We have a morning castle tour booked for Neuschwanstein (10:00 AM). After the tour we will be making our way to the Interlaken area by car. It appears to me to be about a 5 hour journey? Please advise on the best route (most scenic). I am wondering what sites are a must see along the way? We are considering spending a night in Lucerne to break up the journey. Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated!
Posted by
Oberpfalz, Germany
1293 posts
Lots of places to see. A little out of the way, but maybe the Tellskapelle, Tellsplatte for William Tell and Meiringen and the Reichenbach Falls for Sherlock Holmes. Also the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Lindau, on Bodensee (the lake where Germany, Switzerland and Austria join). It is about midway and a good stop for lunch and a walk around. The town is on an island connected to the mainland with a bridge.
Tourist info here: http://www.bodensee.eu/en/where-to-travel/lake-constance-cities/lindau
ViaMichelin ( https://www.viamichelin.com/ ) reckons 358 km, 04h27, but that is always optimistic. It is a pretty run, mountains all the way.
Standard warnings:
1) Where are you returning this car? Dropping a car off in a different country to where you picked it up is expensive.
2) You will need to by a Swiss Autobahn Vignette for driving on Swiss Autobahns (CHF 40) and an Austrian one for the short distance you will be on Austrian Autobahns.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
The Swiss Train System is second to none and a big part of the fun of seeing Switzerland...especially since you're planning on visiting the Interlaken "area". Just a stone's through from Interlaken takes you into the high alpine villages accessible only by public transport - that's where you should be staying and NOT in Interlaken.
I would highly suggest dropping your car at the border (assuming you rented in Germany) and jump on the train and head to Lucerne for a night or two. Then continue on the train to Lauterbrunnen (via Interlaken Ost) and then higher up into Murren or Wengen.
Going to Switzerland and not riding the trains is a little like going to Disney World and never seeing Mickey or Minnie :-)
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
Please advise on the best route (most scenic).
There is a daily bus from Oberstdorf, in the Illertal, to Füssen. I've taken it round trip twice. Just outside of Sonthofen, at Bad Hindelang, the road goes, with switchbacks, up the shear face of a mountain to Oberjoch. That road is part of the Alpenstrasse. I would advise taking that route from Füssen to Lindau.
Posted by
OP
5 posts
In terms of dropping the car off at the border and catching a train to Interlaken area (was planning to stay in Lauterbrunnen two nights, but will look into Murren), what would be the best location for that to take place? What train would I catch? I would have to rent a car a second time in Interlaken area to make my way to Chaominx, but would return at Geneva airpot so that may save me money and allow me to get the train experience. Thanks so much for the advice!!
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
In terms of dropping the car off at the border and catching a train to Interlaken area . . . ., what would be the best location for that to take place?
Answer: The aforementioned Lindau. It is the last town in Germany, and on the rail route from Bavaria to Switzerland.
An alternative is Konstanz at the opposite (western) end of the lake, which has better connections to the Swiss rail network.
What train would I catch?
Look up train times from Lindau to Lauterbrunnen on the SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) website: https://www.sbb.ch/en/
I would have to rent a car a second time in Interlaken area to make my way to Chaominx,
Not necessarily. You could take a train from Lauterbrunnen to Chamonix, and pick up a (French) hire car there, which you later return to the French side of Geneva airport.