Spending two weeks, and I'm looking for three towns to use as bases to take days trips. Would prefer to stay in smaller towns, and day-trip it to the cities. There are six in our party, including two teenage boys. Thanks
Posted by
Minneapolis
1261 posts
Hi Harry. I would suggest getting the RickSteves books at bookstore or library; there are lots of choices; read and match to what sounds best for your situation / interests. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
I'm not sure if I understand the question. Are you looking for small towns that are also train hubs, because train hubs are almost always large cities. I'm not sure about Austria, but at least in Switzerland, two of the largest hubs are Basel and Zurich.
Posted by
OP
Naples
2 posts
Yes, I'm looking for smaller towns that would be good train hubs in Austria and Switzerland and southern Germany. I would like to use the smaller towns as our base, then take day trips to larger cities. Thanks
Posted by
Westside, RP, Germany
109 posts
I'm not sure about Switzerland. In Southern Germany you could stay in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (they have a decent station with regular trains) and Salzburg in Austria. Salzburg is not the smallest town by any stretch of the imagination, but it feels like a small town and there is plenty to do, as well as great transportation options (by both train and bus). From Garmisch you can also get a lot of places both by train and by bus. Most of southern Germany doesn't have a rail line so you have to take the bus or rent a car.
Posted by
nashville
13 posts
I agree that Salzburg could be a good choice. It will make for some long (or longer!) day trips but you could do Vienna and Munich in addition to....Salzburg. Innsbruk might be workable for Munich, Salzburg and (maybe?) Luzerne/ Zurich and Verona/Venice. The problem, of course, is you wind up spending too much time on a train and not enough time in the cities. I would re-think the plan personally but good luck either way.