Traveling mid-March from the United States. The original itinerary I floated was to full so I have adjusted it and would appreciate input.
Day 1 - fly into Frankfurt landing around noon, travel to Munich via train, sleep in Munich
Day 2 - Munich w/ day trip to Dauchu, evening in Munich, sleep in Munich
Day 3 - Munich w/ day trip to Salzburg, sleep in Munich
Day 4 - Munich w/ trip to Castle then train to Lucerne or Zurich (recommendations on which one is best to stay 2-3 nights and day trip from.
Day 5 - Touring Lucerne or Zurich area
Day 6 - day in Lucerne or Zurich then train to Stuttgart, sleep in Stuttgart
Day 7 - Day in Stuttgart, sleep in Stuttgart or Heidelberg
Day 8 - Day in Heidelberg, back to spend night in Frankfurt
Day 9 - Fly home from Frankfurt
How does this look? We have plenty we want to see in and around Munich, can use suggestions for the Lucerne/ Zurich location. Or is there another city we should consider instead?
For the stuttgart / Heidelberg / Frankfurt section, would we be better going from Zurich/Lucerne to Frankfurt to spend the night and then take day trips from Frankfurt to Stuttgart and Heidelberg?
Posted by
23 posts
Hello! Only suggestions that I would make are the following:
-On Day 2, drive to Landshut after Dachau and wander the streets. Beautiful city with a gorgeous cathedral little known to most tourists. Plenty of nice places to eat as well.
- On day 7 or 8 if you are in Heidelberg, maybe take a trip to Weinheim. Wonderful Altstadt with a great restaurant right in the square - Diebsloch. Head up the hill to the castle ruin and climb the tower. Beautiful views. Also, not far from the old town is a restaurant called Zum Joeste Andres - extremely local, super gemütlichkeit.
Enjoy your trip! I will be right behind you traveling in May.
Posted by
Paradise
7077 posts
So this is your "slimmed down" itinerary?
"How does this look? We have plenty we want to see in and around Munich"
You have almost no time for Munich at all as I see it. Days 1 & 9 = no sightseeing, only logistics. Then you have 7 days for Dachau, Munich, Salzburg, "Castle", Zurich, (or Lucerne,) Stuttgart and Heidelberg. Really? The round trip to Salzburg and back takes nearly 4 hours - that depletes your time in this fine city substantially. Munich - "Castle" (Neuschwanstein??) - Lucerne will mean a journey of 10-12 hours (and that's if you only spend 2 hours max at N'stein.)
This looks pretty bad to me - a plan for the circular file IMO. It's just a lot of moving from place to place. You can and must do better. Below is a suggestion for reduced travel that is still hurried but will give you most of what's on your list.
Suggest you spend nights 1-3 in Munich. Then you have Day 2 for an outing of your choice (Dachau?) and Day 3 for Munich.
On Day 4 spend the daytime hours in Munich as well - you could see your "castle" right there in Munich - Nymphenburg is a good choice. Then catch an evening train to Salzburg for Nights 4-6.
That gives you one day (Day 5) for Salzburg and Day 6 for an outing into the Alps from there (Berchtesgaden? Very close, spectacular scenery at the nearby Königssee, so no need to go to Lucerne.)
On Day 7, leave Salzburg for Stuttgart or Heidelberg for 2 nights. On Day 9, You can get from Heidelberg to Frankfurt airport in about 1 hour.
Posted by
Berlin
3016 posts
Just as optional ideas.
1) From Frankfurt you can easily access beautiful mid Rhine Valley. A boat tour allows you to see a lot of castles. Close Rheingau region allows to visit vinery in the evening for a nice tasting.
2) From Munich you can also head to north and visit Bamberg.
Tip: for your Bavarian day trips incl. Salzburg you can use Bayern-Ticket of Deutsche Bahn (rail).
Posted by
8248 posts
First, you only have 8 days of touring. I suggest skipping Switzerland, since you haven't planned enough time in Bavaria. You need some time in Munich as well as Salzburg, Berchtesgaden then Garmisch/Fussen. Also, check out the Romantic Road from Wurzburg to Garmisch. It is loaded with medieval walled cities, largely untouched by WWII bombing. Rothenberg on the Tauber is not to be missed.
Heidelberg is very nice, not sure why you want to visit Stuttgart, unless you want to go to the Porsche or Mercedes factories. I lived in Stuttgart, its OK, but not equal to other places that I mentioned.
The Rhine Valley is nice, but you don't have time to see it as well as Bavaria.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9224 posts
You land in Frankfurt at noon. What time is your train to Munich? Do you really want to sit in a train for another 3 hours after a trans-Atlantic flight?
Stay overnight in Frankfurt, do a bit of sightseeing as the city is full of interesting sites and is one of the oldest and most historic cities in Germany! It isn't just skyscrapers and banks. Get a good nights sleep and catch an early morning train to Munich. You can be there by 9 or 10, all rested and ready to tour. If you do it the way you have planned, you will be so exhausted, you won't be able to stay awake-
Posted by
OP
13 posts
Thank you for the great information.
We do not plan on renting a car so we will be dependent on public transportation. Are these towns accessible via train?Berchtesgaden, Garmisch/Fussen. Romantic Road from Wurzburg to Garmisch. and Rothenberg on the Tauber ?
I have looked at the Deutsche Bahn site and see they have regional day passes for both Germany and Bavaria.
Also can someone provide guidance on where in Munich and Salzburg we want to stay to have access to the sites in each town as well as proximity to public transportation?
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6500 posts
Lucerne is infinitely more interesting than Zurich. You won't see much of Munich or Salzburg.