Is this Swiss-Austrian focused itinerary insane?
 

We're thinking of taking this trip in late Jan/early Feb and after talking more with DH, he'd like to visit Switzerland, rather than Germany (as mentioned in another of my posts). He's a collector of timepieces. Are there any museums or watch factory tours in Geneva or Zurich?

Day One - Geneva
Day Two - Geneva
Day Three - Zurich
Day Four - Zurich
Day Five - Salzburg
Day Six - Salzburg
Day Seven - Salzburg
Day Eight - Vienna
Day Nine- Vienna

Not sure of flight situation yet. Our goal is to fly into one city and out of another, however if that doesn't work, is there an overnight train from Vienna back to Geneva?

IMO, you have too much time in some cities and not enough time in Vienna. Zurich isn't the most interesting city for a tourist (although I realize that your hubby might find things to do as he's is interested in timepieces), and is not the real Switzerland. Never been to Geneva so can't comment on it. I will say the Switzerland I think of instantly is not the big cities like Zurich or Geneva, but the smaller towns, scenic areas, Alps, etc. Salzburg is a small town compared to Vienna and I'd say the later has more sights and deserves more time.

Hi ChicagoDallasGirl,

The history of Swiss watchmaking is preserved primarily in the far western part of the country, in a valley called, notably, "Watch Valley" near Neuchatel.

Here's a link to a watch museum, and if you peck around the site, you'll probably find more info:

http://www.neuchateltourisme.ch/en/d...ocle.2860.html

s

You won't have 2 days in Geneva, or 2 days in Zurich, or 3 days in Salzburg, or 2 days in Vienna.

It will work out to about 1.5 days in Geneva and Zurich, 1 plus a skosh day in Vienna, and maybe 2.5 days in Salzburg. You haven't accounted for the travel/packing/unpacking/checking in/checking out.

Plus it will be winter w/ short days so your sightseeing will be even more restricted. I'd cut something myself.

Yup, insane. Agree with janisj

Not so much insane as pointless. I assume you are an American? Imagine somebody coming as a tourist to America and visiting Pittsburgh and Minneapolis, but skipping New York, Washington DC, or any National Park?

That's your itinerary for Switzerland.
Both Geneva and Zürich are nice cities to visit, but the draw of the country isn't in the cities. And neither is the watch-making industry located there.

Thanks for the feedback, jsm! This is our first version of the itinerary, so I'm sure we'll tweak it. My initial thought was 3 days in Vienna...

Swan, thanks for this new info! Hubby was thinking Geneva might have watch-centered sites. Will share this link with him.

Hey, Janis and Schuler! Though we tend to live out of our suitcases for multi-location trips like this, I do see your point about building in more time to account for all that moving around.

Correct assumption, altamiro! I wouldn't think it pointless for a tourist to skip NYC, DC or NPs, if those aren't places they want to see. What's wrong with Pittsburg and Minneapolis? :) If not Geneva and Zurich, then where? Swan offered "watch valley" as an option. Have you any other locales to suggest?

Salzburg is the smallest of these cities but you have the most days there?

I wouldn;t go to Switzerland and spend all my tme in Geneve (pretty but basically UN focused) or Zurich (semi-pretty and a busines city). You need to get out ino the mountains to really see much.

Overall too many places and too little time - unless youreally like riding on trains a lot.

Just got back from our 2nd trip to switzerland. We visited Zermatt and spiez and Bern this time, and Luzern and Wengen last time. I would say that Bern is one of the most underrated cities in Europe. We spent an afternoon in the old town and it was beautiful.
I would recommend any of those cities over Zurich.

PalenQ - I allocated an extra day as I'd like to tour Sound of Music film and Trapp family sites.

Thanks for listing those cities, cheweyd. I will check 'em out straight away.

Just to clarify, we're not locked on the Swizz cities, it's just that Geneva was a jumping off point because DH thought it would be a place for brimming with timepiece centered activities. (now learning that's not the case.) Then, in researching I found a site that mentioned all trains from Geneva to Salzburg stop/transfer in Zurich.

Now, I'll take everyone's comments/suggestions into consideration, talk more with hubby and revamp itinerary. Thanks y'all.

PalenQ - I allocated an extra day as I'd like to tour Sound of Music film and Trapp family sites.>

In that case yes, yes, yes

and if those mini-bus tours are not running in dead of winter then you can hop an Austrian postal bus from Salzburg and in about an hour be in the Lake Wolfgang (Sound of Music Country) area - lovely St Wolfgang and all. And you can take a train or bus from Salzburg the several miles south to Shoenbrunn Palace. I suppose you know the mini-bus tours are running though and that is the way to go for what you want to do! Sounds great.

I would say that Bern is one of the most underrated cities in Europe.>

I will second that sentiment - besides the cute town center try to take a walk along the swift-moving Aare (? right river?) that flows under the old town center up on its ridge. It is popular even, in warm weather, to hire a float or tube and just get carried downstream.

Funny you say that about Berne. It was featured in our local paper Sunday. I told hubby that seeing the summertime photos had me thinking I'd rather do the trip in the spring/early summer. Just seems like I'd prefer a visit without snow covering everything, tho that would be magical I'm sure. We'll see.

ChicagoDallasGirl, I remember your last thread, about wanting to go to Europe in Jan and Feb next year. I'd like to make a suggestion; why not consider Egypt, if you haven't been. Yes, it's not Europe, but weatherwise this is one of the best times to visit. If not, Egypt, maybe Jordan or Israel. Or, maybe some of the South American countries maybe of interest. Granted none of these destinations are in Europe, but weatherwise, most parts of Europe are not ideal for travellers in Jan/Feb. Just a thought. I do understand this is a special trip and I hope you find a destination that works well for you.

I would not consider the recommended bus trip south of Salzburg to Schonbrunn Palace.
Schonbrunn is in Vienna - one of the must sees of the city.
A tour and a walk in the gardens take about 1/2 day.With many other fine sightseeing opportunities , museums, Churche, Palaces, concert evening , etc. I think 3 days there is a good thing.

Oops i got the palace mixed up - there is one a few miles south of Salzburg i believe where parts of the Sound of Music were filmed. Pardon my mistake!

JSM, you must be a fly on our wall. :) Hubby would LOVE to go to Egypt and has mentioned it more than once. I'd love to go as well, just hadn't thought of it for this trip but it's definitely worth considering. Thanks for the well-wishes. Have you been there already? Any itinerary ideas?

No worries, PalenQ. Thanks for clarifying, molker. :)

Visit Salzburg - The Sound of Music Locations
Salzburg travel guide with information on ′The Sound of Music′ locations. Ideal for a self-guided tour through Salzburg.
www.visit-salzburg.net › general info › sound of music

List of main venues appearing in film and how to do the SOMusic Tour on your own.

ChicagoDallasGirl, yes I've been to Egypt, the company often recommended on the Africa forum for customized trips to Egypt is Lady Egypt. I've travelled with them and they were good, I'd recommend them. You could send them an email and ask for prices for an itinerary. I'll check my email and post my reps email address in a few minutes, his name is Mohamed Kamel and he was very accomodating, he'd listen to my needs and customized an itinerary based on what I wanted to do.

The other way to tackle Egypt is to do this independently, I
didn't have the time or patience for this. Take a browse on the Africa forum, there's plenty of information about Egypt. There are some fodorites who are extremely knowledgable about Egypt.

I was in Egypt for 9 days here's an overview of my itinerary, I flew between the cities except between Aswan and Luxor I travelled between these two cities on a Nile cruise:- Cairo, Aswan - Abu Simbel - Aswan - Luxor - Cairo.

I will add that the 9 days were 9 full days in Egypt and didn't include flights.

I hope I haven't derailed this thread.