Suggestions needed for multi country trip
 

We would like to stay in same hotel rather than move everyday or two so we are looking for cities where we can stay for a week or two and travel to other cities by bus or train for day trips in France,Germany,Switzerland.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Stay in Strasburg as it open up all three countries very easily. Chose the 26 days a month when parliament is out of town though.

It is not easy to get to Switzerland for day trips from Strasbourg; Lucerne is about 3 hours away, Zurich 2:30, Interlaken 3:30.

Basel is the obvious "logistical"choice as it borders all three countries, but is not the type of place to hold one's interest for 1-2 weeks, I don't think.

Basel to;

Freiburg 0:46
Strasbourg 1:20
Lucerne 1:01
Interlaken 1:59
Dijon

Oops wrong button....

Basel to:

Dijon 1:33
Konstanz 2:24

I have never been to Basel, my comments are just from what has fallen from my research over the years. It may turn to have things that interest you enough to make it a base.

Somewhere around Lake Constance might satisfy for some of the trip.

Well I have been to Basel upteen times (had a client there) and it is a town in which the sidewalks roll up at 6 pm, restaurants close at 9 and people have to go to FRance or German on Sunday to buy groceries. There is a cute small old town and not a whole lot more.

However, I think this whole idea is not a good one - I fear you will be spending too much time getting to and from the places you really want to see. The hub and spokes idea is not a bad one - but making it work over 3 countries is not very realistic. Instead I would do 2 or 3 hubs and then day tips from those if you want.

How much time do you have overall?

We will have about 3 maybe 4 weeks.
If we did maybe 3 towns to stay in and travel around which ones would you suggest?
Just the thought of packing up every 2 or 3 days and travelling by air or train to another hotel does not excite us .

couple: you have some good choices.

Gengenbach, Germany, near Offenburg and the gateway to the Black Forest on the BF Railway, makes a very good base town. It's 1 hour west to Strasbourg FR, 1 hour south to Freiburg; 1 hour to the east would get you to Villingen and numerous Black Forest towns before Villingen, including Haslach, Hausach, Hornberg, and Triberg. Schiltach is about 35 minutes from Gengenbach.

Breisach, Germany, west of Freiburg, is ideal for visiting Freiburg, Colmar FR, and the Hells Valley Railway towns of Hinterzarten and Titisee (about 1.25 hours away.)

Gengenbach: http://www.stadt-gengenbach.de/en/tourism/old-town/
BF Railway and other towns: http://www.black-forest-travel.com/p...t-railway.html
Villingen: http://www.tourismus-vs.de/en/views-...villingen.html
Schiltach: http://www.evaway.fr/s3/evawayus/pho...4-78-58-CD.jpg

The cool thing about staying in Breisach and Gengenbach is that all your transportation is free within Germany. You will receive a "KONUS" card from your innkeepers, valid for free transport on all public Black Forest trains and buses during your stay and on the day you check out. The additional costs for reaching Strasbourg and Colmar are next to nothing.

http://www.dreisamtal.de/en/service/konus.php?lang=en

(cont.)
Hells Valley Railway link: http://www.black-forest-travel.com/l...oellental.html

Strasbourg is a good center for sightseeing. You can easily spend 2 days in the city itself, another in Colmar and a fourth visiting the various small wine towns in between. You can also can also see things in nearby Germany, perhaps part of the Black Forest.

Lucerne or Interlaken in Switz would be another good choice. (The villages part way up the mountains are quainter - but it takes longer to get to other places from there.) You can easily spend a full day or more in Lucerne, a day on the boat on Lake Lucerne seing several quaint villages and then head up one or more of hte nearby mountains (Pilatus, Rigi, Titlus). It's also an easy drive to Interlaken (via Brienz and seeing the Ballenberg Museum another day) or Berne and a host of other nearby towns. And many of these places are good for short hikes.

If you pick out 3 or 4 such places - one per week - you will avoid a lot of packing/unpacking and still get to see sights in the surrounding areas.

St Remy or someplace near Avignon, France. You could see a lot in a week in Provence without changing hotels.

Rather than hotels, consider staying in an apartment (fewo). More room and not more expensive.