Very quick trip to Germany, France, Netherlands

I desperately need to advice of people well travelled in Germany, France and Netherlands. I may be going to a conference in Essen, Germany and if I do (paid for by work) then I want to tag on 7-10 days of travel around the area. I can't do more as I won't want to be away from DH and DS for longer. I am thinking of flying into Paris or Frankfurt then going to Essen for the conference (3 days) and then a few days in Germany, a few in Netherlands and a few in France before flying out (again either from Paris or Frankfurt). I am on a strict budget and trying to navigate the rail system which seems hideously expensive. But I also want to know what are the things that are unmissable for these countries? Please help!!!

Have a look at a eurorail pass. It comes in a few formats.
Paris is a must. J'adore Paris. The Loire is out of your way but it is lovely.
Riem/champagne would be on your route and worth a visit. I think a stay in a rural area in France would be a fabulousway to spenda night or 2

i love travelling by train in europe but it can be expensive. there are lots of el cheapo airlines though so you could either combine rail & air or go all air. there's a wiki page that lists them all with their country of origin & destinations.

i havent seen much of the netherlands but have been amsterdam a few times & i like it. definitely worth visiting.

berlin & munich are both great but if you want to visit NL & france as well there might not be time to do both? there's also a town i loved called trier. it's very close to luxemburg. it has some well preserved roman ruins (i think it might be the oldest city in germany?) & it's right on the moselle so in the middle of a wine making region. i did a train journey from amsterdam - berlin - munich - trier - luxemburg - brussels (didnt stop) - amsterdam. the munich - trier - lux sections were beautiful.

so many places you could choose! depends to if you just want to stick to cities or venture farther afield? tough choices when you're tight on time!

paris is a favourite of mine but i havent really investigated france beyond that.

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Thanks guys for the advice! Do you think it would be ok to rent a car for the trip? As there are a couple of us it works out quite a bit cheaper if we just get a small car but then there are the petrol costs and of course the driving would be on the other side of the road.

you could rent a car - ive never done it though - too chicken to drive on the autobahns! the other thing to consider is that the traffic in some european countries around major cities can be kind of crazy & it also means looking for parking etc not all hotels will have parking, especially if you're looking at more budget friendly options. but as i say, have never rented a car anywhere other than in the uk!

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Driving over there is pretty straightforward, especially if you're not dealing with snow. Apart from fuel, though, there's also heaps of tolls in some parts.

In Grmany you can buy a BahnCard for something like €100 that then gives you 50%off all your train travel. Mine paid fr itself within two trips. Germany was one of my favourite places to travel, I think the whole country is unmissable! From Essen you could go in any direction pretty easily. Cologne is a nice city, you could do that and Paris and maybe somewhere in Belgium? And wherever you're going in Nederlands.

When is all this? Tour de France takes in that region this year...

Driving is fine, honestly. German roads are fantastic and i never thought, oh, i'm driving on the wrong side. I wouldn't drive in Paris though (eeek) - far to chicken for that! The Netherlands are great but comparatively tiny to Germany and France, so, unless you have family ties or something like that, then i'd probably spend more time in Germany or France. They have such diverse sights. The amazing cities and then the equally breathtaking small villages. Paris is a must. I was also fascinated by Berlin and found the people so wonderfully open and happy to help and talk. Driving to DenHaag through Delft and visiting a pottery place, seeing all the lowlands and tuilips and windmills. It's hard to know what you and your colleagues will want to do, but I think that no matter what, you won't be able to see it all, and you'll not be disappointed.

I'm so jealous. Can you tell?

Berlin is amazing. Such a fabulous, laid back city. Do not miss that one.

We drove around Germany and my DH found driving the manual a little stressful as he's used to an auto. Getting an auto in Europe is not easy.

We also drove down the Romantic Road in Germany and that was quite nice.

If it were me I would just choose just 2 or max 3 cities in the same country - even in the same region of one country, and concentrate on them. Two nights is a minimum for me, in one place - any less and you just don't get to see much of anywhere - especially when you're on a budget. Trying to see three countries in 7 days would mean an awful lot of time (proportionally) spent on the routines of finding your hotel/guesthouse, checking in and out of rooms, getting to and fro train stations and airports, and actually being on transport.

Personally, I would choose Belgium, and spend 2 nights in Brussels, 2 nights in Ghent, 2 nights in Bruges, and do a day trip to one of the fabulous Belgian Monastic breweries in the countryside. You'll get history, architecture, castles, great food, great beer, great wine, beautiful scenery between the cities. English is really widely spoken, which makes things much easier if you don't speak any European languages. Really nice walking tours to be done in each city, or bike tours if you fancy that instead... the lambic brewery in Brussels is really interesting, there's a great little comic book museum (I'd only heard of Tin tin, before I went, and it was still interesting!) and when it all ends and you come home, you can feel like you've seen and done a reasonable amount in that country, and feel like you actually 'know' Belgium a bit.

I second the Romantic Road in Germany, it was beautiful, my DH drove it and he found it fine. Rothenberg is a Christmas Village and is just beautiful (on the Romantic Rd). I picked up lots of unique Christmas decorations from the Kathe Wolfharte shop and still have them 10yrs on.

Driving in Paris is an adventure. The Parisians drive like maniacs. Parking is a hitch. If you drive you need a hotel with parking and even then the space will be tiny. THE tolls add up if you travel a long way on the freeway. The B roads are free but slower. The autobahns are awesome fun if you eny driving fast. I love them. I even enjoy being overtaken if it's a Porsche going at top speed.. The German roadhouses are fabulous. They sell healthy fresh food :o

We just got back from over there in January.

Munich is a MUST. And make sure you go to the Hofbrau Haus. We didnt spend nearly enough time in Munich, but Germany itself is just amazing; we could have spent weeks there. I wasnt a fan of Paris at all but I did the touristy things. Driving in Paris is definitely an experience but the autobahns are fine. We went to Amsterdam but I wasnt impressed (could have been due to NYE holiday). The outer towns in the Netherlands would be amazing I think, we just passed through but I saw so many places I wished we could stop and explore.

one thing i forgot to say about amsterdam is that if you do go, try & avoid a weekend. you get heaps of not just tourists but bucks & hens weekends which can be annoying.

Hmmmmm you have all given me a whole heap to think about. I have decided to drop the Netherlands. I actually have quite a bit of family there and think I might get too caught up in visiting everyone rather than seeing sights. And I have been there before. So I am going to do a few nights in Germany and a few in France. IF (a big IF) my funding comes through as it is all dependent on that. :pray: I would love to do a walking or biking tour and definitely want to take in as many natural sights as possible as am a big fan of mountains and forests. :) I just heard back from an old school friend who will have an apartment in Paris and Cologne by the time I go and has offered a bed in either city so that is great! Thanks everyone for the tips, and will check out the Bahn card. You are all awesome!