Itinerary help please

Posted by Kathleen (O Fallon, IL, United States) on 02/08/19 06:51 PM

Hi All,

I am planning a trip with my family--spouse, son, his wife, and their 14 year old son. Our group has a varied wish list which we hope to fill in the limited time available to us. I might add that we like to sight-see, wander the streets, eat, and people watch, we will just make brief visits to museums and churches, and will enjoy short hikes. Our grandson really wants to visit Germany, our son the Alps--and a castle somewhere if it works, his wife Paris.

At this time our itinerary is:

June 5, Depart for Munich.

June 6, Arrive Munich,early a.m., 2 nights. Wander the central square and see the glockenspiel, visit the beer halls.

June 7, Tour the castles (Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau)?

June 8, Morning train to Lucerne, 2 nights. Wander Old Town area.

June 9, Check out Mt. Pilatus and/or Mt. Rigi.

June 10, Train/transport to Murren, 2 nights.

June 11, Check out the area as weather and time permits (Schilthorn, short hikes, waterfalls).

June 12, Long train ride to Paris, 3 nights.

June 13, Paris.

June 14, Paris.

June 15, Home.

My concerns are:

Visiting castles and going backwards to Munich. However, I'm not sure how transport to Lucerne would work straight from castles. Also open to ideas on other "castle" type experience?

My spouse and I visited Lucerne and the Murren area and loved both--but we were on tours and didn't have to handle the transportation issues ourselves. I know how variable the weather can be (we literally could not see the mountains on our first 3 day visit to Murren) and I want to give us our best shot at mountain views. That said, will we spend too much time in train stations, on trains, just getting places?

I am very interested in your suggestions--especially in terms of the efficient use of our time in Switzerland. Thanks!

Posted by Shoe

Grand Rapids, MI

02/09/19 04:10 AM

768 posts

Misc. transportation notes:
If you find your group back in Munich after Fussen, you might consider a bus to Zurich, which is fast and inexpensive. Just Google: Flixbus Munich Zurich.

You mention the "long train ride to Paris". You may or may not be aware that there are bullet trains from Zurich or Geneva that get to Paris in about 3+ hours. You want to reserve these in advance, and much more info about it is here:
https://www.seat61.com/lyria.htm If you see your group visiting the castle Chillon at Montreux, you could do it on the way to Geneva. I did it that way with one of my teens and we spent maybe 3 hrs there before continuing on.

Transportation "issues" around Murren: I've been there a dozen times, and frankly I can't think of any issues! Trains and cable cars go every 30 min. and when possible are timed perfectly for efficient transfers. The exact times are even given on www.sbb.ch/en
and other websites. The staff at the train station speak great English and will tell you exactly what you need if you tell them where you want to go.

Murren is a great place to stay (better start reserving!), but Lauterbrunnen is a bit more centrally located for transportation, particularly if you see your group visiting different trails and sights such as Trummelbach Falls. There is enough to do in that area to keep busy for 2 weeks so you might want to add an extra day. My teens loved the hikes that we took, and if you click on my name, you will find a link to our dozen favorite hikes (most about 2 hrs) with pics and maps. On that same link, under "Tips" are schedules and prices for the trains and cable cars.

Finding a room together (or 2 rooms) can be a bit harder and more costly. However, if you are used to camping together, consider renting a bungalow in Lauterbrunnen here: www.campingjungfrau.swiss

In Paris, a restaurant my daughter and I enjoyed was Chez Janou, where you can order a bottomless bowl of choc. mousse for dessert. You can find it on Google maps.