GrahamM3

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are planning a trip to Munich to pick up our new BMW M3! We will be driving it around Europe and dropping it off in Paris, to be shipped to the states. This is the itinerary I have come up with based on putting the first one-thousand miles on the car for break-in purposes. Any comments are welcomed! I have re-done this itinerary many times, because there are just so many options, but I would really like to get some input on it. We are going in June of this year and the dates are very flexible (we should be given some dates to choose from once the car goes into production), but we want to be in Nice, France for the Euro game on June 17th (hopefully we get the tickets we applied for).
Sat: Arrive in Munich
Sun: Munich
Monday: BMW Welt for delivery day to get the car in the morning, drive to Salzburg (spend a few hours there), drive to Chiemsee (stay the night here)
Tuesday: Drive to Innsbruck, Mittenwald, Garmisch (too much in one day?)
Wednesday: Drive to Fussen, then Vaduz and stay the night (we want to drive the passes fresh and in the morning/daytime)
Thursday: Drive the Klassen and Susten passes, drive to Lucerne
Friday: morning in Lucerne, Drive through Zurich (anything worth seeing here?), drive through black forest and stay in Baden Baden
Saturday: Baden Baden, drive to Strasbourg
Sunday: Strasbourg/Nancy/Reims (not sure where to stay or how long to spend here or even to stop in these cities, just options along our route)
Monday: Paris, drop off car
Tuesday: Paris
Wednesday: Paris/Versailles
Thursday: Train to Nice
Friday: Monaco/Eze, Euro game in Nice

A lot of driving, but that is really the point of this trip. The route is pretty much set, I'm just trying to balance the time...spend more time in the best cities,etc. What do y'all think? I'm open to cities/stops to cut out. My husband and I don't like to spend too much time in one place and aren't big museum fans. We want to get the feel for each country, but not be overwhelmed with "stuff" to do.

August2015

I don't have suggestions, but I will be following your journey with interest. I am considering the BMW european delivery. WE've done a Volvo Overseas Delivery before. Great experience!

GrahamM3

We are stoked! There are a lot of resources on the BMW forums for logistics on ED that you should definitely check out. I am already blown away with how BMW handles their EDs. They have it mastered for sure.

Gardyloo

Crikey, with an M3 I'd be tempted just to jump on an autobahn and push the right pedal hard and not worry about where to spend the night, but that's just me.

Nothing wrong with your route, although I'd be inclined to spend more time in France and less in Switzerland/Austria, but that's me.

GrahamM3

Haha! The passes in Switzerland will actually be a huge highlight and a great way to enjoy the impeccable handling of the M3. We weren't set on going into Austria initially, but I have been to Vienna and absolutely loved it, so I really want to check out Salzburg (maybe skip stopping in Innsbruck to save some time). We may be able to add another day or two at the end of the trip and spend more time in Nice and surrounding areas, depending on budget.

Gardyloo

Fair enough; but have a look at Annecy and the Alpes Maritimes in the meantime.

flpab

I am green with envy. Loved the BMW tour and when the emu feathers dust off your car. Have so much fun but watch the speed with those cameras.
Innsbruck, Mittenwald, Garmisch in one day? Plenty of daylight so hit the historic district of Innsbruck, Mittenwald takes an hour to walk through and enjoy your evening in Garmisch.


Very pretty ride to Oberammergau via Ettal then to Fussen. You could even walk the grounds of Linderhof.

1 h 14 min (67.6 km)

via B2 and B23
1 h 14 min without traffic
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Germany

Take St.-Martin-Straße and Bahnhofstraße to Hauptstraße/B2
2 min (900 m)

Follow B2 and B23 to Ettaler Str. in Oberammergau
19 min (17.1 km)

Continue on Ettaler Str.. Drive to Hillernstraße
3 min (1.7 km)
24 min (19.7 km)
Oberammergau
Germany

Take Am Kreuzweg, Bahnhofstraße and Rottenbucher Str. to B23
5 min (2.1 km)

Turn right onto B23
13 min (15.2 km)

Continue on Steingadener Str.. Take St2059 to Schongauer Str./B17 in Steingaden
8 min (9.0 km)

Follow B17 to B16 in Füssen
23 min (21.6 km)

nytraveler

Well I know this is supposed to be a road trip - and that's fine. But I see no point in stopping in all of these different cities (several on some days) when you won;t have time to actually see anything. I would pick many fewer places to stop and plan on spending a good part of the day in each one with only 4 or so hours of driving per day - of very scenic areas.

IMHO there is little point in spending the time getting off the highway and wending your way through a strange city, finding your way around, finding a handy place to park, rushing around for an hour or so and then hop back in the car.

We have done many road trips in europe and loved them. Realize your purpose is different than yours (since we try to spend at least 2 nights even in small towns and 3 or 4 in larger places, and make road trips to surrounding areas during the day. But I think you are trying to just do too many different towns.

GrahamM3

flpab, thanks for the suggestions! I had us going south through Lermoos from Garmisch and up through Reutte to get to Fussen. I might consider driving up to Ettal as you suggested, then coming across via St2060 past Lindhof and onto Fussen. So many options!!!

GrahamM3

nytraveler, your concerns are definitely on my mind. Any suggestions on which cities to cut out or keep? It has been hard to narrow down where we want to spend time and not feel like we are missing out on something. However, some of the cities we are stopping in seem to be great places to stop for lunch and a walk around town. But, we may end up bypassing some of them for the exact reasons you stated. Thanks for you input!

Whathello

I'm like Nytraveler.

I'd skip cities if it means arriving too late to your stay.
You've picked up nice places to sleep, just make it so that you arrive sufficiently early to visit some of it.
If you drive very close to a city, just go through it but stop very briefly (a coffee on the center place).

Is there a reason to go to Nice (euro game - soccer I guess) why not stay in Paris and watch a game at the Stade de France ?
I'd skip those days and make shorter legs and more stays in the cities along the way.

But it is me - I'm not into soccer and I'm not into cars so ... (googled the BMW M3 - nice car though).

GrahamM3

Whathello, I agree we need to cut out some places. I'm thinking we might stay the night in Mittenwald and then also in Fussen to have more time in that area. Then, just drive from Fussen to Lucerne skipping Vaduz (about a 5 hour drive with the passes we want to drive). We also may be able to extend the time in Paris and not get to Nice until the day of the game (although I'm not sure of the game time), then not fly back until Sunday or Monday to have more time in Nice.

We are set on seeing the Spain and Turkey game in Nice. Hubs really wants to see Spain, so I think it was either the game in Toulouse or in Nice.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions for sure and I know we need to prioritize, but keep in mind that driving the car through these countries is a big reason for the trip and we are looking forward more to spending hours driving the M3 than spending a few more hours in any one city

Jennifer_Travels

You are going to have a great time! I bought my Audi A3 through Audi's European delivery so also started out near Munich. Audi's factory tour & pickup day were fabulous. I would assume BMW's is similar so make sure you have enough time the first day to enjoy that.
We did a different route - south to Italy via the Dolomites, time in Tuscany, then back north to Austria and home again via Munich.

We didn't have any parking issues in the places we drove, but it's something to think about. You'll want to make sure you have safe parking - more for prevention of dings than theft concerns. We have friends who did European delivery and ended up skipping some places because parking was not feasible.

GrahamM3

Also, now considering just staying in Salzburg and removing Chiemsee. We could always stop by the lake on the way to Mittenwald after Salzburg or nix Chiemsee altogether. I hate that we would drive right past it and not stop, but if its just another castle...I probably won't be too disappointed not seeing it.

So here is an updated itinerary...

Sa: Arrive in Munich (morning)
Su: Munich
M: BMW Welt for delivery day to get the car in the morning, drive to Salzburg
T: Morning in Salzburg, drive to Mittenwald (may still cut this out and just stay in Fussen)
W: Fussen
Th: Drive to Lucerne via the Klassen and Susten passes
F: Lucerne
Sa: Baden Baden/Strasbourg
Su: Strasbourg
M: Paris, drop off car
T: Paris
W: Paris/Versailles
Th: Train to Nice
F: Monaco/Eze, Euro game in Nice
Sa: Nice/Travel Home

I'm starting to feel less overwhelmed.

GrahamM3

Thoughts on these two routes:

#1 Lucerne to Strasbourg via Colmar

#2 Lucerne to Strasbourg via Frieburg/Baden-Baden through the Black Forest

Originally planned for #2, but considering #1 instead...shorter route so more time in Strasbourg or Lucerne. Am I going to regret skipping the black forest and Baden-Baden?

Poconolady

On your pick up day, with a morning delivery, you won't get out of the Welt until about 2:00 at the earliest, if you opt to take part in all of the included activities.Its a fantastic experience that I am glad that we did not rush through. Just thought that might help with your timing.

GrahamM3

Poconolady, are you talking about the museum and factory tours? We are planning on doing those the morning before to break up the time at the Welt. Seems like a lot to do all on delivery day. Plus, we will still have access to the premium lounge for breakfast/lunch the day before. If we decide that we want more time to see stuff in Munich than we may just do it all on delivery day, so thank you for the info!

GrahamM3

*UPDATE* Delivery date for the M3 ED is now confirmed so we booked flights. Here is the updated itinerary (travel days not included):

London - 2 nights (added using a free stopover with United)
Munich - 3 nights (last day is delivery day on our wedding anni.!)
Salzberg - 2 nights
Fussen - 2 nights
Lauterbrunnen - 2 nights
Strasbourg - 2 nights
Paris - 3 nights

We cut out Nice after not getting the tickets in the Euro 2016 drawing, but there is a game in Paris while we are there, so hopefully we can find tickets to that one after they start public ticket sales. Hubs has accepted the fact that he won't get to see Spain play this trip, but plans for a future Spain/Portugal trip is already on my mind.

Now that we finally have dates, I can start booking hotels, etc.!