Short trips for all the family

Hoping for some advice and recommendations on family friendly trips you've taken and enjoyed with young children. I am particularly interested in adventures by train but car oriented trips are fine too. We recently drove to Salzburg for the day and really enjoyed that trip. We don't *need* kid-specific activities (ie: zoo, play areas, etc.) but if that type of adventure is available, then so much the better. Both day trips and weekend trips are of interest.
I'd like to limit the train/car/travel time to less than four hours. I would also love leads on family friendly accommodations for the longer trips.
Thanks!

There is Pullman City and Legoland and a themepark and a few large ponds and ...

Legoland in Günzburg. www.legoland.com

Its not just for kids. I'm qetting quite excited about my forthcomming visit to Legoland Billund in April.

EuropaPark in Freiburg is good for kids of all ages and I think only three hours in total by train. I went by car two years ago from Karlsruhe with neices and nephews ranging in age from five to twelve and it was brilliant.

Small kid friendly sightseeing in and around Munich. Definitely hit the Deutsches Museum before it gets too hot and nice to be bothered being indoors.

Anyhoo If you'd like to get out of the city and into the surrounding area, check out some of these day trips (lifted from various posters):

Andechs
Bechtesgaden
Chiemsee
Hohenpeissenberg
Neuschwanstein
Passau

For my time, nothing beats a day out to Bechtesgaden. Its got just a bit of everything for everyone and some of the most beautiful scenery you'll see outside of a picture book. Leave early and hit the abbey on the lake for lunch - best trout you'll ever have - and a little walking about. You have to take a boat to get to the abbey which is situated on a little island, perfect for an after lunch walk or sitting in the sun. If you're feeling sporty you can choose to go on if you like to a bigger hike. If you want to squeeze in a bit of history instead, pop up to eagles nest but only recommended if the weathers good. If its raining head to the salt mines, go on to Salzburg or back to the city.

Thanks Eurovol. I am from SoCal so generally try to avoid any themepark type entertainment (ie: Miseryland). Had my fill as a child. Although, I am sure my husband would be thrilled with Legoland. I lean more towards sightseeing and hiking/walking. Quick glance at Pullman City would lead me to believe it is pretty contrived. Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions...

go to the salt mines at berchtesgarden, they are a lot of fun
it's a guided tour in german, though
but fun - you get to go down 400m long wooden slides
weeheee!

No, it is contrived. Almost in an "its so ugly its cute" sort of way. Definitely good for a laugh.
Now Legoland is cool! Check out the lego-bots.

PS: I took the visiting mini (3.5 years old) to the castles and Chiemsee. It was nicer for the adults than her I think, afterwards she asked if we could "just go to the biergarten". The force is strong in that one.

Summer 'Bobsleigh' track on the Blomberg.

1250m long with lift. Me and the kids squeal, scream and laugh all the way down.

These are great! Bechtesgaden will definitely make the list.
We took a drive down to Starnberg and then around the lake. It was beautiful and I look forward to repeating it in the summer at some point. I would recommend that for a short excursion from Munich to any families.
What experiences have you all had with Stuttgart? Could a family keep busy around there for a weekend? And would you recommend train/car?

stuttgart is a bit dull, tbh
not a patch on munich, anyway

somewhere like regensburg is a lot nicer than stuttgart

The boat trips along the Donau in Regensberg are good.

in four hours you can get to Lake Garda, Switzerland or Slovenia, all of which are nice

Passau. That place is amazing in achitecture and beauty. I would go there for a day fer sure.

There is also white water rafting and fishing in Austria. Just head for GAP and take a right.

Passau is lovely
You can do a boat trip along the Danube there, as well.
You can either go all the way to Linz, or get the shorter trip that turns around and comes back to Passau.

http://www.dullinger-web.de/huetten/voralpen/index.htm

The site I use to find the mountain huts.

Don't listen to Stuttgart-bashing, its a nice city! There is a beautiful Zoo/botanical garden called Wilhelma which is always a favorite for families--I think it gets quite crowded on the weekends though. Wilhelma is at one end of a big park area that goes all the way to the center of the city and I think there is also a natural history museum somewhere in the park (Löwentor?). If your kids are old enough to like cars, Mercedes has a great car museum, apparently its closed right now as it is moving into a bigger and better building but it will re-open May 20, also Porsche has a smaller museum.

If you like to wander around castle ruins (not castles--ruins!), there are several nice ones within easy driving distance of Stuttgart. When we lived there we liked to go to the following places--we were without kids at the time, but often saw people with children at all three places:

Hohenteck (near Kirchheim) -- here there is already a nice view where you drive to park, if you want the full experience its a bit of a climb and there is a beer garden/castle at the top. Lots of people fly remote-control model airplanes here which can be fun to watch
Hohenneuffen -- a fairly easy walk up hill through the woods and there is a sit-down restaurant and a beer-garden at the top. In the summer they have lots of events, though, like medieval fairs, concerts, etc., so its worth checking in advance if something is on.
Hohenurach -- steep walk, no beer garden, but really nice ruins and a great view. And there is also a waterfall within walking distance of the ruins and Bad Urach has a nice town square with a couple of nice cafes for coffee and cake after your day of hiking.

There's also a thread about life in Stuttgart.

I would recommend Gut Kerschlach for a nice relaxed day trip. It is a large organic farm where you can just freely walk around and look at all the animals, has a big vegetable garden, a very nice playground, a shop where you can buy organic groceries, etc. You can definitely spend a few hours there and the drive is nice too. It is a bit tricky to find but it's worth it.

on my meanderings around the bavarian countryside off the a8 yesterday (due to a lorry crash and the autobahn being closed) i found a cowboy world at the junction beyond adelzhausen (before augsburg). no idea what it's like but it's there, perhaps someone else knows more? i'm sure kids would love something like that.

That western themed park might be the "Pullman City" attraction that Eurovol mentioned awhile back.

These are all great suggestions and I really appreciate you elaborating on the bene's of Stuttgart. I have a friend who will be there this summer and I will be bringing my kids along on the visit.

My most recent tip: we took the kids down to Lago di Garda, Italy, for the Easter holiday and it has a lot to offer. Plenty of hotels with pools (few are heated though) and many castles to play "I spy" with along the way. We especially enjoyed the Saturday market in Malcesine on the east side of the lake. We stayed in Limone and took a ferry across for seven euros. All the little towns along the lake are fairly walkable but you will need a car to go between towns. This seems to be a German hot spot though. I heard much more German than Italian.
The drive is a bit long and we stopped south of Bozen (Bolzano) for lunch. Couldn't take driving past all those grapevines and vineyards, and decided we needed to partake. Found a really great hotel nestled in the vinyards called Hotel Weinegg. You can eat poolside and enjoy a glass of wine. If you are looking for a family friendly weekend escape, complete with spa and kiddo-tainment this is the place! Not cheap, but they have all the bells and whistles. www.weinegg.com
We didn't stay there (they were booked!) but drooled a bit and then continued to Lago di Garda.
All-in-all a great weekend adventure and we returned on Sunday so we only spent two nights in Italy. I hear the southern parts of the lake are also great. We are saving that for another adventure.
Keep the ideas coming!!