France,Germany,Switzerland,Italy itinerary. Your thoughts please.
 

Our trip is only four weeks away. It was planned quickly and I am weary of trip planning. This is our itinerary and would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on to do things and restaurants you might have enjoyed there. I have researched a lot but always like to know things others might have discovered and enjoyed or discovered and did not like, etc.

Flying into Frankfurt
Strasbourg, 2 nights
Freiburg im Breisgau, 2 nights
Lucerne, 3 nights
Orvieto, 4 nights, some day trips maybe
Rome, 4 nights
Departing from Rome
All travel by train.

Many thanks.

For train info check out these IMO superb sources: wwwricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com.

Thank you Palen. I have talked to the nice fella at BETS and will probably get a Saver Pass. It will be a bit more but worth the convenience I think.

ttt

Seems like a Eurail Select Pass for three countries- Germany, Switzerland and Italy would be the only pass I would consider - Saver of course if two or more are always traveling together - there is actually only one pass with 2 to a max of 5 names on it - price is about 20% cheaper than two solo passes.

There will be two of us, so Saver pass? I know we will need to get a ticket from the border town in and out of France. We will do that in Frankfurt when we validate our passes and also because that is our first stop. Thanks for the ttt. Seems there are no takers out there for any good thoughts. Are you all packed and ready to go? : )

I know we will need to get a ticket from the border town in and out of France.>

a Select Pass is valid for a minimum of three countries - in your case Germany, Italy and Switzerland - the order does not matter - from Strasbourg you can simply take a train to Kehl across the Rhine for a few euros.

There will be two of us, so Saver pass? >

Yes for two names on one pass - you cannot take separate trains but one person could use the pass if the other did not want to for some reason - pass is still valid with only one of the persons on it using it. And keep in mind a Select Pass if first class so when compared with 2nd class tickets - especially those that cannot be changed nor refunded and which must often be bought months in advance - first class in my decades of riding European trains has distinct benefits that you will appreciate - like lots of empty seats usually to put your bags on, etc. Just a way more relaxed experience and I am not saying 2nd class is a cattle car either just not as spiffy and relaxing.

Palen-Ordered the pass today from Byron at BETS. Getting excited about the trip, end of August. My before trip OCD should kick in anytime now and I will get busy getting everything I see at home organized and clean and be seriously tired when it is time to go. It is so stupid, but seems to be something that is just me. We did just return from a week at the beach and maybe that episode of OCD will give me less to do. Maybe I can manage not to go there this time. Thanks for your helpful info.

August 5th is almost here for you.

I wish I had some OCD to clean my place before I go in a few days but...

thanks for the thanks

In Lucerne be sure to take a boat trip on Lake Lucerne - like the classic one to Fluelen at the end of the fjord-like finger of the lake and then take the train back to Lucerne - you may want to get off at some nice lakeside cities en route for lunch, etc. Eurailpass 100% valid and just hop on.

4 days seems like a long time in Orvieto as nice a hill town as that is - just loved my day there but since it is on a main rail line it is easy to day trip back north to places like Assisi or Perguia, two places I really loved or Todi by bus - in any case unless you had a day left over on your pass those regional trains and buses are dirt cheap/

Hoping to do day trips. Have looked at Civita di Bagnaregio (sp?), Assisi and Todi. Will look at Perguia. Wanted to go to Assisi a few years ago when we were in Bologna but never made it. When I plan our trips I try to do two weeks there and a day each for travel to and from. This time with one all day train journey I decided to shorten my usual 3 nights everywhere to 2 in Strasbourg and Freiburg and then 4 in Orvieto, with day trips or just being totally lazy, and then 4 nights in Rome before heading home. Hope I got it right.

Definitely check out Civita from Orvieto.

Though Assisi is linked with St Francis you need not be a Franciscan lover to enjoy this really lovely city with yes an unGodly number of churches and monasteries and convents, etc - especially evocative to me was St Francis' villa outside of town in the countryside where he allegedly talked to birds - really neat area - to get to Assisi you may want to take a direct bus if there are any as the Assisi train station is far far below this perched city so you have to transfer to a bus anyway.

Heck from Orvieto you could even easily do a day trip to Hadrian's Villa and Tivol's villa del'Este - to me the top day trip from Rome but not that far from Orvieto either. Both the villa's water garden where fountains splish-splash to music and Hadrian's Villa - the extensive archaeological remains in a stark setting where Emperor Hadrian once famously did a lot of debauchery are top top sights in my pantheon of great Italian places to go.

As often said, so much to see and do and so little time. All the places sound most enjoyable so we will have lots of decisions to make. There are days I wish I had planned for a longer stay and then again I know that after about 15 or l6 days it does not matter where I am I just want to go home. Thanks for sharing all the good thoughts.

I have found in that part of Italy - Tuscany, Unbria you can't go wrong no matter which of the iconic hill towns you go to - they are all wonderful IME!