Flying into Frankfurt. Want to see Rhine River area, onto Baden-Baden only because family is from there. Want to spend 4-5 days in Bernese Oberland Switzerland. What else should I see in the southern Germany area before going to Switzerland? What city in Germany would be easiest to leave from and get to Lauterbrunnen Switzerland? Thank you for any suggestions.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Meredith, how are you travelling ? Rail, car, other? I will assume rail, if not please say as it affects things.
You could even take a river cruise up the Rhine all the way to Switzerland.
Want to see Rhine River area
Which part of the Rhine? You probably mean the Rhine Gorge area, NW of Frankfurt between Bingen and Koblenz.
What city in Germany would be easiest to leave from and get to Lauterbrunnen Switzerland?
Any. You can get from anywhere in Germany to anywhere in Switzerland by train. Pick somewhere for the place, not because of transport. After Baden Baden (also has trains to Switzerland) one option for 1-2 nights is Freiburg im Breisgau.
You could also loop through the Black Forest.
An alternative after Baden Baden is to go up the other side of the Rhine, via Strasbourg and Colmar, then rent a car or take a tour, or buses, to the villages along the "Route des Vins d'Alsace". Lots of very pretty villages.
See here: https://www.alsace-wine-route.com/en
Then back on the train to Lauterbrunnen
Posted by
New York, NY
1582 posts
Meredith - From Baden Baden after visiting family , you can train to Basel Switzerland, spend a few days there. You can visit Colmar and Strasbourg from Basel too. From Basel, get a connecting train to the Bernese Oberland.
Also ChrisF above made some good points to follow regarding the Route Des Vins D'Alsace tour.
Posted by
OP
Phoenix, AZ, USA
118 posts
Thank you for your reply. Yes, train would be best. Could we do Germany Rhine Gorge, then to Baden-Baden, onto Strasborg and Colmar through French Rhine to Basel and onto Lauterbrunnen all on the train? In your opinion is Basel Switzerland or Freiburg Germany more worth while before Lauterbrnnen? Thank you.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32752 posts
Rhine Gorge, then to Baden-Baden, onto Strasbourg and Colmar through French Rhine to Basel and onto Lauterbrunnen all on the train?
Yes you can.
From the Mittelrhein to Baden Baden is easy, then up a bit to Offenburg where you get the very short train to Strasbourg. Strasbourg to Colmar is trivial - but if you want to visit the villages nearby you need rubber wheels somehow. Colmar to Basel also very easy.
The little problem comes that no trains cross the Rhine between Strasbourg and Basel. You can get easily by train along either side. Baden Baden to Basel has Freiburg im Breisgau sort of mid way on the German side, and Strasbourg to Basel has Colmar and Mulhouse about mid way on the French side. Colmar and Freiburg im Breisgau are quite close physically but to get between them on trains requires quite a long and narrow triangle, either north or south.
There is a bus that I am vaguely aware of but I have no idea of its frequency, route or cost.
Posted by
Augsburg, Bavaria
2333 posts
There is a bus that I am vaguely aware of but I have no idea of its frequency, route or cost.
This is an overview of all border crossing bus lines:
The two relevant timetables are 30 and 301.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Yes you can. There are rail lines down both sides of the Rhine.
On the west bank: Rotterdam - lots of other places - Frankfurt - . . . . - Baden-Baden - Freiburg im Breisgau - Basel
On the French side: . . . . - Strasbourg - Colmar - Mulhouse - Basel.
The two routes join up in Basel, from which you can get to anywhere in Switzerland.
The only significant cross-link in the Alsace area is at Strasbourg, and then at Basel.
So, unless you have lots of time, you EITHER do Baden-Baden - Strasbourg - Wine villages - Basel, OR Baden-Baden - Freiburg im Breisgau - Basel.
The wine villages do need a car, so if you haven't got the time to have a car for two days, you may have to skip them.
I think Basel is a very nice city, but I may be biased, I live here. Freiburg is nice, but Basel is better.
Strasbourg + Alsace Wine Villages + Basel make a good combination.
Basel is a city to get lost in. Lots of back lanes, with old buildings in them, with dates 12xx, 13xx and 14xx on them. The whole city centre is no cars, the lanes are on foot only. You can spin 180° and think "WTF century am I in?"
- 360° panorama of Münsterplatz (Cathedral Square): https://goo.gl/maps/B91BMxHELr5mK15QA
- 360° of Münster from cross the Rhine: https://goo.gl/maps/oyq3stFLZRbh9JPY7
- 360° of one of the back lanes: https://goo.gl/maps/E8dL3oewRjFLTamj6
- Which century is this? Can you spot the swan?
Plus Basel has lots of museums.
I hope this helps.
One important point, please take care to spell place names correctly, for example "Strasbourg", not "Strasborg". Human beings can (usually) guess where you mean. Google and rail travel websites are stupid computers and can get very confused by miss-spellings.