We were in Florence a few weeks ago. It was already getting hot, although manageable. And it was already VERY crowded. Many sidewalks are uneven and narrow and with high season crowds thrown in, things could be pretty challenging for people with mobility issues. Our hotel was near the Ponte Vecchio; the bridge was absolutely mobbed from morning until way after dark. (we avoided it and used a different bridge to cross the river but even that was crowded and full of social media poseurs and vloggers all taking endless photos and videos of themselves, again not good for those with mobility issues)

Please use the Rome2Rio website to give you an idea on the length of time it takes to drive, fly, train or ferry to a destination. This will help you immensely with your planning.

darmstadt to Lausanne by train is 6hr and 20 min. Yes, you may have to change trains but you will not have to worry about drop off fees, etc

Or you can drive to Lausanne within 4hr and 30 min.

Do not drive to Florence. Take the train instead. It will be much easier on you when you get there. Again, use Rome2Rio for suggested journey times.

Please put more thought and realistic expectations into your pre-planning before sending the volunteer advisors here in wild goose chases. It will help everyone involved to give you the best advice possible.

I don't think anyone here can help you with the best way to travel from one place to another as we all have pros and cons to each. I know for me, my first choice of mode of transportation in Europe is train as I absolutely loathe driving while air is much quicker. However the amount of luggage you have matters as you will be responsible for loading and moving it with you. Switzerland is also an expensive country so you will be paying more for things so while you may not like the cost, that is how much it is and only you can choose what you can live with or without. I know I used to travel with my mom who has mobility issues but doesn't use a cane, walker or wheelchair. It was hard for her so I had to do more and carry more which was hard on me. Your son may be helpful with this matter but still one you should consider. I did get my mom from Zurich to Munich by train and she loved it and she still talks about it. The memories are most important but at the time, it was hard but if you stay realistic about your plans, I am sure you all will have a good time.

kleeblatt Hi .. Believe me I have been thinking about canceling, I feel very stressed about it and it's hard to find the time to get it in place.
The progress I have made thus far has only been because of you guys here....

BUT, my husband and my son will not have 2 weeks vacation anymore for the next 5 years. Additionally, my cousin changed his vacation plans for us and would kill me if I cancelled. That's the part that makes me the most nervous. :( I keep thinking I should put it off.. but we have put it off for 4 years due to covid .. Also due to my medical conditions what I think, what if things get worse and I can never go.. my whole life I have dreamed of seeing the world. :( Anyways I'm trying sooooo hard.. I haven't slept in 2 weeks. :(

Maybe you should find a travel agent. Tell them what you want, what you need and how much you have to spend.
Let them do the stressing.

If Switzerland is too expensive then cut the number of days, or arrange to meet your cousin somewhere else.

suze I know I found out that's why the prices are so high... if we stay in that area is it really hard to maneuver around with a car.. do they close off streets to hotel.. how big is this event ? Fairmont is great but at over $2000 per night for 2 rooms for our dates.. Do you know if the others have AC that works ?

WeisserTee wow that means it will be a nightmare in July... Besides the 2 art museums .. is there anything else that is a must see in Florence? I was planning on going to the Tuscany area, showing my son Pisa and another area.. maybe the medieval village or CR5 ? what do you think... pls let me know. Thanks so much.

sassafras the others no working AC ... this one is sooo nice but no availability :( Thank youuuuuu so much this is helping a lot.

kleeblatt I did use Rome2Rio for length of time and that is how I came up with those times that I was asking about.

From Darmestadt to Chexbres (cousin's place) it's best to drive and I already got the car.. it was not cheap at $130 per day , but it will be about the same as the train to Zurich without having to change trains. $1300 for 10 days.

I am advised not to drive to Florence by others as well -- Just wanted to Clarify -- We had planned to drive and just get to the hotel and use it for going to Tuscany Pisa and SG village. Not to drive in Florence itself. But sassafras advised against taking the car to tuscany as well. So we were just going to return it in Florence. To clarify you are recommending against just driving to Florence from Chexbres Switzerland (in other words using it as a transportation mode)? I was under the impression that it is most difficult to drive IN Florence, not TO Florence. Please let me know. PS I have put thought into my travel, but due to unexpected changes and situations, I am trying to make it work. I'm trying. I appreciate everyone's help so much.

sassy27 I know last time we were in Germany my son had just broken his foot and was on a wheelchair we had to log onto train with our luggage.. my husband did not like this.. but loved the train ride itself, also changing trains was really challenging bc one was delayed and we almost missed the other eon and didn't find seats... We are health care workers and are extremely burned out with Covid - we don't want it to be too hectic. But from what others say, driving isn't as easy as it seems online.

Anyways I booked a car $$$ from Darmestadt to Switzerland that made sense.. Just stuck on Switzerland to Florence and all the feedback I'm getting about Florence makes me think we picked the wrong location.. Wish we could travel in the fall or spring. I hope I can pull this off.. I'm so overwhelmed and stressed at this point.

hetismij2 Prior to coming on here for help... I have tried soooo may times. The 2 we had in our town closed up shop, the remote ones will NOT help me they say they are backed up for months... (I have never seen anything like this). I probably made over 10 calls.. even the travel agents said they have never seen anything like this and never had to turn away customers... if you know of any that can help me. I would LOVE to use them. Please let me know. Ty so much.

Lilly2016

- Use booking.com and find either a hotel or an apartment that is somewhat near Lausanne. You have a car so you can drive to your relatives place. Even if the accommodation is 40-60 minutes away, it's still doable. If you are farther up in the mountains, you will NOT need air conditioning and you will still find accommodation. I'm afraid you are going to have to compromise here.
- If you insist on driving to Florence, then do so. Good luck finding accommodation and planning your days. Use booking.com to help you find a hotel.

"There is a train from Darmestadt to Geneva and one to Zurich but it seems too long and too many changes"
There are train connections every hour. One of the best is Darmstadt dp 8.09 - Geneva City Center ar 14.47, with changes at Frankfurt and Olten. Between Olten and Geneva you can have lunch in the dining car, wirth scenic views to Lake Biel ,Lake Neuchatel and the Alps.
There is also a dining car for breakfast between Frankfurt and Mannheim
A flight solution would look like this:
Darmstadt dp by train 9.45 - Frankfurt M dp by plane 12.15 - GVA ar 13.20 - Geneva City Center ar 14.00, without lunch. This solution could get cheaper with hand luggage only, but very expensive with a lot of big peaces of luggage.

You can always email your hotel in Florence and ask them about driving directions to their hotel or if they recommend parking on the outskirts of town and taking a taxi in. We drove into Florence a few years ago and parked our car somewhere near the main train station, as recommended by our hotel. The driving wasn't too difficult but it was slow going due to traffic.

{do they close off streets to hotel.. how big is this event ? Fairmont is great but at over $2000 per night for 2 rooms for our dates.. Do you know if the others have AC that works ?}

Yes. About 1/4 million people attend the Montreux Jazz Festival annually. Doesn't really matter about AC because you won't be able to get a reservation at those during that time frame for your budget anyway. I was merely trying to point out your "problem" is in timing, not that there aren't hotels in the area with pools and AC. But you are not going to find them during the Jazz Festival at the last minute.

If you can only go to Lac Leman at the same time as the Jazz Festival, I would skip it this trip. You are not going to be able to enjoy the area with so many other people there, even if you can manage to find a hotel with AC and a pool.

The shore of Lac Léman is 125 miles long. The Jazz Festival just affects a few miles around Montreux.

4.2k is an impressive amount of "views". Hopefully Lilly found the help she was seeking.