Greetings, and thank you in advance. My beloved and I fly into Munich on 5/26. We plan on staying 2-3 days there. We need to be in Lyon from 6/1 to 6/4. We fly out of Milan on 6/8. I have been tasked with making the plans up to Lyon. I'm far out of my depth and my internet research is just making me more confused. A Munchner suggested we rent a car in Munich, drive to Zurich, and take the train from there to Lyon. That sounds like a good idea to me; it will give us more flexibility to stop if we see something interesting. Though I just read that the Swiss trains are a bit like busses in that we can hop on and off if the towns look interesting. I could easily be convinced a train is a better idea. We might be moving to Switzerland, so we definitely want to see some of the country. It would be fun to get a Liechtenstein entry stamp. I would love to see the Black Forest Open Air Museum. I suppose we should see the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles, though it sounds touristy to me. My beloved is fond of spa days; I drag her through local cultural sites and museums. I prefer towns to cities. If you were taking this trip, what would you do? Where would you go? Any towns that particularly deserve a stop? Where, besides here, should I go for help? Thank you so much for reading this far. I am in pretty dire need of help. Dan
Posted by
OP
San Francisco, CA, USA
3 posts
(Part 1) My beloved is in Lyon for a conference. We got an amazing deal on the plane tickets if we flew into Munich and out of Milan. That is the only reason for those choices. Is it really too much? Here is what I was thinking. 5/26 - Arrive early. Dachau tour while we are still jet lagged*. Back to the hotel late afternoon. Nap then find a restaurant near the hotel. 5/27 - Munich. 3.5 hour walking tour then whatever seems interesting. We are staying on Marienplatz and plan on only seeing things within walking distance. 5/28 - Another day in Munich or leave for Zurich. I would rather start seeing towns and mountains. (I prefer a slow wander in the countryside to museums and chapels.) 5/29 - Leave or continue the 5-8 hour drive/train ride to Zurich. Stay in tourist town. This is the area of vagueness. 5/30 - More travel and get to Zurich in the evening. Stay in Zurich. 5/31 - Day in Zurich then train to Lyon. Get in to Lyon late. Or maybe half day in Zurich and a half day in Geneva, since we have to change there anyway.
6/1 - Sleep in and a lazy breakfast. At the conference at 1400. (Continued)
Posted by
OP
San Francisco, CA, USA
3 posts
(Part 2) I'm more interested in gawking at the mountains than seeing the cities, so I would cut short the time in Munich and Zurich. Since I'm not that interested in most of the sites I the cities, I figured we weren't trying to pack too much in. The problem is I don't know anything at all about the area. On Google Maps, adding the Open Air Museum would mean getting up early on 5/28, drive to Stuttgart, breakfast, arrive Schramberg around 2:00, see the museum (three hours?,) stay the night on Bodensee. But I don't know if that is really doable. Or we could do trains, but I would think that would make planning more challenging. Again, thank you for reading and commenting. I know I can be verbose, I had to edit fiercely to get under 2000 characters. Dan
* This timing is a request from the girlfriend.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Your head is spinning because you're trying to get to 4 different countries (5 counting Liechtenstein) in 15 days. You also want to see a lot of places in two of the countries (you've only mentioned one city each in France and Italy, but multiple places in Germany and Switzerland). I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't do at least part of your wish list, but do realize the logistics of this will not be nearly as easy as focusing on fewer places. First, when you rent a car in one country and return it in another, there's a high drop charge (someone here recently posted €600). If you want a car in both countries, you have to price one rental with the drop charge, vs. one rental in each country and a train between them. You can also consider taking trains for the whole trip (the train network in the places you're going is quite dense). What is the reason you chose to fly out of Milan? That information will help others plan this itinerary. Yes, Swiss and German trains do not require reservations, so you can be spontaneous. If you're taking more than a few, some form of pass just for Switzerland is usually a good deal (such as the Half Fare Card or Swiss Pass). In a trip of 15 days total (and with 3 of them committed to Lyon), you will only be able to see a tiny fraction of Switzerland and Germany. So you will have to be ruthlessly selec-tive. If Ludwig's castles don't make your personal A-list, drop them, no matter how famous they are, or who said they are "must sees." Your list of places above is like the people who say they want to see Disneyland, the PCH between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Napa Valley, Yosemite, and Las Vegas - all in 15 days. As another poster said here, "10 pounds of sugar won't fit into a 5 pound bag."
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33820 posts
You'll be lucky to get a Liechtenstein entry stamp. Its all Schengen around there - no stamps, seldom checks, seldom anywhere near the border backups we used to get. There will be a tiny sign, maybe, saying which country you are entering - much smaller than what you see when you change states in the USA.
Posted by
Green Bay
21145 posts
They sell Liechtenstein passport stamps at the tourist bureau for 3 chf. Yes, they are official.