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Switzerland & SW Germany in January

Hello,

My husband and I plan to travel mainly around southwest Germany and the Swiss Alps for 7 days in January 2010. Our first day or two will be spent in Luxembourg/Bastogne (for his WWII fix) and driving through northwest France. The other 4-5 days we'd like to stay in the Swiss Alps, hopefully spending a day or two on the slopes, as we love to ski. Our main goal is to just relax and enjoy the scenery. Does anyone have suggestions on affordable places to stay at this time of year? Or any advice on skiing or other sightseeing activities?

We will be flying in and out of Frankfurt and renting a car for flexibility (bad experiences with trains on our honeymoon 18 months ago). Also, our honeymoon itinerary included Fussen, Oberammergau, and Innsbruck, so no need to see those this time around, as much as we did enjoy them. :) Any input specifically regarding Switzerland in the middle of winter would be wonderful.

Thanks!

Posted by
12040 posts

"Does anyone have any suggestions on affordable places to stay at this time of year?" If costs are a big concern, then avoid the Swiss Alps during the ski season. You can ski in the neighboring countries' Alpine regions for much lower prices. I've skied in the Berner Oberland, and my review? Never again, EVERYTHING was amazingly expensive, even by Swiss standards. I've skied in Austria for about half the price.

Posted by
2779 posts

Driving from Luxembourg to Switzerland you'll pass the Mosel and Rhine river valleys (the latter one being a minor detour), the German and French wine road, you can do a quick stop at Heidelberg, visit Baden Baden, Freiburg and the Black Forrest... As to Switzerland in your case I, too, would suggest the Bernese Oberland as it's most beautiful, has got great skiing and isn't that far from Basel and the German border. Make sure your car comes with the freeway toll sticker for 2010 as otherwise you'd have to buy the annual ticket for round about $60.