Holidays in Bruges, Beaune, Lauterbrunnen, and Munich.

how will you be traveling from Bruges to Beaune -- car, train, A-10 Warthog, teleportation? Train will take more than six hours.
Lauterbrunnen to Munich is even longer by train.

I’m sorry to say, but this itinerary doesn’t make a lot of sense. You’ve picked 4 destinations that aren’t close to each other. It all seems a bit random. How will you travel between them? Have you already booked accommodations?

Beaune can be bleak in the winter. The area is prone to fog and low clouds, and... have you been to vineyards in the winter before? They turn into rows of sticks. I would give it a hard pass!

I am also not so sure about the appeal of travelling all the way to Munich at the end, it is farther than it looks - could you fly out of Zürich instead?

Perhaps focus the trip on Belgium + Switzerland with a flight between the two?

Agree with Dutch Traveler, too much travel, pick places closer together.

Also, going to Switzerland in the Winter you are getting snow and more snow. Great if you are skiing.

What airport are you flying into to start your journey? Brussels, Antwerp, Amsterdam etc. I am going to agree with the other posters, looks like more traveling than anything else. The 24th thru 26th will find most restaurants and stores on short hours or even closed. I would definitely search out which restaurants are open including the ones associated with a hotel and make a reservation.

We adapted this itinerary, replacing Paris with Bruges, and omitting Italy, as we have already been.
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/europe/europe-14-days

We fly into Amsterdam.

I saw Bruges on a list of best places to visit at Christmasttime, hence where we started our itinerary. From my understanding, it's supposed to be beautiful. Then we picked the other cities that Rick Steves had on his itinerary.

Our accommodations are already booked, but could adjust as deemed necessary.

Our intention was to take the train from Bruges to Beaune on Christmas day as we suspected most things would be closed.

From what I've read online, Bruges was still suggested even in winter for it's wine and food. Is there a better city to stop at on our way from Bruges to Lauterbrunnen? Do you suggest omitting France altogether? I am concerned we will just be sitting in Bruges with nothing to see/do as Christmas will have many closures. It seemed that Bruges was roughly "on the way" to Lauterbrunnen and we were trying to maximize the areas we were able to see during our trip.

We hope we don't need to cancel or adjust Lauterbrunen as that is non-refundable and our most expensive accomodation. I understand that Switzerland will be snowy in winter. From what I read, I was under the perception that there are plenty of activities (snow-shoeing, skiing, visiting Jungfraujoch or Schlithorn) to make it an enjoyable visit in winter. Please advise.

As far as Lauterbrunnen to Munich, we were going to take the scenic train from Lauterbrunnen Valley --> Interlaken Ost —> Lucerne (on the Rick Steve's forums for best train rides) —> Basel —> fly to Munich

We have obviously never been to this region so we are open to suggestions on adjustments. I hope after reading the above, you will understand why we chose the route we did, although it may seem ignorant to those who have traveled the area extensively. We thought we were doing ok by adapting a Rick Steves itinerary.

Eh, here's the catch: Rick Steves tour itineraries tend to be fast-paced (as is usually the case with tours!), and "best of Europe" tours are probably the fastest of them all! On a tour, all the logistics are taken care of, so that makes things smoother despite the fast pace, but you will not have this luxury.
Could you just fly from Brussels to Switzerland on Christmas day or Boxing day, extending your stay in Lauterbrunnen for a bit?

As for Lauterbrunnen to Munich: do not fly!
If you must travel this way (flights booked, high change fees), head to Zürich as you've laid out, then take the train from Zürich to Munich. Basel takes you way off course.

Balso, thank you for your reply. We could certainly extend our time in Lauterbrunnen if you think that would be best. We could also omit Beaune and spend Christmas in Brussels instead of extending Bruges (and fly to Lauterbrunnen from Brussels), thinking Brussels might be a little more "open" around Christmas, considering it is a larger city. Thoughts on that?

I will absolutely heed your concern regarding a flight between Lauterbrunnen and Munich. I am curious as to why the concern though? Would you also discourage flying Zurich to Munich?

Aside from the general logistical issues, do you think these cities will be a disappointment in winter? Should we have chosen different European cities for this time frame?

Thank you again for your feedback.

I don't personally have much interest in Christmas Markets, but it doesn't seem like you have done much hard research on "Best Christmas Markets Europe" or something like that. People go to Bruges to see Bruges, and they don't feel bad about spending an extra day in "the most romantic city I've ever been to." {Not MY opinion, just a frequent sentiment!]

There certainly is weather risk in visiting mountain-Switzerland in the winter, especially if you're not there to ski, and you are in a hurry. I wonder if it might be better to focus on Germany and Austria, or Alsace?

https://www.timetravella.com/europe/switzerland/lauterbrunnen#december

seemed that Bruges was roughly "on the way" to Lauterbrunnen and we were trying to maximize the areas we were able to see during our trip.

You've lost me there. How were you going to get to Bruges? Where are you coming from? You are certainly very welcome to this newsboard, but we don't know anything about your past travel experience. Bruges is not in the middle of nowhere, but it is a "spur" destination. Yes, a lot of people think it's next door to Amsterdam or London or Lille. But it isn't.

You should check out trains from Brugge to Beaune as SNCF website does not show any train connections on December 25. Plenty of good connections on a normal day but Always difficult to get every leg to work around holidays.
I think that an extra day or 2 in the Brugge/Brussels area makes more sense with a flight out on the 27th.
Good luck

I will absolutely heed your concern regarding a flight between Lauterbrunnen and Munich. I am curious as to why the concern though? Would you also discourage flying Zurich to Munich?

It's not a concern, it's just that it takes just as long as the train. Zürich to Munich takes 3:30 by train, it is hard to beat that flying if you consider time to get to/from airports and check-in deadlines.
The fastest route from Lauterbrunnen to Munich takes just over 6 hours, actually.

If we scratch Beaune from our itinerary, where would you add time? Would you pick a different nearby city, or extend time in Bruges? (Based on your favorite cities in the area/ where you think is most worth spending time)

You copied this itinerary from a RS tour, but did you notice that RS doesn’t offer this tour in the winter months? Also it makes a huge difference if someone else is taking care of all the logistics, transport etc vs you having to do this on your own. You should also take into account that at the end of December, days are really short.
In both Bruges and Brussels there will be restaurants open for business at Christmas Day, but they will serve special multi course menus often with wine included. The idea is for that to be an all night affair celebrating Christmas, not a quick bite to eat.

If we scratch Beaune from our itinerary, where would you add time? Would you pick a different nearby city, or extend time in Bruges? (Based on your favorite cities in the area/ where you think is most worth spending time)

You definitely do not have time to go to a different city... I'd extend time either in Bruges or in Lauterbrunnen, or both.

Bruges was still suggested even in winter for it's wine and food.

Did you mean Bruges for food or perhaps you meant Brussels? And you may find that Bruges is much more famous for the variety of beers than wines.

myswisslife this was incredibly helpful, thank you so much! It was very nice to have a response with some positive suggestions about the trip we are taking. Insights like these are hard to come across without more intimate knowledge, and I am so very grateful for yours!

As far as the remainder of the cities, we would appreciate any similar insights/suggestions as far as activities or restaurants (as the OP indicates). We are absolutely open to multi-course specialty Christmas meals, pub dining, fine dining, fast-paced activities, slow-paced activities, or any other suggestions people may have.

We would like to make the best of the time we have there. Thank you again for any input you may have.

If you do sled/toboggan, check that your travel insurance covers you! It is a lot of fun but not risk-free (more dangerous than downhill skiing).

Balso that is very interesting. I would not have aniticpated it would be considered more dangerous than downhill skiing! Great tip, thank you!

Any opinions on dining or activities in any of the cities?