I'm currently planning a 10 day trip to Europe in May. We will be arriving/departing from Frankfurt and would like to see some of Switzerland and Italy. Any suggestions on places to see and a realistic itenerary??<BR><BR>Thanks!

John--<BR>I'll suggest a route that you can use to go between major cities because that's where the major roads go; but if you want to enjoy Europe a bit more, get out of the cities and into the villages. I'll assume you are renting a car, but this itinerary will work for train travel between the major points.<BR><BR>Day 1--Arrive Frankfurt; rent a car. Drive to Heidelberg and stay one night.<BR>Day 2--Drive to Rothenburg, Dinkelsbuhl, and Nordlingen, then on to Donauworth for the night.<BR>Day 3/4--From Donauworth, drive to Munich for a day trip, then on to Rottach-Eggern on the Tegernsee for 2 nights. Take a day trip back to Munich from there if desired.<BR>Day 5/6--Drive to Innsbruck and on toward Bolzano; stay overnight for 2 nights in Merano and explore the area.<BR>Day 7/8--Go west to St. Moritz, Silvaplana, and on to the Lake Como area. Stay 2 nights in Locarno on Lake Maggiore and explore the area around Lakes Maggiore, Lugano, and Como.<BR>Day 9--Go north toward Lucerne and stay in Weggis or Vitznau on Lake Lucerne.<BR>Day 10--Drive back to the area of Frankfurt (long drive). <BR><BR>This is a lot of packing and unpacking, and a good bit of driving, but it is a delightful itinerary full of sights to see. Hope this helps. Depending on how many days you actually have, this might have to be cut short by a day.<BR>

I'm a little confused - - not interested in seeing any of Germany? If so, I would re-design the itinerary and take Germany destinations out of it. I'll assume that there are reasons you are flying into and out of Germany, but didn't ask about actually seeing any of Germany.<BR><BR>I have been in similar situations before. Once flew in and out of Belgium to see Northern Germany and a little bit of Denmark and Holland.<BR><BR>Clarification, please - - if you'd like more suggestions.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Rex,<BR><BR>Could be FF miles and the only way to get to Europe for free on the dates required was to arrive in Frankfurt.<BR><BR>Happened to us in Septemebr. We went to Provence, but had to fly into Zurich to get free flight.

I understand completely. Just can't advise on the itinerary without knowing: include destinations in Germany or not?<BR>

thanks for the great advice! yes, we are flying to frankfurt due to frequent flyer limitations. we like Germany, but wanted to see other places on this trip. <BR><BR>thanks again, john

John--I've done this trip a couple of times and it all depends on what you want to see and experience. You can get quite a ways south even on your arrival day depending on when you land. We have headed through Innsbruck and the Brenner Pass--lots of great options on the way-Bavaria, Fussen area, Garmisch etc.--and then down to the Bolzano area. We stayed two nights(our second and third nights from arrival) in Castlerotto, a great town in the Tyrol and near fantastic hiking in the Dolomites. Merano sounds great also. Then work your way back through Switzerland--won't even try to spell each night out. Safe to say though that it is all doable-stay on the major roads to get to areas then bail out and enjoy. We love northern Italy, the Lakes and the mountains. <BR>By the way, we have found the cheapest car rentals and best equipment out of Frankfurt and then there is the FF thing! Ciao!