Making a connection in Europe
 

When coming form US and making a connection in Europe, notably Frankfurt or Munich, do you need to go thru passport control, customs and security or do you simply just go from gate to gate?

Connecting to where?

If it's a Schengen country, then you go through immigration and then security.

If it's a non-Schengen country, then only security.

You will go through passport control and security checks but you will not go through customs. And you may do this more than once. We've connected in both FRA and MUC several times and the last couple of times we've gone through the controls/security 3 times during each connection. It's pretty efficient, but can take a while.

You will have to go through both at least thats what we had to do in April. Its a long hike from arrivals to where you go through and back to flight area so allow at least 1 1/2 hrs as the lines were fairly long.

Flying Boston-Munich-Zagreb
and
Venice-Munich-Boston

I got German passport stamps in Munich in both directions. Very quick and efficient, by the way. Munich is a great place to connect. So far.

We want to go to both Venice and Nice from Boston. The trip would be Boston to Venice. Venice to Nice. Nice to Boston. We went to Nice before from Boston on British Air and had to do the Heathrow thing.
So we are looking at Lufthansa thru either Franfurt or Munich to Venice.

If you have a choice and the connections are in your favor time-wise, take Munich. Everything I hear is that it's much easier for the traveler.

Since Germany, Italy, and France are all Schengen countries, you go through passport control to enter Schengen at your first point of entry which would be FRA or MUC. Your luggage will be through checked to VCE, so you'll go through customs in VCE (customs is generally a non-event). On your return, you'll go through passport control again at FRA or MUC to exit Schengen. You'll also go through security both directions. The only time you can simply go from gate to gate is when connecting intl to intl or Schengen to Schengen, and that's only if that particular airport's layout allows you to do so (like at AMS). What you're doing is intl to Schengen and Schengen to intl which requires passport control both directions.

Think I understand. How much time do you need for a connection in Munich, Frankfurt, and Charles de Gaulle, Paris?

How is "Schengen" pronounced?