9 days in Erurope

Old Mar 13th, 2013, 03:12 PM
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9 days in Erurope

Hi,
Me and my wife will have a stopover in Germany for 9 days from July 29th to Aug 6th 2013.
We will be starting our trip from Munich and would like to spend some time in Munich before heading to Venice and then to Switzerland before returning back to Munich for our onward trip to San Francisco. This is our first time in Europe and would like to get suggestions and plans.
We are young couples with no kids and would love to travel around.
Also is driving a better idea for this trip or should we take trains?
How is the weather around that time, is it good idea to visit swiss?
This is just our plan and if you can suggest any other good plan we are looking forward to it.

Any help with this regard will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
braceanil is offline  
Old Mar 13th, 2013, 04:11 PM
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Well, first you need to clarify your timing. Based on what you have said you actually have 7 days on the ground - since you really cant count the days you arrive or depart.

If that is the case you really don;t have time to see more than 2 places/hotels - or you will spend a good part of your very few days sitting in a train.

So i fyou're lanidng and tacking off in Munich (not sure why) that needs to be one of the places you stay. But you can visit southern Bvaria and a couple of Mad Ludwig's Castles - or IMHO beeter ones near Munich from there.

You cannot then do both Venice and Switzerland.

Which you do should depend on what yuo want. If you just want to see mountains you can visit the Zugspitze in southern Germany - near Garmisch.

Taking the trai nto Venice will take about 7 hours - more by car - so to get there and back will take 2 of your 7 days. Leaving you 3 days there and 3 in Munich.

You can, of course try to do more - but it will be stufing 20 lounds of stuff into a 10 pound bag.
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Old Mar 13th, 2013, 05:18 PM
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Even if you actually have 9 days, you can't see 3 countries without everything being a complete blur no matter how you travel.
Stay in Germany - it's not as though there isn't enough to see there. Pick a couple of places outside Munich and visit them by train or car, whichever is your choice, depending on whether they are cities or rural locations.
You have a REALLY short trip planned. Seven days will fly by. Make the most of it by enjoying where you are, not zooming off to other places.
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Old Mar 13th, 2013, 07:53 PM
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I find that having the correct information makes deciding things easier so......

It takes only about 5 hours to drive from Munich to Venice (far less than the train, which) , and another 5 to Lucerne ( I had to pick some place of interest as a reference), and then less than 4 back to Munich. So, surprise you actually can do this in 9 days.

1 Munich
2 Munich
3 Munich/Venice (5 hours)
4 Venice
5 Venice
6 Venice/Lucerne (5 hours)
7 Lucerne
8 Lucerne
9 Lucerne/Munich (3:45 hours)

Many people don't consider 5 hours of driving through the Alps leaving you with 8-9 hours at your destination as a complete waste of a day, either.

Visiting some other place in Switzerland that is more "in" the mountains, like Interlaken, would add about 45 minutes to Day 6 and Day 9, or 1.5 hours total.

It is for you to decide if 2.5 days in each of 3 locations is enough or if you want to drive the distances to accomplish it.

Switzerland is very expensive - the Franc is a strong currency. If that is a concern or if the extra driving time is not something you want to do, you could stay more in the Austrian/Italian/Bavarian Alps between Munich and Venice and get much of the same "mountain" experience.

You could drive - renting in Germany is about as easy and cheap as anywhere in Europe and since you will be returning the car to Munich there would be no drop fees. It would also provide you with the maximum amount of freedom in the mountains. You do not need a car in Munich or Venice so renting when you leave Munich and then parking the car in Venice while there would make sense.

The weather should be glorious - the height of summer in the Alps.
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Old Mar 13th, 2013, 09:30 PM
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You might benefit greatly from consulting a guidebook or two - you can check your local library or a bookstore to see which ones best suit your needs. Good luck with your plans!
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Old Mar 14th, 2013, 03:05 AM
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Hi brace, welcome to fodors. The bad news is you have decided to come to Europe at the start of the high season. Basically this is the period when everything in the north comes south. The good news is you are starting in Germany which de-camps enmass to beaches of Med and Baltic when you are there.

My advice is to avoid Venice, on average (average...) it has 60k visitors a day rising to unbelievable numbers in August. You will have to fight every inch of way to get anywhere.

If you want to spend money then go to Switzerland (it is a basic decision) for me I'd do as StCirq suggests and stay in Germany. So
a few days in Munich (goodness knows why but if baroque fountains are your thing ok)
Then chose some of Ulm, Stuttgart (which will be seriously empty and has Porsche and Mercedes factories to visit), Strasbourg (seriously pretty city), Lake Constance (maybe roller blade or bike round the lake), Regensburg or go up to Leipzig, Magdeburg and Dresden.

So much to do, have a look at the german tourist board's website for ideas http://www.germany.travel/en/index.html
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