My husband and I are planning a 2 week visit to Europe in July. We enjoy history (prehistoric to modern history), beautiful scenery, and great food. We'll spend the first half of the trip checking out the cave paintings in the Dordogne Valley of France. We want to spend the remainder of our trip in Germany. Is Berchtesgaden worth the visit and how about the Black Forest? Any suggestions you could give would be most appreciated! Jane

Berchtesgaden definitely IS worth it. We spent a few days there a few years ago and had a spectacular time. The scenery is marvellous! It was one of our favourite parts of Germany. We found the Black Forest to be lovely as well. We were there in September so I cannot remark on how busy it is in July.

Since you enjoy history I would urge you to consider taking the tour of the Eagles Nest while in the area.

Loved, loved, loved Berchtesgaden. Of course it didn't hurt that it was covered in snow. Beautiful.

The Black Forest is nice but the Berchtesgaden region is SUPER nice!

In addition to the Kehlstein (Eagle's Nest) mentioned by Dukey, Salzburg is nearby for a daytrip or two.

Hi J,

What's the whole itinerary?

When were you last in Paris?

Hi,
We were in Berchtesgaden last Oct. and loved the area. We stayed in the village of Ramsau. Gorgeous scenery. A quick trip to Salzburg is also very easy from here.

paul

Thanks for all the replies! It looks like Berchtesgaden and Eagles Nest and Salzburg will definitely be on our itinerary! Ira, our France trip flies us into Bordeaux where we'll drive to Beynac and stay for 4 nights seeing the caves (I have the reservations!), kayaking the Dordogne River, and seeing the other local sights--I understand it's a pretty small area so we should be able to cover it by car. I was in Paris about 4 years ago and loved the art/architecture but we really wanted to keep out of the big cities this time and explore other areas. My next question to you experienced European travelers: what's the best way to get to the Berchtesgaden region from the Dordogne Valley? Should we take a train straight there or are there some really cool places we know nothing about on our path to Berchtesgaden? Again, thanks for all advice! Jane

I don't know how long you plan to stay in Berchtesgaden but in addition to B'gaden that area has lots of great stuff to see, Eagles Nest Koenigsee, Herren Chiemsee castle, Salzburg, Garmish, Mittenwald, Ettal Monastary, Oberammergau, Linderhof and more.