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Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland

Posted by (Scottsdale, Arizona, United States) on

I'm going to be cashing in some miles and flying to/from Frankfurt this Dec (2-14) and will be staying for 12 days/11 nights. A few yrs ago I did a whirlwind tour (Rothenburg, Fussen, Zurich, Zermatt, Grindelwald, Bern, Baden-Baden, Heidelburg) which was great but this time I'm looking for something a little less hectic.

Initially I was thinking of something like Munich, Salzburg, Bern, Frankfurt. With roughly 3 days in Munich & Bern and a couple of days in Salzburg.

I'm just trying to figure out some options and logistics of getting around most efficiently w/o a car while enjoy the sights (castles, churches, markets, museums).

From some of the other posts in a different topic (Munich) I see some recommend doing a day trip from Munich to Salzburg. Is that a better idea? I think it is 2 hrs each way for Munich to Salzburg.
I'm trying to think of a way to break up the lengthy ride from Munich to Bern and also from Bern to Frankfurt for the return flight. A place to stop over for a day or two in each case. Heidelburg (for the Bern/Frankfurt leg) is a possibility since I was only there briefly on my last trip but I'm open to other places I'm sure I must be missing.
Thanks.

Posted by
166 posts

Bern? Cannot imagine 3 nights here as not enough to do in this area. Lucerne or Interlaken as a base would provide more options. Also, may want to consider Nurnberg.

Posted by
6663 posts

Within a few hours of FRA: Northern Bavaria (Würzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg); the Rhine/Mosel region (Mainz, Rüdesheim, Trier, Cologne, and Marksburg Castle in Braubach); Heidelberg, Stuttgart and Tübingen to the south of FRA.

These are all places of decent size where you'll find things to do in winter and a fine assortment of Christmas markets (Nuremberg is the Granddaddy, Rüdesheim and Mainz very nice.)

There isn't much purpose in heading to Bern IMO.

Posted by
124 posts

My thinking with Bern was that it is centrally located and easy train ride to a variety of places in Switzerland (Lucerne, Lusanne, Thun, Neuchatel, Interlaken, etc.) with no or minimal connections.

Staying at a place like Interlaken is more scenic but (if I recall correctly) requires going back to Bern and changing trains to visit places (i.e., they have less direct routes).

Now that my schedule is less hectic I will spend more time thinking and planning what I want to do.

Posted by
92 posts

We really loved Berchtesgaden, the Königsee & Kehlstein Haus ("Eagle's Nest"). Not at all far from Salzburg.

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