HELP FAST! Need ideas for Switzerland, Italy, and France
May 25th, 1999, 05:46 AM
#1
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HELP FAST! Need ideas for Switzerland, Italy, and France
We're desperately trying to make last minute arrangements for our trip in two weeks that will include Switzerland, Italy, and France. We were in Germany last year and really enjoyed the small towns, and we liked staying in one place for 2 - 3 days and taking day trips to the surrounding areas. There will be four adults traveling by car for 20 days. Below is our tentative plan and we would love suggestions about places to go off the beaten path. Also, if you have any recommendations for hotels, restaurants, and things that can't be missed, please let us know. <BR> <BR>Bolzano and the Dolomites, Italy <BR>Bellagio and Lake Como, Italy <BR>Interlaken and the Berner Oberland, Switzerland <BR>Charmonix and Mt. Blanc, France <BR>Colmar and Riquewihr, France <BR>Triberg and the Black Forest, Germany <BR> <BR>Thank you in advance for your help! We promise to write after we get back and let you know how your suggestions worked out! <BR> <BR>Cathy
May 25th, 1999, 05:56 AM
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We returned from Switzerland three weeks ago. We stayed at the Hotel Lotschberg in Interlaken. Great, reasonable accommodations. (Recommended by Rick Steves.) As you can see on a map, Interlaken is centrally located to the Berner Oberland area. Susi and Fritz, the owners of the Lotschberg, were very helpful in planning our day based on the weather. You didn't mention when you were going. If Interlaken is too big, consider staying in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Wengen, Murren, or Grindelwald. (Smaller towns closer to the mountains.) From Interlaken, we took the train to Lauterbrunnen, took boat trips around the two lakes, etc. If the weather isn't cooperating, Bern and Lucerne are just an hour away by train. (I don't know how long using the car.) Email me if you have questions.
May 25th, 1999, 05:57 AM
#3
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We returned from Switzerland three weeks ago. We stayed at the Hotel Lotschberg in Interlaken. Great, reasonable accommodations. (Recommended by Rick Steves.) As you can see on a map, Interlaken is centrally located to the Berner Oberland area. Susi and Fritz, the owners of the Lotschberg, were very helpful in planning our day based on the weather. You didn't mention when you were going. If Interlaken is too big, consider staying in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Wengen, Murren, or Grindelwald. (Smaller towns closer to the mountains.) From Interlaken, we took the train to Lauterbrunnen, took boat trips around the two lakes, etc. If the weather isn't cooperating, Bern and Lucerne are just an hour away by train. (I don't know how long using the car.) Email me if you have questions.
May 25th, 1999, 08:27 AM
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Like me, you seem to like lakeside locations. Just east of the Black Forest is one of the loveliest lakes, the Bodensee (called Lake Constance on English-language maps). I can heartily recommend both the Bayrischerhof in Lindau (Germany), which is expensive but worth it, and the Weisses Kreuz in Bregenz (Austria), which is lovely and less expensive. I have not stayed at the Hotel Mozart in Rorschach on the Swiss side of the lake, but I am told it's right on the Bodensee (its address is "Hafenzentrum 1", which translates as "Harbor Center" and that the staff are very nice (this is also true of the first two hotels, especially the WK in Bregenz). A reason for recommending the Bodensee reason is that (a) Americans almost never go there (our loss!) and (b)the Europeans who do go there don't seem to show up til the very end of June, so availability may still be pretty good. <BR>One other thought: If you find yourself in Aosta in Italy's Alpine prov of Val d'Aosta, the Hotel Turin on the Rue de Turin (Aosta is in Italy but is 70% Francophone) has a most excellent and welcoming staff and the views of the Gran Paradiso mountains on the south side of the valley are as splendid as is the hot chocolate served at breakfast.
May 26th, 1999, 06:10 AM
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Cathy, <BR> <BR>During my last trip to Europe in '97, I visited Bellagio on Lake Como, which I noticed you're headed to -- it's a very picturesque town. I can recommend the hotel we stayed at very highly -- the Hotel Belvedere. It is a 3-star, about $130/night for a double when we were there, for a very spacious, clean, comfortable room. The hotel is on a hill above Bellagio, and so the rooms have patios or balconies with gorgeous views overlooking the lake. During your stay around Lake Como, order plenty of fish and seafood as it seems to be the specialty. <BR> <BR>I see you are also head to Chamonix. I haven't been there, but on the same trip mentioned above I visited Annecy, which I believe is very close to Chamonix. Annecy is at the top of Lake Annecy in the Haute Savoie region of France. Its "old town" is incredibly charming and picturesque and the lake is a beautiful clear turquoise. It might be worth a day trip for you, although the city is well-known and not exactly "off the beaten path." <BR> <BR>You can see our photos of Bellagio and Annecy in our personal travelogue at http://www.lunadesigns.com/travels/. On the Bellagio page, there will be a link to the Hotel Belvedere's website.
