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Help with itinerary: Munich, Lucerne, Bern, Geneva, Marseille, Paris

Help with itinerary: Munich, Lucerne, Bern, Geneva, Marseille, Paris

Old Mar 22nd, 2015, 02:37 PM
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Help with itinerary: Munich, Lucerne, Bern, Geneva, Marseille, Paris

Hello fellow travelers,

I'm planning a trip for either June or July, 2-2.5 weeks, and would appreciate feedback on our tentative itinerary. My husband and I are 29 and 31, and enjoy exploring vibrant cities on foot, museums (in moderation), photography, good restaurants with vegetarian options, beer (hence the interest in Munich), and meeting locals and other travelers. We prefer to get around by public transit, walking, and the occasional taxi instead of renting a car. My husband has been to Lucerne, Bern, and Zurich before, and we have been to Paris together twice (otherwise we might spend more time there on this trip).

Here's our proposed itinerary. We would travel between cities by train.
Munich: 2-3 days
Zurich: 1 day or just a few hours. My husband has been to Zurich for work and was not impressed. But maybe he hasn't been to the "cool" part of the city?
Lucerne: 2 days
Bern: 2 days
Geneva: 2 days
Lyon: 1 day, or just a few hours. We could also skip Lyon entirely. Many of the trains between Geneva and Marseille stop in Lyon, otherwise we might not have even thought of visiting this city.
Marseille: 2-3 days
Paris: 2-3 days

We are open to cutting 1-2 cities and spending more time in one of the other cities. The only destination we can't cut is Paris because we're meeting up with friends there.

Thanks in advance for any input! Let me know if you have any questions.
seaside85 is offline  
Old Mar 22nd, 2015, 03:11 PM
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You haven't taken travel time into consideration. You will lose from half a day to most of s day depending on distance (consider from the time to check out of your lodgings in one place until you are checked in in the next) each time you change location. In order to have 2 days somewhere, it takes staying there for three nights. So I think you have overestimated how much time you have at each stop. If you have 15 days on the ground (that means 16 nights), you could visit 5 cities and have 2 full days in each (3 nights). So I'd start by cutting your stops down to 5 so you have a more realistic itinerary. You have 8 destinations right now, which would mean you would spend more than half of your days in transit.
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Old Mar 22nd, 2015, 03:22 PM
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I agree with Kathie -- I don't mind traveling hard and fast, but this itinerary is too rushed even for me! I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, note their opening/closing times, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from the train/bus station or whatever, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together.
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Old Mar 22nd, 2015, 03:28 PM
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>>>"My husband has been to Zurich for work and was not impressed. But maybe he hasn't been to the "cool" part of the city?"

I believe your husband probably got it right on his first two visits

>>>"You haven't taken travel time into consideration."

Not another one of those darn folks who think they can tele-transport, are you seaside? Since you have obviously checked train schedules, have both been to Europe multiple times, and perhaps most importantly are 29 and 31, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.
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Old Mar 22nd, 2015, 03:44 PM
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If doing all by rail between bases then be sure to look at the Eurail Select Pass - good in any 4 countries you wish - like Germany, Switzerland, France and any other country - except in France lets you hop on any train anytime (except private mountain railways in say Switzerland) - it is first class too and that is a big perk IME of deacdes of European train travel.

Anyway for loads of great stuff to plan the rail portion check out these IMO superb sites: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.
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Old Mar 22nd, 2015, 03:56 PM
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I would choose just one base to explore both Bern and Luzern from...they are just 90 minutes away from each other by train. That's one less hotel move. They both have a lot to do after dark.

And yes, I am in the "spend at least several hours in exploring Zurich" camp. Get off the main drag to explore the cool pedestrian-only lanes of Niederdorf and St.Augustinergasse/St.Peter square.
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Old Mar 22nd, 2015, 04:32 PM
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I enjoyed Zurich, too -- it holds some excellent museum, wonderful stained glass, etc. JMO.
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Old Mar 22nd, 2015, 05:43 PM
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Thanks everyone! You're probably right that I'm trying to fit too many cities into this trip. Now just to figure out which ones to cut...

PalenQ, thanks for mentioning the Eurail Select Pass; that sounds perfect. mokka4, thanks for the suggestion to choose one base for Bern & Luzern.
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Old Mar 22nd, 2015, 10:15 PM
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Hi seaside85,

I note that you have listed all cities for your trip -- is there a reason why? I mean, do you simply like cities?

imo, the best of Switzerland is in the countryside and of course in the mountains. Unless you really are more comfortable in cities, I would suggest that you look into staying in a small town or village so that you'll be closer to the green & the heights.

For instance, you could stay in Wengen, right in the mountains, instead of Bern, and you could stay in Weggis or Brunnen instead of Luzern. Instead of Geneva, you could try smaller towns like Lutry or Vevey or Montreux.

Have fun as you plan!

s
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Old Mar 23rd, 2015, 07:57 AM
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Hi swandav2000. That sounds like a good idea. We are "city people", partly because we like the walkability and public transit options that cities offer. However, since small towns in Europe tend to have much better public transportation than the average small town in the U.S., where we're from, we'll consider staying in a small town or village, too. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Old Mar 23rd, 2015, 08:15 AM
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I think you'll be happy with staying in smaller towns & villages.

In Switzerland, the public transport is really well developed. Even smaller places have 3 or 4 connections every hour; hardly enough time to have another cup of coffee!

s
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Old Mar 23rd, 2015, 10:17 AM
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Like instead of Bern go to the Jungfrau Region and stay a few nights in a Wengen or Grindelwald and see glacier-girdled peaks soaring thousands of feet above lush meadows dotted with bell-ringing plump Swiss cows - do some easy hikes - take any of the plethora of aerial cableways or mountain trains to higher climes/climbs.

This area, not cities, to me and many is the absolute highlight of Switzerland - it will be the highlight of your trip but only if you stay right up in dem hills- swandav is especially fond of Wengen - a car-less towns - no cars allowed - cars must be parked in Lauterbrunnen and you can only access Wengen by foot or train. Quiet and solitude - this place exudes it and has some of the most raved about views anywhere.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2015, 10:29 AM
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A car-less town! My husband would love that. Thanks PalenQ and swandav2000!
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