Sue Gifford

Hello, this is my first post here in this forum. Here's my question <BR> <BR>I am going on a trip from March 30th to April 30th in 2001 to Germany/Austria/Switzerland, and I was wondering what tourist season goes on during that time. I know it is a shoulder season, but what does that mean to me. Less places are open, right? What else, are there less tourists there, worse weather, etc? I just am looking for information like that. Thank you very much

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Sue, It will still be winter in the high <BR>elevations in the Alps---the lower places will still be cool---think of <BR>PA the same time of year. Most places <BR>will still be open in the ski areas. It <BR>is still their season until after Easter <BR> <BR>You need to be more specific than just <BR>the countries---Lugano is alot different <BR>than Zurich. Let me know if you need <BR>more specific help---I love that area.

Sue

Ok, I will list some of the cities I plan to visit in each of the countries to let everyone know the area I plan to be. <BR> <BR>Switzerland- Area south of Interlaken, Berner Oberland region I guess. Murren, Lauterbraunen (sp) and also Luzern <BR> <BR>Germany- I'm all over the southern half of the country! <BR> <BR>Austria- Vienna, Salzburg and Innsbruck

Sue Gifford

I think that I am just afraid that there will be too many tourists at this time, I will be in the interlaken area sometime around the 20th-25th of April, so it's after easter. Germany's first, then Austria, then Switzerland and back to Germany to leave. If anyone has been to these countries around that time, any info about how the weather was or how many people were there would be much appreciated. Thanks for the reply BOB the NAVIGATOR.

Richard

Sue, We usually travel Germany/Austria in late April, early May so I can't give you a straight answer but here's our experience. April can be rainy but delightfully sunny, warm days. Flowers are just coming out and most people are in a good mood. May Day (May 1st) in Bavaria is not to be missed, hand-carved maypoles in every village, local parades and picnics. We've cycled Austria, from Krimml to Passau to Krems in late April and weather was fine, rain and chilly in Krimml. We've cycled from Titisee to Freiburg and on down the Rhine, again in late April and weather was fine. Back to your question, March might be not too pleasant but April can be wonderful. Many tourist destinations don't open until May 1st, so tourists shouldn't be a concern.

Rex

I'm not sure how much collecting anecdotes will help you, but I took a group of teenagers from Munich to Salzburg to northern Italy, Innsbruck and back to Munich again, March 25 to April 2 this year. I can't think of anything we encountered that was "seasonally closed". the weather was a mix of chilly with light rain to some reasonably pleasant days (the bext was in Verona and the Dolomites (thus further south than your plans), but weather changes everyday in the spring - - in Europe, just like it does in say, the mid-Atlantic states of the US. <BR> <BR>The tourist "load" ranged from "light" (Salzburg) to non-existent (both in Landshut, and around the Starnberger See, south of Munich). <BR> <BR>I think the poorer weather, and the shorter days are the only reasons that April is inferior (and thus cheaper) than May or June. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex