Hello! We just booked a 12 night trip to Europe flying in and out of Milan (LIN). We fly in on May 25th and depart on June 6th. Ideally, we would like to see Switzerland, Germany, and Austria and need some help building an itinerary. We will be be bringing our 2 boys (8 and 11). We enjoy cities, but prefer to see the more quaint villages and off the beaten path places. We enjoy nature and want to see the most beautiful places. We plan to rent a car in Milan. We're thinking we'll drive to Interlaken area and stay for 3 nights, drive somewhere in Germany for 3 nights. (I would like to see the Black Forest, cute towns in Bavaria, and castles if possible.) We then plan to go to Salzburg for (3 nights), then go to Innsbruck (2 night)s before traveling back to Milan (1 night) to fly out. We like to try to stay at least 3 nights in each place so that you have more than just a day. Are we being too ambitious considering we'll have two kids in tow? We don't want to spend the majority of our trip in a car. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Posted by
New York, NY
1585 posts
@ mkevinf - How many Days you plan on spending in each of the 3 countries?
For Germany - I would recommend the city of Munich and the surrounding villages.
For Austria - Vienna, Danube and Salzburg
For Switzerland - Lucerne and Berner Oberland
These would be the ideal places to visit and plus logistically travel wise, these cities are convenient and not far apart.
Posted by
Paris
6919 posts
Milan is not the best port of entry for a visit to Germany and Salzburg, and 12 nights will make it hard to visit off the beaten path places without missing obvious highlights.
But here's the route suggestion that springs to mind, keeping driving distances reasonable, with a short foray into southern Germany, and a stop in the Dolomites:
1. Land in Milan, rent car, drive to Bellinzona, sleep in Bellinzona. Highlight: UNESCO-listed fortress
2. Drive to Lauterbrunnen, sleep Lauterbrunnen. Highlight: Mountain scenery
3. Lauterbrunnen
4. Lauterbrunnen
5. Drive to Lindau, on the shore of Lake Konstanz. Highlight: Pretty lakeside town
6. Lindau
7. Drive to Pitztal or Ötztal (Tirol, Austria), via Neuschwanstein castle.
8. Pitztal or Ötztal: mountain scenery, small villages
9. Drive to Dolomites, stay in Ortisei area: incredible mountain scenery and preserved (though built-up) villages
10. Ortisei
11. Ortisei
12. Drive to Milan, stay in Milan
13. Flight home
Or if Salzbourg is a must for you, you could drive there from Tirol, but you would then face a long drive back to Milan (about 8 hrs including stops).
Posted by
86 posts
I don't know that you really need to move around that much as, other than Switzerland, all you're going to see is a lot of the same. I'm guessing your kids are going to get a bit cranky with nothing for them to do.
Posted by
Paris
6919 posts
Nothing to do? I disagree, the Swiss and Austrian mountains are full of swimmable lakes, farms, summer toboggan rides, and most children that age enjoy some moderate walking - it's a great part of the world to be a kid in!