My boyfriend and I will be travelling to Germany the second and third weeks in November. I have never been and he has been but it was almost 12 years ago. We will have 11 full days to travel around and want to visit France, Amsterdam, Switzerland and Austria if time permits. We will be staying the first week in Frankfurt and then on the road (via train system) to visit the other places. Can you give us some advice on the best way to hit all of these destinations and where to go??
Thanks!

Elevn full days would be enough to scratch the surface of... say... one-eleventh of France.

Will you return to Germany? Car rental would be what I would advise if you were my daughtr. See www.its-cars-hotels.com if you are under 21 (but over 19) - - and even in this case, your rental would have to originate in (and return to) Austria - - which is not a problem to reach (Salzburg, for example) from Munich.

Unless you have a strong affinity for French language and culture, I'd recommend that you keep your trip in one language (German) - - you won't get saturated with Germany, Switzerland and Austria in a half dozen Novembers.

Best wishes,

Rex

I agree with Rex. Trying to cram in too many places limits your opportunity to really enjoy where you are.

I spent three months in Austria and that was not enough.

Let me understand this - you have a week in Frankfurt and then 11 days to see all these other places? Or you have 11 days all together - seven in Frankfurt and then 4 days to see all these other places?

If the latter - you do not have time to even leave Germany - but should see a couple of things there.

If the former you need to pick two countries at most and try to get a small taste of a coupl;e of places. For instance - in 11 days you could drive to Amsterdam, spend a couple of days there, drive to Paris (perhaps stopping at Bruge for a night on the way), spend a couple of days in paris and then back to Frankfurt.

To see four countries in 11 days is simply not possible. Even seeing four cities in 11 days is really pushing it - even if you fly. to cover all that territory by car you would see nothing but a blur of highway.

Suggest you

1 - get a good map of europe to study

2- go to one of the driving web sites - mapy or via michein and get travel times between some of these places (realizing that the times given are on the road times - and you need to add time for meals, gas/potty stops and finding your way in a strange city)

3 - start thinking about what you want to see/do in these places and how long it will actually take (you cannot "see" Paris in one day - you can stay there one day - but you will have seen almost nothing - and never really experience the flavor of Paris at all)

Happy researching!

I'm not so sure your plan is as impossible or implausible as others say--provided you eliminate Amsterdam and also stay in Frankfurt for less than a week. If you have a desire to get into the other countries and just see what it's like, you can do it. And the worries brought up about the language are really not a problem in western Europe. You can always find someone who will speak a little English, or if not, there are other ways to communicate such as by references to a language book, or sign language. I like your plan, except for Amsterdam, which seems too far out of the way considering your other desired destinations. Good luck.

Depending on how you travel and how long you stay, the highlights to look at would be Rothenburg, the Rhine/Mosel, Amsterdam, Paris (would be a long side trip), Fussen, Munich, Saltzburg. Yes I realize I skipped Switzerland but you always have a next trip for that and the other things you missed.

When planning I recommend that you also check the low-cost airlines because it certainly cuts down the in between places time (even though you have to consider the time to the airport and check in and all that stuff) Look at the RyanAir.com website to get some ideas. Keep in mind that they use the little out-of-the-way airports but consider your side trips by air and see what happens to your itenary. You might end up in London, Paris, Rome, or Fresno.

One word of caution since you are flying into Frankfurt. Keep in mind that Ryan Air uses Frankfurt-Rand airport which is about 100 miles from the airport you are flying into.

I was in Germany a couple summers ago. I was in Karlsruhe, which is sort of the southwest, right next to the French border, for 2 weeks. From there, we were able to take day trips into small towns in the Alsace region of France, which was so quaint and charming. We also day-tripped to Heidelberg, where there is a famous castle/fortress and it's a neat city too (lots of shopping). Then, from Karlsruhe, some in our group traveled to see some of the castles in Germany, like Neuschwanstein (spelling?), which I believe is in Munich. We went thru Munich, but chose not to stop. We went on to Salzburg, Austria, where we spent several days enjoying the city. A few days are better than none, here. Then, we traveled to Interlaken, Switzerland, where we hiked around in the small adjacent towns (Lauterbrunnen). Spent like 2 days there, then on to Zurich, where we spent the next 2 weeks, then went home.
Check out some train schedules to see how long it's going to take you to travel from one place to another, because those trips will eat up your days, esp. if you're trying to work in Amsterdam and more of France!

I agree with all the advise about too many countries/cities in 11 days. But no one has mentioned that in the 3rd week in November, the weather can be pretty miserable in Germany, Paris and Amsterdam.

Why don't you consider taking the train or one of the discount airlines from Frankfurt, after your stay there, to go somewhere in the middle or southern part of Italy or Malaga and environs in Spain. I was born and raised in Southern Germany and also worked for 3 years in Brussels, and believe me, at that time of the year, the weather can be cold and rainy. Would you go to New England or Oregon in the latter part of November?