Vienna-Bavaria-Switzerland 3 weeks?

If you are going to Switzerland for the scenery, the incredible Western Tirol (Austria) is where we go to see The Alps. It is much easier to travel through and also less expensive.
You could fit in Northern Italy, The Dolomites and Venice with the time you have available.

I agree with David, with 3 weeks you could see pretty much everything on your list and still have time to spend 2-3 days in Venice and fly back from there. You can see everything there is to see in Halstadt in 2 days and 3-4 days in Salzburg covers everything, so you've got plenty of free time. I'm jealous, I would love to have 3 weeks to travel in the area you've picked, usually I only get 2 weeks at a time, have fun!

"...Berchtesgaden and then continue to see some parts of Germany like Bavaria with traditional old Towns and Castles like Neuschwanstein."

Bavaria is a logical place to visit. It's a lot bigger than you may think, actually. Once in Berchtesgaden, you are already there. It extends north, nearly to Frankfurt - see map.

For well-preserved old towns, castles, etc., you should probably consult the UNESCO World Heritage list for Germany.

BAMBERG and REGENSBURG are probably the two best-preserved places of all (despite the skimpy coverage they get in Rick Steves' book, which tends to send readers to more touristy places.)

Neuschwanstein won't be on the UNESCO list. It was built just before the dawn of the 20th century, long, long after most castles had already crumbled, and is not a genuine castle, but a residential palace with a faux castle facade. It's notoriety among international tourists stems largely from its use by Walt Disney (who was born around the time N'stein was built) as a model for his Disney-park "castles.")

Some authentic castles can be found in the Salzburg area: https://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/

Burghausen is near the German/Austrian border: https://www.visit-burghausen.com/en.html

The Bavaria Ticket is a day pass covers virtually all of Bavaria by train, bus, and inner-city transport (bus, tram, subway.) It doesn't cover transport within Salzburg but does cover transport from Salzburg into Germany. There are other handy day passes at even lower prices for smaller regions of Bavaria as well. All of the day passes cover regional trains (but not the super-fast long-distance IC, ICE, EC and RJ trains.)

Hi,

Thanks for the replies, I will for sure book several nights in Salzburg and also check out the UNESCO list to find out a good route through Germany on the way to Switzerland.

/Eric

For two weeks in Switzerland, the products you should consider are either a Swiss Travel Pass, which covers almost everything (15 consecutive days costs about $500 per person) or a one-month Swiss Half-Fare Card for about $125, which allows you to buy all transport tickets at half price, as you go. See https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes.

we were in that area again last year and after spending a reasonable amount of time there and driving around ( on a few different trips, over the years) we found the salzburg berchtesgaden area a great spot. very reasonable prices and lots to see and do. also the area south east eg: austria dachstein mountain and surrounding area, is very underrated ( compared to switzerland)
we very much enjoy switzerland ( we spent another 4 days in lauterbrunnen last year) but its very expensive and there are other options.
including the dolimites ( while perhaps a bit more difficult to access) which is spectacular.

we have stayed in the town of berchtesgaden twice and its a nice 'typical' town ( as you require) and a good spot to visit the surrounding area ( visiting old town and castles its 'easier' if you have a car )
hope this helps.