Need Inspiration and Advice for a Family Trip!

For inspiration, watch the Rick Steves videos - they're great as a starting point.

In July, avoid southern Europe (Spain, Italy, Greece). It'll be miserably hot and shockingly crowded then.

A "12 day" trip is a very short one - be careful not to try and do too much (and be realistic about how many usable days on the ground you'll have not counting travel days).

Have you been to Europe before? If so, where?

At that time of year it's often useful to include some mountain time, as insurance against miserably hot weather. The Dolomites in Italy are lovely, and the museum housing the Iceman is nearby in Bolzano. There's a whole string of medium-sized cities south and east of Bolzano: Verona, Vicenza, Padua, even Venice. And the Italian lakes are also nearby.

The other three countries have great mountainous areas of their own. Switzerland, however, is very expensive, so if budget is any concern to you at all, I'd suggest doing a bit of research on hotel costs there (use your favorite website) before falling in love with the Swiss Alps.

A similar question has been posted in the Switzerland forum, with the comment that the travelers are starting and ending in Basel.

I would say keep it to Germany with maybe a dip into Austria for Salzburg. Land in Frankfurt and hit the Rhine or Romantic Road, down to Munich and if you'd like into Salzburg, then up through the eastern side of Germany to Berlin where you could fly out. Or you could do it opposite starting with landing in Hamburg.

Switzerland would be a gd choice if money is not a concern. Arrive zurich, depart Geneva and see alot of incredible scenery in between. It can all be done by train. think Luzern, Mt Pilatus, Berner oberland,
Tomthe Matterhorn then Laussane to Geneva airport.

Austria was the first country to come to my mind, and I see you have it on your list. Salzburg is a wonderful, charming town which offers the Salzburg Card to maximize your time. And, of course, the Sound of Music locations are fun to visit. We also enjoyed staying a few nights at nearby St. Wolfgang and just traveled by bus & boat to reach it, after being in Salzburg for three days. Vienna is a beautiful elegant city if that isn’t too far away for you.

Suggest flying into Munich for a few days, then down to Salzburg, Austria and Berchtesgaden, Germany, then to Innsbruck, Austria, up to Fussen/Garmisch, Germany. On then up the Romantic Road to Augsburg, Danauwurth(sp), Dinkelsbuel, Rothenberg on the Tauber and to Wurzberg. From there to Heidelberg then down to either Triberg (Black Forest) or Strasbourg, France. Then into Switzerland, if you have time and fly out of Geneva or Zurich.

Here's one German option. For your limited time, cut some of the stops. Neuschwanstein would be a good one to skip.
Why a loop? It is usually more efficient to fly open-jaw. When booking the flight, instead of "Roundtrip" or "One Way", choose "Multi-City". The fare shouldn't be much different than a roundtrip fare.

With an 8-yr-old daughter, I would keep Neuschwanstein in the mix. It's said to be the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella Castles in Disneyland/DisneyWorld.

On a personal level, after having seen Neuschwanstein once, that was enough but I'm sure at least it's exterior view would be SO appealing to a little girl.

Hi,

Since Austria and Germany are under consideration for this July trip (with any luck, good fortune, etc, I'll be back there too in July), are there any top priority cities you want to see and visit? Heidelberg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne, Dresden, etc ?