Fly to Munich-5 days including side trips( train or car)
Austria-Salzburg, Zurich, Hallstatt, Innsbruck-4 days
Garmisch-5 days-side trips (car)
(suggest train)
Paris-3 days
Normandy-3 days-car(rent in Paris or take train and rent in Normandy)
Please help with side trip suggestions and recommendations for travel between destinations.
From your previous post you said you were planning this trip for April.
I'd not get a car at first. Day trips from Munich are easy with the daily Bayern ticket. Suggestions for day trips: Nuremberg, Rothenburg, Bamberg and others. Come to think of it, Nuremberg might be a better base for these as you can travel very cheaply on the local VGN ticket. You could actually do day trip to Munich from Garmisch.
Hopefully, the border situation at the crossing to Salzburg will be cleared up by then. Rent the car in Salzburg, as it will come with an Austrian vignette. Keep the car in Garmisch and vieit Neuschwanstein in nearby Fuessen. Since Innsbruck is very close to Garmisch, you could hit that city from Garmisch. After leaving Garmisch, you could visit Innsbruck and drop the car there. Then travel by train to Zurich. There is a direct TGV train from Zurich to Paris every 2 hours and the trip takes 4 hours.
After Paris, take the RER train out to CDG airport and rent the car there. Return from Normandy and drop the car at the airport for return flight home.
Driving in German cities is usually pretty easy and parking is ample. But the one big exception is Munich. I would avoid picking up the rental car until you leave the city. Also, to get over jet-lag, consider spending your first night at the fabulous Therme Erding, which is a mere 10-15 minute taxi ride from the airport.
Some daytrip options from Munich include Landshut (more interesting than Salzburg, in my opinon) and Burghausen. Both feature large colorful baroque old towns overlooked by an impressive castle. You could consider Chiemsee as a daytrip from either Munich or Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Thank you. We decided to eliminate Zurich.
Our flights are booked. We arrive in Munich 19 April and depart Paris 10 May. Looking for suggestions for places to stay in Munich, Normandy and Paris?
Are you planning to fly from Salzburg to Paris ?
It's a rather long day by train - 9hr 39min.
19 Apr - Arrive in Munich - 5 nights
24 Apr - Garmisch+Innsbruck - 5 nights
29 Apr - Salzburg+Hallstatt - 5 nights
Fly Salzburg to Paris via Frankfurt
04 May - Paris - 3 nights
07 May - Normandy - 3 nights
10 May - Depart from Paris
I second renting a car out at the airport in Paris. I rented from Gare du Nord and enjoyed the adventure, but the driving was pretty stressful. Specifically the tight corkscrew ramp to get in and out of the garage at Gare du Nord and my iPhone's GPS did a horrible job navigating once I was off the freeway. Google Maps guided me right towards the Arc de Triomphe roundabout. The one place everyone agrees that we should probably avoid driving around.
I ended up taking the Bayeux Shuttle tours for the Normandy beaches. There was nobody else on my tour, just my friend and me, but even if the minibus was a full tour I still think it's a great way to see the beaches and memorials.
For hotels, I suggest
Munich - Hotel am Markt or Hotel Blauer Bock
Paris - Hotel Duquesne Eiffel
Bayeux, Normandy - Hotel Reine Matilda
If those hotels are too fancy or not fancy enough, I'd suggest getting Rick's books and looking at other spots in the same neighborhoods.
