Parking in or near Lucerne

I would start by asking the hotel for suggestions.

Having just been to both of those towns, I would highly recommend not having a car for either. Hotel Des Alpes is a convenient walk from the train/bus station and is in the old cobblestone part of town. There won't be any parking close to that hotel.

From Lucern you take the train to interlaken and then switch to Wengen. If you have a rental car you will need to leave it in interlaken , as no cars are allowed in Wengen. The rail system is so easy to use here and a car is a huge hassle in the locations you are visiting.

There is a web site with all the car parks in Luzern. The English version is here: http://www.parking-luzern.ch/en/Luzerner-Parkhaeuser
To find these things it helps if you google in German "Parkplätze Luzern"
There is a car park at the station ("Bahnhofparking"), which is probably the nearest. Don't expect this to be cheap!

The hotel website (address: http://www.desalpes-luzern.ch/en/Hotel/Getting-here ) also says:

We do not have parking facilities. The closest parking available is at the train station. For more information click: www.parking-luzern.ch.
We recommend the parking, Kesselturm, Burgerstrasse 20 (app. 10 min walking distance).

Fantastic information, wow the parking is not cheap.

Parking is not cheap and difficult to find, gas is not cheap, car insurance is not cheap - that's why people don't have rental cars in cities. Take the train. I'm just guessing that probably all of your destinations in Germany/Austria/Switzerland are well served by trains. Save yourself headache (and money) and try to get rid of the rental car. I know it's hard for many people to give up that so-called rental car freedom, but actually the trains/gondolas, buses, boats will offer you more freedom than a rental car.

yes but no car means removal of mobility freedom. We have many places we want to go and see off of the beaten path so I think no car is not an option. Perhaps we may now stay outside of Lucerne and Train into it

It is a shame that you will be driving from Luzern to Wengen.

The beautiful route that the narrow gauge cog railway (with panoramic windows) that connects Interlaken Ost with Luzern takes over the Brünig Pass is one of the most beautiful in Switzerland, and costs no more than a normal train ticket. If you decide to drive the parallel road over the same route be advised that most portions of the car journey are in tunnels or on switchbacks. The road is two lane (one each way), and almost all of it has a solid line down the middle. If you get stuck behind a bus or truck or tractor, or the queue behind one, there is no passing. And the driver will miss whatever scenery is available. You just can't take your eyes off the road.

I have done that route several times, both by train and car, and speak from experience.

Training from a remote station to Luzern is unlikely to be productive as you will not only have to pay to park there too, in many places the parking is designed for single day parking. You may find that you have to travel back and forth to feed the meter.

Parking in Lauterbrunnen before you take the train up the last bit to the car-free village of Wengen is not usually difficult but it is far from cheap.

So, on the off chance that you will want to diverge from your route, you will be paying every day for a car that sits gathering dust, and the expensive parking to let it gather dust, and the CHF 40 Swiss Vignette, and the most expensive fuel in Europe.

I know. I drive my personal car to or through Switzerland nearly every year (so I can't turn it in at the end) (for other reasons) and have a windscreen full of CHF 40 vignettes.

Dump the car.

Do you know that the Swiss railways will even deliver you luggage to your hotels?

If you are going to Wengen, the car will spend its time in the paid parking garage in Lauterbrunnen, as Wengen is car-free.
Some people think a car gives them freedom of mobility. I think of them as a boat anchor I have to carry around, in the off chance that I get on a boat that doesn't have an anchor. Rent a car when you need to get somewhere public transport doesn't go. In Switzerland, that is almost nowhere.

Ok, well help me a bit more here, perhaps dumping the car may be prudent...here is the current plans
Frankfurt (land early morning) Off to Rothenburg Ob der Tauber for day and end in Freising. stay 2 nights
Day 2, train to Munich
Salzburg, 3 days, go to Halstatt / Berchtesgaden and whatever else for the 3 days there
Pinswang, 2 nights, stay at Gutshof zum Schluxen , from here go to Neuschwanstein
Lucerne 2 days
Wengen 4 days
Wengen to Frankfurt for late afternoon flight

Think this is all possible without a car?

You've mentioned a couple of places I've never even heard of. Is Fresing in Austria? You do seem to have a couple of obscure destinations there.

Spelling error, Freising Germany.

Marathon, you have a couple of "2 days". 2 days = 1 night. One night stands are usually a bad idea. With the travel you only have two half-days in a place. The usual recommendation is a minimum of 2 nights in any one place, which gives one full day in between.

Frankfurt --> Rothenburg Ob der Tauber --> Freising. --> Munich --> Salzburg
All good by train, and you do not want to be driving immediately after a long flight, nor in Munich.
Frankfurt airport (AKA Frankfurt (Main) Flughafen) is a major train station.

Halstatt / Berchtesgaden / Pinswang / Neuschwanstein. Here a car is useful, The train routes in the Bavarian Alps all run north to Munich, not east-west

Lucerne --> Wengen --> Frankfurt airport. Again train is good.

Suggestion: pick up a car when leaving Munich, and drop it off in Lindau (look it up) A lovely town in Germany, on the Swiss border and on the rail route into Switzerland.

Thanks for the info.
We actually have at least 2 nights everywhere:
2 nights in Freising but figured we would stop at RODT on way there from landing in Frankfurt. first night in Freising, then Day 2 of Freising we take train to Munich, that night back to Freising.

3 Nights in Salzburg
2 Nights in Pinswang
2 Nights in Lucerne and
4 Nights in Wengen

Picking up car in Munich and dropping in Lindau is fantastic suggestion.
So I start looking at rail prices...very expensive, especially Interlaken to Frankfurt.

So you'll pick up a car at the airport, drive for at least two hours to Rothenburg, see the town, then drive for more than two hours to Freising, all after a transatlantic flight? That does not sound like a good idea to me.

Edited to add: I don't know your exact travel dates, but I just checked the Deutsche Bahn website and found some 39-euro fares between Interlaken and the Frankfurt airport. Don't use RailEurope for rail fares.

Not trying to criticize your destinations but just wondering why you're staying in Freising and only doing a single quick daytrip to Munich. Munich is a wonderful city with lots of things to see and do. You can even do an easy daytrip from Munich to the castles. Also curious about the Pinswang destination.

I would also not recommend being in a different country on my last day when my plane trip home is scheduled. I would rather stay a bit closer to my departure city the night before my departure. Maybe land and head straight away to Munich. Move Rothenburg to the last night before your plane departure. That puts you much closer than being in the Swiss Berner Oberland.

Yes, that plan sounds kind of foolish... now that I say it out loud...my wife's plans :)
We are travelling from May 25th to June 7th
I see 78 euros for June 7th, thank you for the great information.

The itinerary was drawn out from our main goals which are to see SalzburgAustria, Halstatt and Swiss Alps.
Flights from where we live in Canada are somewhat limited and we can get a direct flight to Frankfurt on our preferred dates of travel, so essentially Frankfurt and Munich weren't really on our list of 'to see', but we figured since we are there, RODT was a 'like to see'.
Freising is outside of Munich and less expensive and from reading reviews we recognized it as a place we would like to see.
We want to go to Neuschwanstein castle and we saw were Rick S mentioned he had stayed in Pinswang...saw the youtube video and decided that's where we want to go and stay....sort of off beaten path.

My wife lived in Germany for 4 years so I am using her knowledge as what she deems worth seeing.

Even on a train, there is some risk in being so far from your departure airport on your last day. Someone posted here within the last couple of weeks about once being on a French train that had a 5-hour delay due to a suicide on the tracks. Many people on that train were headed for same-day flights at CDG, which they did not make.

Good point, we did experience a 4 hour delay in Ireland last year on the train when somebody had 'died' on the tracks up ahead.

Maybe the best option would be to go in reverse..Frankfurt to Interlaken, then train to Lindau, rent car drive West, end up in Salzburg, then Drop car in Munich/Freising

You guys have been great

Bingo on the latest plan!

marathon,

Which part of Canada do you live in? Given the VERY SHORT time frame of your trip, you might consider flying inbound to Zürich, with the return flight from Munich. Minimizing travel times and maximizing sightseeing times is important, and that's best accomplished using high speed trains. There's a rail station right at Zürich airport, so it's an easy trip from there to the Berner Oberland (which is important after a long international flight when one is jet lagged). The trip from Frankfurt airport will be 5 - 6 hours with one or two changes, while the trip from Zürich airport will be as short as 2H:10M with one or two changes. I know which option I'd prefer after a long flight!

Have you travelled in Europe before?

A few thoughts......

• renting the car in Lindau and dropping in Munich should work fine as both places are in the same country. However you'll need to purchase a Highway Tax Vignette for driving in Austria, as if you're caught without it you'll face hefty fines (which will be collected on-the-spot!). As I recall, Vignettes are also required in Switzerland.
• it would be prudent for each driver listed on the rental form to have an International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are easily obtained at any CAA office for a small fee, and are valid for one year.
• for your car rental, you might find it helpful to contact http://www.gemut.com/ as they're very knowledgeable about rentals especially in Germany. They have a toll free number, and also easily reached by E-mail. I've found them very helpful.
• For your time in Switzerland, you might consider purchasing one of the Swiss passes, as that will save some money. Which of the many passes is best will depend on exactly what you plan on seeing in that area, and which of the mountain lifts you plan on using.
• Referring to your original plan, a car would have been useless in Wengen as cars aren't allowed there. You'd have to park in Lauterbrunnen.
• Are you clear on the route from Interlaken to Wengen? If not post another note and I can provide further information (it's not hard).
• Are you still planning on visiting Lucerne?
• When visiting Switzerland, be sure to budget accordingly as it's very expensive. I was back in Lucerne and area in September, and was reminded of that very quickly. Despite the costs, it is so uniquely beautiful that it's worth the expense (IMO).
• For your visit to Hallstatt, as I recall no cars are allowed in the village. Therefore you'll have to park in Lahn, and walk (with luggage) to your hotel. You may find this website helpful - http://www.hallstatt.net/parking-in-hallstatt/
• For your visit to Salzburg, I was there not too long ago and remember at least one underground car park (however I can't remember the details). This may help - http://www.salzburg.info/en/arrival_traffic/car/parking_in_salzburg . Some streets in the city are equipped with Bollards so that may be a problem if you don't know where they are, as you won't have the "clicker" to retract them.

I normally prefer to use car rentals "strategically" and use trains most of the time, as they're often faster, more comfortable and no worries about parking or other hassles.

Good luck with your planning!

If u still plan a car for Luzern ck out Ibis Budget Hotel which has paid parking.
I stayed here this summer. While it is budget it is very clean, newer and a 2 block walk in a safe area to train station.

The place I always stay at in Luzern has free parking. Really. And on the water. Seriously. My family and I love it. It is not the Schweizerhof but is very clean--but I expect that of the Swiss.

We like taking a car and do include that in our planning: the necessity of having to find a parking place at the end of the day. Just adding that to our mental list of 'must haves' wasn't that difficult and every now and then we have to budget to pay for parking for a night or two.

cabalist where do you stay in Luzern with the free parking?

Great info from all of you greatly appreciate it.
We reside in East Coast Canada, I have only been to London , Paris and Ireland, no where else in Europe. However, my wife had lived here for 3 years and did travel extensively.

Thanks again

I sent you a PM with some details. Have a food trip!

Thanks for the additional information. You should be able to find flights from the east coast into Zürich. Air Canada is probably your best bet. Air Transat has flights into Basel-Mulhouse, but they only operate June-Oct. and you'd have to connect in Montreal, Quebec City or Toronto (nothing out of Halifax unfortunately).

The transportation system in Switzerland is excellent, so you won't need a car there.