, it's better to do so in Munich before setting out to visit Ludwig's castles .

From our last stopover at Füssen, head north along one of the great scenic attractions of Germany, the Romantic Road.

Make Augsburg your first stopover. It lies 68km (42 miles) northwest of Munich and the Romantic Road's biggest town and gateway to the Bavarian Alps. Arriving by midmorning, you can take in the Church of St. Ulrich and St. Afra before lunch, visiting such attractions in the afternoon as Fuggerei and the cathedral of Augsburg, Dom St. Maria.

Day 9: Nördlingen & Dinkelsbühl

On Day 9, check out of your hotel at Augsburg and continue north toward the medieval city of Rothenburg, one of the greatest attractions of Germany. Your first stopover can be in Nördlingen, one of the most famous medieval towns along the Romantische Strasse, with many 14th- and 15th-century buildings. Walk its streets, stopping in to visit St. Georgskirche, dating from the 15th century. If you got a late start, you can enjoy lunch here at Meyers-Keller, or else you can continue to Dinkelsbühl, which is still surrounded by medieval walls and towers. Check into one of the old inns here for the night and explore its cobblestone streets that appear as if in a time capsule.

Day 10: Rothenburg: Germany's Greatest Medieval City

In the morning of Day 10, continue north along the Romantic Road to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where you can check into a hotel -- you'll need the entire day to explore this medieval city, beginning with its ancient ramparts. First, call on the Rathaus, where from its Gothic tower you'll have a panoramic view of the town. There are other attractions, including the Reichsstadtmuseum and St. Jakobskirche, but the chief attraction of Rothenburg is the city itself. You can wander its ancient cobblestone streets for hours and still discover something new. For lunch we suggest you rent a bike and cycle along the Tauber River until you find a suitable place for a picnic. Overnight in Rothenburg and spend an hour or two more wandering its streets, as they appear even more mysteriously medieval when lit after dark.

Day 11: The University City of Heidelberg

Leave Rothenburg early in the morning and head west for an overnight stopover in the city of Heidelberg. Called "everybody's favorite town" in Germany, Heidelberg, on the Neckar River, can be explored in a day if you move fast enough. Check into a hotel in the Altstadt (Old Town) for atmosphere and wander its cobblestone streets at your leisure.

If you arrive early enough, spend at least 2 hours exploring Heidelberg Castle, taking in the panoramic view of the town itself and its surrounding river valley. Follow this with a boat ride on the Neckar and a visit to the Kurpfälzisches Museum.

Cap your evening by spending it in one of the fabled and historic student drinking clubs, our favorite being Zum Roten Ochsen.

Days 12 & 13: The Cathedral City of Cologne

From Heidelberg, head north along the Rhine, stopping in one of the Rheingau towns for lunch, our favorite spot being Rüdesheim, surrounded by vineyards.

Continue north into Cologne for the midafternoon. After checking into a hotel for the night of Day 12, head for the major attraction of town, the Kölner Dom or Cologne Cathedral. At night hit one of the city's famous old beer taverns for drinks and dinner, a favorite being Früh am Dom.

On the morning of Day 13, launch an exploration of the highlights of the city, beginning with a morning visit to Museum Ludwig, with one of the world's largest collection of the works of Pablo Picasso, among other attractions.

Follow this with a visit to Cologne's oldest museum, Wallraf-Richartz Museum/Foundation Corboud, with its amazing exhibition of Gothic works.

After a Rhineland lunch, continue sightseeing at the Museum Schnütgen, which contains Cologne's best collection of religious art and sculpture.

After an afternoon shopping stroll through the old city, where you can buy a bottle of the famous Eau de Cologne, consider an evening performance of the Kölner Philharmonie.

Day 14: Frankfurt: Your Exit from Germany

After checking out of your hotel in Cologne, head southwest to the city of Frankfurt. You should arrive in time to check into a hotel and enjoy lunch. Spend the afternoon wandering its rebuilt Old Town, Altstadt, visiting Goethe-Haus.

Later you can visit one of Germany's greatest art galleries, the Städel Museum, with its collection of European old masters.

End your night with a dinner in a typical restaurant. In the morning you can take the train, or else fly out of Frankfurt, perhaps after promising yourself another trip to Germany in the future.