While we were in Germany last December, we couldn’t leave without visiting at least one other country in Europe. And since that was Nate’s first time in Europe, I wanted to show him how amazing everything is!

We took the chance to spend our last full day in Germany to take a European day trip. The destinations we chose were Trier, Germany, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, and Metz, France.

The good thing about planning a day trip from Frankfurt, Germany is that there are a lot of different cities (and countries) to choose from. You can personalize it to exactly what interests you and your family the most.

Some of your German options (within 3 hours) include: Koblenz, Rudesheim, Aachen, and Cologne.

Some of your foreign options (within 3.5 hours) include: Strasbourg, France, and Bastogne, Belgium.

I will detail each of the three destinations we stopped at and include specific tips along the way!

[To see our full Germany trip, check out my Instagram Highlights bubble titled “Germany” here.]

#1: Trier, Germany

We left my parents house at 7:30am and stopped at a local bakery to pick up some fresh baked breakfast. Two and half hours of driving later, we arrived in the city of Trier.

Trier is the oldest city in Germany and is scattered with ancient Roman ruins – as old as the first century BC!

Trier Tip: If you come to Trier, you will really have to plan which ruins you want to see because they are more than just a short walk away from each other.

We only saw Porta Nigra, which is the most famous site. Porta Nigra was a Roman city gate and is the largest one north of the Alps. And let me tell you, it really is big.

There is a lot to see inside the building, with multiple stories of stone, beautiful views, and depictions of what it used to look like. Each ticket (4 Euros per adult, 2.50 Euros per child over 7) lets you give yourself a self-guided tour throughout the whole structure.

After the Porta Nigra, we window shopped a little down their main street, then went back in the car for the next 45 minutes.

#2: Luxembourg, Luxembourg

When my mom and I were originally planning this trip, we thought about stopping in Luxembourg to see their National Museum of Natural History. Unfortunately, we were running late in our day and didn’t make it to the museum.

We still stopped in the capital though to grab some quick McDonald’s for lunch. I, admittedly, also needed a bathroom break.

Luxembourg Tip: Luxembourg, the capital, has free city-wide WiFi and it actually works! We were able to check-in to our flight with it. 

Although we weren’t able to walk around as much as we’d prefer, it was still fun to see the plaza and their amazing capital building. In addition, I learned that they speak French there!

#3: Metz, France

Driving from Luxembourg to Metz takes about an hour, depending on traffic. Since our trip was right after Christmas and right before New Years (that whole week is a holiday for Europe), there were very few cars on the road.

Metz Tip: A lot of the streets are cobble stone, which looks great in pictures, but not when you’re trying to push a stroller on it. We took our stroller because we knew we would walk a lot, but be warned that some parts can be tricky to manage.

We knew that France was the big destination we were all the most excited to go to (Pink Panther anyone?) so we had a list of what we wanted to see.

Our first stop was the Temple Neuf de Metz, then we went to the Metz Cathedral, and then the Museum of La Cour d’Or, which has French art and history. Our favorite place was the cathedral though. It was built in the 1300s and has the most stained glass of any building in the entire world! For 2 Euros each, we were able to walk around the 15th century crypt underneath too, which was super cool.

Lastly, we walked back to the Metz Cathedral because they still had a Christmas Market up with a ferris wheel! So of course Nate and I had to ride it – we were as tall as the cathedral!

In total, we were gone for about 12 hours, but taking frequent stops helped keep Parker (and us) calm and relaxed.

As I said in the beginning, there are a lot of choices in regards to where to go and what to see while you’re there, but Frankfurt, Germany is a good place to start. I hope this gives you some ideas of things you can do and see next time you are in Germany or Europe!

Make sure to download my free Family Vacation Planner too! That will assist you in organizing your next trip!

Have you been to any of these places? What was your favorite thing about them?

 

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