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Frankfurt am Main (1 night)

• Day 1: Stroll through the city, take an excursion to Saalburg,a family-friendly archaeological park with a reconstructed Roman fort at the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes (45 mins by train or bus from the Central Station).

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Koblenz (3 nights)

• Day 2: Continue by regional train (2 hours) through the Upper Middle Rhine Valley with views over the landscape and castles, stopover in St. Goarshausen and visit the Loreley Statue on the banks of the Rhine.
  Tip:
  Hike or take the shuttle bus from St. Goarshausen to the Loreley Plateau and visitor centre.
• Day 3: Take a Castle tour by boat on the Rhine, including a visit to the well-preserved Knight's Castle in Marksburg, and -or - the Stolzenfels Castle,then ride on the Rhine cable car to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress.
• Day 4: Excursion to Trier, the oldest city in Germany (1.5 hours by train). Visit the exceptionally well-preserved Roman monuments, from the amphitheatre and the perfectly preserved Porta Nigra, to the cathedral and the Liebfrauenkirche.
  Tip:
  Take a family friendly canoe trip down the Moselle.

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Cologne (4 nights)

• Day 5: Continue on to Cologne (1 hour), stroll around the city, visit the Cologne Cathedral, and end with a trip to the Chocolate Museum, the Romano-Germanic Museum or the interactive Odysseum museum.
  Tip:
  On weekends from the end of April to the end of October, courtyard second-hand markets take place in Cologne. Here people potter around within their own courtyard or garden, and visitors combine a sustainable (and money-saving) shopping trip with a voyage of discovery through the city's districts.
• Day 6: Excursion to Augustusburg and Falkenlust Castles in Brühl (30 mins by train).
  Tip:
  End your visit with a trip to the nearby Phantasialand in Brühl.
• Day 7: Excursion to Aachen (1 hour by train), visit the Aachen Cathedral, take a family-friendly walk round the city, let Emperor Charles guide you through Aachen (accompanying guidebook in five languages), and take a trip to interactive museum for the whole family, at the Charlemagne Centre.
  Tip:
  Try the traditional Aachen Printen lebkuchen cakes, available in many shops and cafes.
• Day 8: Excursion to the Xanten Archeological Park (1.5 hours by train) with plenty of interactive stations and interesting facts about the Roman period and the Lower Germanic Limes. The Roman craftsmen's houses, where ancient handicraft techniques come alive again, are a special highlight.