O.K. , if anyone has been following my posts (and I hope they haven't) I have asked and been involved in discussions of several countries spread all over Europe. The problem? Taking my mother on the trip, she keeps changing her mind about what she wants to see, trying to mesh it with what I want and work it out with my mother in law who keeps the kids. So, here is where I am -

Fly into Brussels - 3 nights including day trip to Brugge

Train to Cologne 1 night

Train down Rhine to Koblenz 2 nights - mom wants to take short cruise (1 to 1/2 day would do)

Train to Lucerne 2 nights

Train to Lugano 3 nights

Train to Milano 1 night

Depart am for states.

I really wanted to go to Italy and she k.o.'d that so I'm sneaking Lugano in. After I had researched everything else in the world she decided she wanted to cruise on the Rhine. If I can just get her there we really will have a good time.

Oh mid-June time frame

Any thoughts? Thanks

Yes the title was suppose to say Rhine!

Hi Cathryn,
I did part of your itinerary with my mother this past June. We did Brussels (I live there), then went by train to Basel, spent a night there, and then on to Lugano for three nights. We had an excellent time in Lugano, despite the miserable heat wave. Definitely take the lake tour (about two hours), do a trip to one of the mountains (we did Monte Bre, but if I were to do this trip again, I would do San Salvatore), try your hand at the casino (we won enough on video poker to pay for dinner), wander through the beautiful city park, have ice cream at the Movenpick (next to the park, some truly decadent ice cream dishes). Lots of pretty little side streets. You can go swimming at a public beach about halfway between the city park and the Villa Favorita (which is closed, unfortunately). The little museum in the city park grounds has some nice exhibits and is worth about an hour or so (and is rarely, if ever, crowded--the last time I went I had the entire place to myself).
I recommend you pick a hotel with air conditioning. We didn't and it was a pain to have no place to escape the heat. Most hotels offer tickets to these sights at a significant discount, about half price, so buy tickets for the lake cruise, etc., at your hotel and not "on site".
One last note about Lugano. You know, of course, that the official canton language is Italian. We found that people in hotels spoke English, but in other places English knowledge was pretty limited. German was the most common second language. So if you get stuck trying to ask for something in Italian, try German before English (if you do speak Italian, terrific!).

Well, I'm going to differ somewhat with the previous poster regarding Lugano. I suppose if you use it as a base to see things in the area (Monte Bre, San Salvatore) or if you're really, really into shopping, OK. But as a destination/town, Lugano left me cold. And if you're thinking you'll get a taste of Italy, forget it. Lugano is definitely still Switzerland. I can't express it; they're just too different countries.

The one thing/place on Lake Lugano we did enjoy very much (October 2003) was the boat ride and visit to Morcote where we spent a few hours walking around and having a wonderful lunch at a lakeside restaurant.

I'd subtract a day from Lugano and give it to either Luzern or Milano, and as much as I like Milan (contrary to many on this board), I think there is more to see and do in Luzern.

If you re-consider your mom's desire for a short cruise on the Rhine, you might consider taking the ferry from Luzern to Fluelen and then the train to Lugano. This route is called the William Tell Express in guidebooks. The ferry (the "Uri&quot is the oldest paddle-wheel steamer (built in 1901) in operation in Switzerland. It left Luzern at 11:00 a.m., and we were in Lugano by 5:00 p.m.

In mid-June, you would need a reservation if you want seats inside and lunch. We could have saved the money in October, just walked on and used our Swiss train pass for the ferry and train. Whatever... It was a lovely day on the lake, the lunch served us was very nice and the salon/dining room was gorgeous. It was an old-world, old-timey experience that gave us an opportunity to see a beautiful part of Switzerland.

Thank you both for the input! I promise I have been going crazy planning this trip. Tomorrow my immediate family and I leave for two weeks in St. John!!!! I am going to rest and (try) not to think about this until I come back. Then I will try and digest the helpful ditbits and make a plan. Thanks again - Cathryn

We took a much shorter cruise on Lake Lucerne, only to Weggis, and it was really lovely. The water is a gorgeous deep aqua color, surrounded by various mountain peaks and Swiss villages.

The Rhine cruise is interesting for a short span, displaying a few vineyard terraces, small towns, castles and the train running along the water. If you are passing thru this area by train anyway (therefore seeing exactly the same things as you would from the riverboat), then the Luzern cruise is definitely more picturesque, and sounds like it would be a practical segment as well.

Might I add: we trained from Cologne to St Goar (stopped in Koblenz for lunch, since it was a change in trains). St Goar is a delightfully small town on the Rhine, situated between 3 castles, with a ferry crossing, boat landing, a couple of hotels and restaurants, and 2 stops south of Boppard, another very pretty town.
We stayed at Hotel am Markt in St Goar in a double for 59 Euro, and ate dinner in their restaurant downstairs. We could look out our window over the town square, and see the boats cruising by and a castle on the other side of the river. The hotel will reserve by email, but if you call they also speak English.
http://home.t-online.de/home/hotel_a...r/anschrif.htm
Tel.: 06741/1689
Fax: 06741/1721