3 week driving trip: Milan/Lake Maggiore/Lauterbrunnen/Colmar/Hohenschwangau/Ortesei/Milan

Hi - Sounds like your trip planning is coming along.
I shared our stop in Lauterbrunnen.. Think you will love the area.

Suggestions for Hohenschwangau/Neuschwanstein: Make certain to book your tickets for the castles in advance - I had to collect the actual tickets on the day and the lines in the morning are long. Tickets are for timed-guided tour access. You cannot wander either building on your own. We actually enjoyed HoHen.. more because it has a bit more "real" feel and the guide was great. Stayed 3 nights at Hotel Waldmann in Schwangau - about a 5 minute drive to parking at the foot of the castles - or you could walk. Quad room was sort of an apartment - 1 bedroom (dbl) and 2 twins in the main room, large shower, table. Best was the balcony that viewed both castles in the distance - and the food there was magical.
The 3rd of the castles is a short drive - Linderhof - It is over the top with fountains, parks and gilt. Didn't need advance tickets there (May 19).

In Milan (here we were traveling by train so that determined our hotel choice). We stayed 3 nights near the main train station - Esco Hotel Milano - It was one block from the Centrale Train Station -so easy to get anywhere in town. 10 or 12 rooms on a floor in what looked like an office bldg. If they survived Covid - might be worth checking on. Make certain to get timed entry (w/guide) tickets for the Duomo - rooftop (Spouse may not want to do the rooftop) -access included a short tour of the cathedral & crypt. Guide was great. For Last Supper access - we booked a walking tour (Veditalia - found them on TripAdv.) group was about 20 people. Met at a metro station, walked the "fort" and through town, short cathedral walk -break for lunch- and on to Last Supper. Great day and very good guide. It was @ $120/pp and included all except lunch. On one of our days DH went to the Alfa Romeo museum and the rest of us just wandered to see several more of the churches and shopping streets.

Not certain of a bowling alley anywhere though ;-}
Have fun!!

For your first day in Stresa, you might want to think about if riding the ferries will affect the two motion sick people. Personally, I’ve avoided the day I’m flying to get on a boat - too much motion for me. I love the garden of Villa Taranto in that area, too. I stayed in the small boutique hotel on Isola Bella one night, and it was a wonderful experience - different than just staying on the mainland of Stresa.

I wish I didn’t, but I have a horrible effect from open heights (but fine in airplanes). In the Lauterbrunnen area, I prefer staying in Wengen. The cogwheel train goes up to Kleine Scheidegg, and I was fine riding it instead of taking the gondola up to Mannlichen and hiking over to KS. Another great activity in the valley is Trummelbach, an internal falls.

I’ve been to Neuschwanstein Castle. Wouldn’t recommend driving out of the way to see it when there’s so many other options.

If you need to add the Dolomites to this trip, I would definitely fly back home from Venice instead of Milan. Maybe add your days in Milan pre-Stresa?

Looks pretty good. Just remember to buy a Swiss vignette sticker on your way into Switzerland. I believe they are 40 CHF and you can buy it at the customs station on the road up to the Simplon Pass. Also you can get a short term Austrian vignette sticker to use the motorways between Fuessen and the Brenner Pass. I forget off-hand, put it is only in the 10 EUR range.

WW II sites in the Colmar area are the battle of the Colmar Pocket, which is fairly obscure since it happened simultaneous to the Battle of the Bulge. Although mainly a Free French operation, several American divisions took part around Kaysersberg. Its a very picturesque town just outside of Colmar, and the hometown of Albert Schweitzer. There is also a small Colmer Pocket museum in Turkheim, also just outside Colmar.

Can't help with finding a bowling proshop.

For your 2 nights in Colmar, I recommend an apartment at Reflets Sur la Lauch. These are modern, nicely equipped apartments in an older building right on the canal in Petite Venise. Most have a view of the canal, the bridge, and the lovely half-timbered houses opposite. There are several sizes of unit to choose from, but assuming you need 3 beds for the 4 of you, the Loft apartment would suit you best.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/reflets-sur-la-lauch.html

That is the booking.com link (which we used to reserve), but you will also find them on VRBO, hotels.com, and other booking sites. Check the cancellation policies carefully as they may different on the various sites.

I second Jean’s suggestion to return the car at Venice and flying from there instead of driving back to Milan, unless there is a significantly better price or flight schedule for the Milan airports. There is usually no extra fee for dropping a rental car at a different location, so long as it is within Italy.

We did a similar trip, Milan to Milan and it works well.
Get the “The Last Supper“ tickets well in advance. We have seen it twice, incredible. Some city tours include it so keep that in mind.
I have a few suggestions. Instead of staying down in the valley in Lauterbrunnen , stay up in the magnificent mountains in Grindelwald.We spent a week there and loved it.
Also, instead of staying in Colmar, stay in one of the charming villages on the wine route. We stayed in Riquewehr but could have happily stayed in many of the others. We were so glad we didn’t stay in Colmar and did not care for it very much.
In Orteisei, we stayed at family Hotel Grones, one of our favorite hotel experiences ever! Great food too. We left our car in their garage, walked to the mountain lifts,trains. Magical. They have a nice indoor pool too with large doors they open to the outdoors.
Strasbourg, take canal boat ride. Visit cathedral. Have a Alsace Tarte Flambee, a flatbread with bacon and onions. Trader Joe’s sells a version of it but the local ones are so much better!
You are so right about Neuschwanstein, not our favorite place, but kids will enjoy it.
Happy planning. You have a good outline.

You are drivng a great distance in a short amount of time. A few suggestions you may want to consider from your bases.

Lake Maggiore. On the same side as Stresa, we visited Villa Taranto (gardens only), Cannobio (small and pretty), as well as Locarno. To the west, Orta San Giulio on Lake Orta. Some on this board knock it but I think it's a fabulous place - an attractive core; a scenic walk up to and from the Sacred Mount; a short ferry ride to a tiny, romantic island. A bit further afield from Stresa, Bellinzona, with its three castles and nice downtown, is well worth the drive.

Bernese Oberland. All good around there. I liked Bern a lot (on my own), and stayed with my wife for a few nights in Kandersteg once. We took a cruise on Lake Thun. On the way to the area, we stopped off at Meiringen for the Reichenbach Falls (Sherlock Holmes and all that).

Alsace. With a car, I prefer a village stay to a town stay. We stayed just outside the walls of Riquewihr. Other nice bases close by, all close to Colmar - Bergheim, Ribeauville (3 castle ruins), Eguisheim, Kaysersberg. Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg is a fabulous visit, and there is a monkey park near Kintzheim. There is also a car museum and a train museum in Mulhouse: Mulhouse itself is a bit of a dump.

Hohenschwangau. Save a few hours for lunch and a walk around Füssen. There are also nice walks to be had above Neuschwanstein, or around Alpsee or Schwansee.

Ortisei. We were very impressed with Merano when we were there many years ago. A town with a pretty, arcaded centre and a castle. The Tappainerweg Trail is just above town and offers nice views. The driving in this area can be spectacular.

As far as transport tickets in the Berner Oberland, you might consider a 4-day Berner Oberland Pass. 260 CHF per person, but if any of the teenagers is under 16, they get it for 30 CHF.
https://www.regionalpass-berneroberland.ch/en/prices-tickets/

Day 1 from Ortisei to Lake Briese.

Just a note, when we went to this lake, it was shallow and not very impressive. Just my take on it. Maybe I hit it at a bad time, mid fall many years ago.

You’ll be driving over the amazing Gardena Pass. Lots of switchbacks to begin with but it gets better. The scenery is nothing short of spectacular. You’ll pass right by the Lagazuoi cable car trip on the way. Very quick to the top. Again, spectacular views. While there, you can visit WWI sites for the history buffs.

https://lagazuoi.it/EN/Information-Prices-and-useful-information-page20-Seasonal-opening-dates-timetable-and-prices-of-the-Cable-Car-Lagazuoi

https://lagazuoi.it/EN/Experience-Winter-page37-The-emplacements-of-WW-1

https://lagazuoi.it/EN/Experience-Focus-on-this-page26-Free-guided-visit-of-the-open-air-museum-of-WW1-on-Mt-Lagazuoi-with-a-reenactor

The Dolomites are awe inspiring! Enjoy!

Paul

I'm going to echo Lola's recommendation for Colmar; Reflets Sur la Lauch. It is simply amazing, particularly the apartment with the balcony overlooking the canal right in the historic town center. The host is so friendly and she even greeted us with a bottle of wine to drink on the balcony. It truly is a gem- you won't regret it.

We went in a bit of the opposite direction on our trip, going from Paris to Colmar, on to Lauterbrunnen, and then Venice. I think you've got a great trip ahead of you. Glad to see you're going to take your time in the Lauterbrunnen area. There is the perfect mix of activities to take part in and opportunities to relax and take in the splendor all around you. Have a great trip (and book Reflets Sur la Lauch).

Reflets Sur la Lauch does look lovely! Definitely adding that to the “unicorn” list: a/c, washer, 3 real beds, no pets.

I think if we flew out of Venice I would be tempted to tack on a few more days to spend there. We’ve been three times before, including once with the kids, and I just LOVE it. Wouldn’t love it (as much) in the heat and crowds in July (been there done that!). I’ll have to watch the flight schedules and see how that works out. I’ve heard it’s sometimes difficult due to very early flight times. Thanks for the suggestion!