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Germany/Austria/Switzerland itinerary feedback

Posted by on

Hello,
I'm in the early stages of planning a trip year, early September. I've come up with an initial itinerary so I can figure out how many days before I book flights. If you have any feedback in terms of time allowed per stay or any transportation issues that you see, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts. Also, if you have other day trips to suggest, I'm open to hearing those
For background, my husband and I are active seniors. We would be travelling by train, and prefer to avoid 1 night stays. Ideally we like to be in a location 3 night plus but don't mind some 2 night stays. We enjoy most historical and cultural sites (although do not want to see Holocaust related places), Catholic sites, areas of natural beauty.
My plan so far:
Fly into Frankfurt, transfer to Cologne
Cologne - 4 nights, includes day trips to Aachen and middle Rhine area
Rothenburg ob der Tauber - 2 nights
Munich - 4 nights, includes day trip to Fussen
Vienna - 4 nights, includes day trip to Melk
Salzburg - 3 nights
EITHER Lucerne - 2 nights, followed by Murren 3 nights, OR Murren 4 nights, followed by Lucerne or Bern 1 night (easier access to airport)
depart from Zurich

This gives us 22 nights and assumes direct transfer to Zurich airport day of departure, but we have the flexibility to add another day if need be.

Thank you for taking a look.

Posted by
7651 posts

Mostly alright, with some tweaks, anyway.

Good that you have 3 nights for Salzburg, but an additional night wouldn't hurt; day trips to Werfen (Hohenwerfen Castle) and to Berchtesgaden / Koenigssee make for a more complete stay.

A day in Cologne is adequate; a day for the Upper Middle Rhine Valley is not. I'd suggest basing in the much more scenic UMRV and then include Cologne as a day trip from there. Stay near Koblenz to position yourselves near Cologne as well as the Rhine gateway towns of Bingen and Rüdesheim (the usual southern-end cruise docks.) Old-world BOPPARD has a near-ideal location, a nice town with lots of rooms (many with good river views) and restaurants - a good spot if you plan to head up the Mosel River for sure (to Cochem. Beilstein, Burg eltz.)

Also... Getting from FRA to Boppard or other UMRV towns is simple and fast and does not require advance-purchase tickting to get tickets at a fair price, as it's a regional train route; A FRA > Cologne transfer by the ICe route OTOH is fast but problematic (unless you plan to have a German or eurail Pass, that is.)

I would opt for other old-world towns and palaces than the oversold destinations of Rothenburg and Füssen's Neuschwanstein (the main reason Füssen is on so many itineraries.) Both are compromised/tainted by their respective tourist swarms; look instead at Regensburg and Bamberg, Nympenburg Palace (Munich) and Herrenchiemsee Palace (between Munich and Salzburg.)

Posted by
6646 posts

Just a few random thoughts-
It's very easy to access the Zurich airport from Lucerne. I'd skip Bern on this trip.
Stay as many nights as possible in the BO. No one is ever ready to leave, and that will give you more chances of clear weather days. You are going at a great time of year.
I love Rothenburg, so am glad that is on your agenda. The mornings and evenings are serene.
I'm not a big fan of Munich, but perhaps you're going to Octoberfest.
Salzburg is charming, so maybe add a day from Munich, so you can also enjoy the beauty of Berchtesgaden.
Perhaps Search here regarding opinions on Fussen. I think it's the total definition of tourist trap (IMHO). However, close by, is the Zugspitze, highest mountain in Germany, where you can see several countries from one point.
Make sure you give yourself rest days about every 6-7 days. Add extra days if possible, so you can slow down, and actually BE in a location.
I think you have the outlines of a great trip, and wish you well!

Posted by
18 posts

Thank you for these replies.

If I home base on the upper middle Rhine instead of Cologne, would it still be feasible to do a day trip to Aachen? I really want to visit there. And thank you for the tip on the trains. I haven't yet researched the rail systems so I will have to look into that.

As far as Munich, no we are not going to Octoberfest. If I were to cut a day, given a half day travel to get there and another day for a day trip, that would leave 1 1/2 days. Do you think that is enough to see the main sights?

I will also look into some of the alternate towns mentioned.

Thank you for the feedback.

Posted by
7651 posts

Sorry, I was a little careless about Aachen...

It would be possible to do the UMRV from a well-located single base-town like Remagen and keep all your destinations within 1.5 hours or so, making day trips to Aachen, Cologne, the Mosel River town of Cochem, and the UMRV towns doable. Remagen is a nice town in a scenic part of the river with some worthwhile things nearby (like the Remagen Bridge WW II museum) as well. I think you might need 5 nights or more for all of this. I doubt Rick Steves has anything to say about Remagen - sadly, much of Germany is simply off his radar.

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attractions-g642105-Activities-oa0-Remagen_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

However, Aachen/Cologne and the UMRV really are separate areas... I would be just as inclinded to first spend 3 nights in the UMRV, which makes for a short train trip on arrival day. Then transfer to your Cologne base for 2 nights, which should provide adequate time for both Aachen and Cologne. After that... the long trip to Bavaria, whether it's Bamberg, Rothenburg, or whatever, goes fairly quickly from Cologne.

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