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10 day itinerary help

This is cross-posted in the Switzerland forum....

I'll be in Switzerland and Germany for 10 days with my husband and 4 yr old daughter before embarking on a 8 day Danube river cruise from Germany to Hungary. We bought a ticket with arrival in Zurich with a plan to visit some locations in Switzerland, then move onto Germany ending with 3 nights in Munich where we meet up with my inlaws pre-cruise. The cruise will include Salzburg.
We are hoping to do most transportation via train, but are open to renting a car if it's really helpful. We'd love some feedback...

Tentative Itinerary:
1. Day 1: arrive in AM in Zurich and go straight to Bern.
2. Three nights in Bern. One day trip to Murten or Gimmelwald (or another town in that region), and 1-2 days in Bern.
3. Two to three nights in Lucerne. Mt Pilatus, etc. Perhaps half a day in Zurich.
4. One to two nights in Bavaria (probably drive from Lucerne, visiting Liechtenstein and/or Appenzell on the way). Stay in Fussen or Obergammerau or other. Visit the big castle, plus perhaps another castle, or luge.
5. To Munich for three nights. Day trip to Nuremberg, etc.
6. Total of 10 nights, already set by flights.
Please share your thoughts if you're willing to help!

Posted by
12040 posts

One day trip to Murten or Gimmelwald (or another town in that region),

Do you mean Murten, which isn't in the Alps, or Mürren, which is just up the road from Gimmelwald high in the Alps? Either way, if you decide to head into the mountains from Bern, don't try to choose your day until you have a good short-term weather forecast. Otherwise, you risk heading up into a veil of clouds.

4. One to two nights in Bavaria (probably drive from Lucerne, visiting Liechtenstein and/or Appenzell on the way). If you drive, it takes longer than you might expect, and don't be surprised if traffic is completely backed up around the tunnels near Bregenz. Liechtenstein looks exactly like the neighboring regions of Austria and Switzerland except for the unique license plates. Skippable if time is tight.

Posted by
451 posts

Spend three nights in Murren not Bern. You are up in the mountain which are mind blowing. Spend the arrival day in Bern then move to Murren for 3 nights.

Posted by
10 posts

Thanks for this feedback! Yes, we were wondering about Murten. We also have considered visiting Murrin. Our concern is that we are uncertain how we'd spend our time with our 4 yr old in the smaller towns. We won't be doing any significant hiking. If the weather is bad, would we be worse off in Murren than in Bern with our 4 yr old, for example? If anyone has thoughts about that, it would be helpful.

Does anyone have recommendations of where to stay when we visit Neuschwanstein or other nearby sights?

Any favorite places to stay in Lucerne? Does that part of the plan sound like a good choice?

Does anyone think it's a good idea to spend a few days in Bern?

Thanks for any ideas!