Hi, we're signed up for the new Best of Switzerland in 12 days tour in 2016, and trying to figure out a plan for adding on extra 5 to 10 days, before or after the tour. The tour starts in Luzern and ends in Bern. We got out a map, and are interested in possibly visiting Munich and Chamonix (we did the Aiguille du Midi this year and really, really want to go back there again). Would appreciate suggestions/feedback on what else to see. We plan to travel by train, and are interested in history, architecture, churches, and beautiful gardens/scenery. Thanks in advance for your help!
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8880 posts
I really enjoyed spending a week at Garmisch-Partenkirchen this last summer. I could have stayed longer and not run out of interesting things to do or see.
I highly recommend the Deutsch Museum in Munich. There is a little bit of everything there and it would be easy to spend an entire day.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Since those are two opposite directions of travel, it probably will work best to split them on the two ends of the trip, such as to fly into Munich and visit around there, then travel to Luzern for the tour, then Chamonix, and fly out of Geneve, or if you have time to see more of France, continue on to Lyon.
Train travel to/from Chamonix is not very fast and requires connections in any direction, but it's only 3.5 hours from Bern. How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it.
Posted by
51 posts
We went from Switzerland to Strasbourg France and we absolutely loved it. There is lots to do there and you can also take a lot of day trips from that area into the Black Forest and the Alsace region of France. I would highly recommend it and it was easy to get to via a quick train trip.
Posted by
134 posts
Why not visiting Locarno and Lugano?
Lyon, Grenoble, Annecy, Gap, Sisteron are nice on the French side.
Torino and Milano as well as the Langhe region are also near. Milano with the expo taking place until end of october and all the lombardy and Piemonte are both worth a visit.
in the nearby Germany, Bavaria and Constance Lake are are also wonderful.
Posted by
OP
Ohio
2161 posts
Thanks everyone for your help. We will continue to look at the maps and do some more research... so much to see!