I lived in Frankfurt as a child and am planning fall trip with my husband with a focus on southern Germany and Austria for 14 days. I I'm currently looking at flying into Munich but to not want to base here and spend much time here, since I can recall a lot of this area.
I plan on moving on to the Berchtesgaden area for a couple of nights with day trips to Salzburg and possibly Hallstatt. From there going to Fussen for two nights for the usual castle tours, Weiskirche, Zugspitze. Other musts I want to include in the trip are Rothenburg, the Black Forest Area, and the Rhine Valley. I want to enjoy more smaller towns and countrysides and less larger more cosmopolitan cities. I would love to add a side trip to Colmar. I'm also trying to decide if we should add a few days in Switzerland or not. Would it make more sense to fly into Munich and out of Frankfurt? Any itinerary help would be greatly appreciated. I pretty much have the Fussen area and Berchtesgaden part done, it's trying to piece the remainder together.
Posted by
San Diego, California
5618 posts
If you're going to Switzerland, why not fly out of Zurich? Especially if you're going to the Strasbourg / Colmar area.
Berchtesgaden is beautiful, it's a place I definitely want to visit again.
When is this trip?
Safe travels!
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8319 posts
It's a shame you're not going to spend a few days in Munich, as there's just so much to see there. We like to go west of there and drop south through Bavaria and into the Tirolean region of Austria. The Alps around Innsbruck are incredibly beautiful, and it's easier and cheaper to travel through than Switzerland. We're not big on Fuessen or the Black Forest which is out of the way. For a day trip, we do enjoy the Dolomites of Northern Italy and going north on the Grossglockner High Alpine Highway--ending in Zell-am-See.
We never tire of visiting Salzburg and Hallstadt--rather than Berchtesgarten which is just a small place just south of Salzburg.
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
I pretty much have the Fussen area and Berchtesgaden part done, it's
trying to piece the remainder together.
"Coupla" is somewhat imprecise... it would help to know how many of your 14 days you expect to have used up with Munich, Salzburg, Füssen, the Zugspitze, the Wieskirche, and Berchtesgaden. And are you traveling by car or by train? And what time of year will this all happen?
You can spend a few days in Switzerland, but of course Switzerland will add some serious mileage to your trip and will take a toll on on your intentions for Rothenburg/Black Forest/Colmar/Rhine Valley, places which are already pretty spread out. Maybe you should in fact be flying out of Zurich if you end up including Switzerland.
If you try to do your entire wish list here, it's going to be a whole lot of running around with insufficient time in each place. What you have in mind for southern Bavaria and Salzburg at present is going to require at least 5 nights, I think.
I suggest you start thinking in terms of 3 base-areas... using both MUC and FRA airports.
Southern Bavaria + Salzburg, etc. (5 nights?)
Rothenburg and nearby (Bad Windsheim? Würzburg? Weikersheim? Ochsenfurt? Nuremberg? (3 nights?)
Rhine Valley / Mosel Valley (Burg Eltz? Marksburg? Rüdesheim? Cochem? Bernkastel? Boppard? (5 nights?)
One final night in Mainz (20-25 minutes by direct train from FRA) prior to flying out makes 14.
The Black Forest, Colmar, and Switzerland will combine well and conveniently for some future trip.