inquest

Will be arriving in Zurich (airport) around 7pm and would like to break the train journey in either St. Gallen, Bregenz or Lindau overnight, maybe spend a better part of the morning looking around taking in the sights and sounds, before taking a post lunch rail to Munich.A few questions....

1.What is you vote, Bregenz or Lindau.

2. Any other place which I may have overlooked between Zurich and Munich ( on the rail route),an overnight break.

3.Suggestions for a guest house or a pension.

thanks.

bilboburgler

Lindau, is ok in a walk around, eating cake sort of way, Bregenz isn't even that, St Gallen has a great artificial lace museum but being a Swiss city is even duller than B or L.

I think you've chosen the best as Lindau

neckervd

There are direct trains from Zurich airport to St. Gallen every 30 min until 23.22 (1 hrs journey).
From there you will have direct trains to Munich the following day at 8.19, 10.19, and 14.19 (3 hrs journey).
St. Gallen is famous for it's medieval city center with a baroque cathedral and library (Unesco site).
http://www.st.gallen-bodensee.ch/en/...bbey-precincts
http://www.ostschweiz.ch/en/
Trains from Zurich airport to Bregenz and Lindau every hr until 22.22 resp 21.22 ( 1 1/2 resp 2 1/4 hrs journey with 2 resp 3 changes).
The old city of Lindau is somewhat nicer than Bregenz. Bregenz has the advantage of the Pfaender cableway, however. If the weather is fine, Mount Pfaender offers views over the whole Lake Constance and up to the Swiss Alps.
Direct trains from Lindau to Munich about every hr (2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hrs journey); connecting trains from Bregenz.
http://www.bregenz.travel/en/vacation-in-bregenz/
http://en.lindau-tourismus.de/

If you prefer to travel cheaply, you may also go from Zurich airport by train to Constance (trains every 30 min until 23.18; 1 hrs journey) and go on from there by direct Munich bound bus.
http://meinfernbus.de/en/staedte/bus-ab-konstanz
http://www.konstanz.de/en/01800/index.html

bilboburgler

Good point Constance is a better place to chill, or, if at Landau, in the morning maybe catch the train to Freid/Haven, see the Zepplin museum and catch a boat back before continuing on.

annhig

bilbo - LANDAU is somewhere else entirely - not that far from Bad Dürkheim in fact. [for those not that familiar with German geography, it's in the Pfalz, that bit of Germany which is west of the Rhine just above Alsace].

My abiding memory of Lake Constanz [aka der Bodensee] is of the wonderful sub-tropical gardens at Mainau - definitely worth the trip. If I saw nothing else in that area, I would want to go there.

inquest

Fantastic.This is a wealth of information.Thanks bilboburgler & neckervd.I'll look up all the links you have provided. I've been to St Gallen,over 25 yrs ago,was a quiet town.The bodensee was beautiful.

Its Lindau ( on the eastern side of Bodensee )that I was referring to.Konstanz is a good idea too will do some search.

I'll be there this December.I was looking at travelling somewhere mid-way to Munich or 1 1/2 hrs away from Zurich, thats the reason for an overnight break.More suggestions welcome.

bilboburgler

You right Ann L I ndau

annhig

mm - December. Scrub the gardens then.

Bilbo - Landau is a nice place too - it's where the eponymous horse drawn coaches come from.

inquest

Well finally decided its Bregenz and booked into Ibis close to the train station,St Anna StraBe.Will be arriving at 9pm.Would like to check-in,freshen up...and do what? Need some ideas.Christmas market maybe.A pub for a beer.Suggestions welcome.
The next morning,weather permitting,take the Pfander cable-way for the view.Lunch by the Bodensee and off to Munich.

neckervd

If you land at ZRH at 7pm, you will arrive at Bregenz at 22.10 and at Ibis Hotel around 22.20. I don't think that there will be anything to do at Bregenz at this time.

bilboburgler

I suspect they will all have gone to bed by 9

Ingo

Totally agree with neckervd and bilbo.

Why breaking up the trip at all? If you want to do *something* on your first evening, you must stay in Zürich. The train ride to Munich isn't that long anyway. But no matter if St. Gallen, Bregenz, Lindau or Konstanz - it's going to be VERY quiet there when you arrive.

inquest

Oh well, looks like I've goofed up here.The info on-line was that the journey time Zurich to Brgenz is 1hr 40 mins.With a change in St Gallen it would be 2hrs.I land in Zurich at 18.30 hrs,so I presumed I'll be able to take a train around 19.30,expected to be in Bregenz by 20.30 latest.

Not that I expected to do much,considering I would have travelled for a good 18 hrs that day.Maybe a quick beer and a meal in the hotel itself.

As for Zurich,I'll be there for 3 days before I fly back home.

inquest

Sorry,typo. 'expected to be in Bregenz by 21.30'latest.... not 20.30.

neckervd

If your plane lands at 18.30 (and not 19.00 as you told us) you can of course catch the previous train:
ZRH dp 19.22 - St. Gallen ar 20.15, dp 20.26 (same platform) - St. Margrethen (small station) ar 20.47, dp 20.55 - Bregenz ar 21.10
http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en

inquest

This is perfect,neckervd...The reason I said,arrival 19.00 hrs is that I took the other formalities like luggage collection, immigration chk and reaching the rail platform into consideration.Now ZRH dep @ 19.22 looks comfortable.

This time,I'm travelling on the Eurail Select (Flexi) pass.So will have to activate it on arrival.Do I need to reserve in advance or can it be done on arrival.
The last time I used a flexi pass to travel all over Europe was 25yrs ago,when one could hop ,on and off,trains,reserving only sleepers or couchettes when needed.What is the situation now.In all my recent travel its been only point to point.Thanks once again.

neckervd

There is absolutely no need to book the above mentioned trains in advance. Just hop on and choose a seat. The only thing you need is a valid ticket resp. railpass.