jfilla

We'll be leaving Paris just after New Year's on the way to Munich and eventually Vienna (I can feel the cold already!).

Instead of a 10 hour train trip to Munich, I was thinking of breaking it up a bit. We've been to Baden-Baden and loved it. I was thinking of Basel, Colmar, Bern or maybe Dijon. Something charming and break from the big cities for a few days.

My more adventerous wife wants to see the Bernese Oberland for our first time but I'm a bit concerned about the weather.

We have a Eurail pass so flying and driving are generally out.

Thanks friends,

Joe

SAnParis

Colmar or Strausburg would both be good choices & ' on the way'.

laverendrye

I agree with the suggestions of Strasbourg and Colmar. You might also want to consider Freiburg-im-Breisgau, one of my favorite cities in Germany.

jfilla

Thanks on the Colmar suggestion. Do you have a hotel or B&B to recommend? By the way, have you ever been to Basel?

Joe

jmw

Alsace is a great suggestion--select one of the small villages; Freiburg is nice too. You might also consider Lindau on Bodensee, or Meersburg.

Riffic

I second either Strasbourg or Colmar. My wife and I prefer the small villages of Alsace much more than these two cities, but given the time of year, the small towns will be dead. Even the more popular towns of Riquewihr and Ribeauville were practically closed up during a visit we made last mid-January--much to our surprise.

I am betting strasbourg has a much better train connection between Paris & Munich, so given all considerations, I would go with Strasbourg.

Enjoy the food in Strasbourg...it's the best part. For a great treat, check out Au Crocodile, which I think has 2 Michelin stars.

BTilke

Basel has a very attractive old town, some excellent restaurants, nice hotels, very good shopping. But to enjoy it you really have to stay in the old town; otherwise it will feel too much like any other city. Pretty much everything will be open, unlike some small towns, when a lot of places are closed for the first two weeks or so of January.
Bern is beautiful, too, but rather quiet (IMHO). I wouldn't do it if you're planning to be there on a Sunday, but if you're planning a 2 night break on say a Thurs-Fri or Fri-Sat, it's an interesting option. Its art museum near the train station is modest in size, but very interesting.

Wayne

Thought I had responded to this question a day or so ago. If this is a duplicate posting, I apologize. Your mention of possibly getting a break from the big cities doesn't mesh extremely well with travel by train---not express travel anyway.

But if I could choose my train travel destinations between those two cities, I would pick the following:
-First night: Colmar
-Second night: St. Gallen

An alternative to the above is to stay at one place roughly halfway between for both days. In that case, I would probably pick Colmar or Freiburg. Good luck.

jfilla

Thanks folks,

We rented a car in Fall '02 and had a great time doing the Rhine, but since it's winter now, we decided to do just train travel. Thus the request for something with good rail transit.

As of today, we'll probably do either Colmar or Basel. But if we kept to schedule we would be in Bern on a Fri/Sat night, so that is a possibility. But who knows! Europe is like a tasty buffet. You have a hard time picking what you want. Any and all advice is appreciated.

Joe