We will be visiting family in Freiburg, then have 2-3 weeks to travel. We will be there in mid-June/early July. We want to explore some of the countries around us. (We've done some of Germany, so would like to head a different direction this time).
Where (if any) can we go by train and avoid some of the crowds and heat??
Have you ever been to Alsace or Lorraine in France? You can get there fairly easily by train from Freiburg. Probably the best cities to base are Strasbourg (very attractive medieval centre, but beware of the one-week-per-month European Parliament sittings there when accomodation becomes very expensive), or Nancy (hugely underrated city, especially if you are interested in early twentieth century art and architecture).
Strasbourg, France is a great city to visit. Also, from Freiburg you can go into the Black Forrest. Triburg and the Bodensee are nice.
I try to create a logical loop. You have plenty of time to visit Alsace (Strassbourg to Colmar, seeing the small towns and Chateau Haut Koeningsbourg between), Burgundy (Dijon, Beune up to Auxerre) and Champagne (Troyes to Reims).
I'd start with looking at possible sights to decide if they interest you. If so, how many stops/sights seem interesting? That decides how much time you will spend in the area. If you take your time, you can easily use the entire time. If you only want a quick look, you could conceivably continue through Paris and into Belgium and the Netherlands.
Another vote to spend a few days in Strasbourg. With 2-3 weeks you could easily spend quality time in many of the wonderful cities from Amsterdam to Basel (A to B Tour).
DJ
Thanks everyone!! Such great places to look into. On place I've always want to see is Barcelona. Any possibility we could add that by traveling that direction??
With 2-3 weeks I don’t see why you couldn’t go to Barcelona instead. By train you could stop for a few days in Dijon and Lyon on the way. Alternatively you could fly from Basel, Zurich or Stuttgart.
DJ
After Freiburg how about a day or two in Rastatt. Then go to France, especially Alsace-Lorraine.
Where (if any) can we go by train and avoid some of the crowds and heat??
You then later suggest Barcelona. If you want to avoid crowds and heat then Barcelona is not somewhere to go in the summer.
Barcelona is crowded all year round, I've been in February and everywhere was busy. Personally I'm not a fan of Barcelona, there are a number of places I'd visit over it but everyone's different. You've had several recommendations for Strasbourg, which is a logical stop in the vicinity but again, it will be very crowded. We were there in October and could barely move in the main square there were so many people there.
If you want to avoid crowds then you'll have to look at the less obvious choices. The popular places to visit are popular for a reason, that's why they're full of tourists so you need to decide whether you want to see the popular sights and accept that there are going to be crowds or tour the surrounding, less interesting, areas.
Barcelona is nice, but a bit far from Freiburg. Suggest sticking with places closer.
Where do you fly in and out of?
I personally avoid the time/expense of hopping all over Europe during one vacation. I like Barcelona a lot, but I don't think it makes a logical connection with Freiburg. Ultimately, it's your trip and if that's what you really hope to do, go for it. If you do, I'd get a flight rather than spend that much time on a train.
