Hello fellow travelers!
My wife and I, along with our 12-year old son and 17-year old daughter will be making our 3rd family trip to Europe this summer ( June 28 - July 21st ). Despite the relatively long length of our trip, there is so much to do and see and it's always a challenge to determine where not to go or where to spend more time! We have extensive travel experience in Germany and Austria, but this will be our first time visiting Switzerland and Eastern France. I would welcome any feedback you have!
We have family outside Dortmund who will be visiting for 3 days which will explain the first portion of our trip ...
3 Nights - Amsterdam ( direct flight from Portland, OR )
3 Nights - Family in Dortmund
3 Nights - Colmar, France
2 Nights - Beaune, France ( Burgundy )
2 Nights - Chamonix, France
2 Nights - Lausanne, Switzerland
2 Nights - Murten, Switzerland ( Explore Murten/Bern area )
2 Nights - Gimmelwald/Murren ( working on accommodations )
3 Nights - Luzern, Switzerland
1 Night in Munich before flying home
We are skipping Zermatt, Zurich and Appenzell this time around. The 3 nights in Lucern reflect a desire to spend 2 full days exploring Lucern, Mt. Pilatus and check out Fortress Furigen and still allow for the drive from the Berner Oberland and the 3-4 hour drive to Munich.
Are we cutting our visit to the Berner Overland ( Gimmelwald or Murren ) short? If we were to eliminate one destination ( Marten/Bern? ) and extend Gimmelwald and Lausanne by a night would we be missing out? Any advice from those who have visited Switzerland in the past? We enjoy hiking, small cute towns like Marten do sound very appealing. As a photographer, there are sights at each location I look froward to shooting if the weather cooperates.
Thoughts?
Thank you in advance!!
Brent