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Taking a 5 day trip to Europe
Hello again,
I am travelling once again with my nieces (in their 40s-50s) to Europe. Over a year ago, we flew into MIlan, took the train to Venice with stops in Verona and Padua. From Venice, we took the overnight train to Paris and headed back from there. We would like to do a similar trip. this time, fly to Frankfurt and maybe go to another country on the third day. Austria via Munich by train? My nieces like to go to tourist attractions since one of them has had limited travel experience. We like food, markets, churches, culture etc. I would appreciate suggestions on where to go or what to see. Thanks in advance. JJG |
With such little precious time in Europe, I would not choose Frankfurt. So many other cities offer so much more to see and do.
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How about if you fly into Munich; after two nights there, go to Salzburg for one night and either go back to Munich for the return flight, or fly home from Vienna.
Will you have five full days on the ground (six nights), or is that five nights? If you'll have only five nights, you could spend two nights in Munich, one night in Salzburg, and two nights in Vienna. If you have six nights add a night to someplace and maybe use it to take a day trip somewhere. |
Hey JoJo
Why Frankfurt? With so little time, I would fly into Munich and train to Salzburg - 2 nights. Take the train back to Munich for the rest of the visit. I can highly recommend http://www.ammoos.at/ in Salzburg. The Salzburg pass is worth the money - http://www.salzburg.info/en/sights/salzburg_card Enjoy your visit. ((I)) |
Yes, hanging around Frankfurt sounds like a mis-step, unless you actually explore smaller towns near Frankfurt (e.g., Limburg, Marburg, Mainz; the Rhine valley with boat rides) or further into Bavaria like Bamberg/Regensburg/Passau.
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Hello All,
Thank you for your suggestions. We can fly to Munich go to Salzburg and then either take a train back to Munich or head back to the US from another city. Your opinions are very much appreciated. I just did not know specifically where to go in Germany and so I started in Frankfurt. Looks like Munich is a more attractive option based on replies. We will fly out Thursday evening, get to Europe on Friday morning and return to the US the following Tuesday. So that's four full days and maybe half a day on Tuesday. What other interesting cities are nearby? We can take the train to Salzburg but will have to fly out of another city to the US because American does not fly into Salzburg (we have to take AA). Thank you again. |
Have you considered just doing a trip to London? You can easily spend your whole trip there.
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With 4 nights total I would do 2 in Munich
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My wife and I just returned from a 7-day winter getaway, flying into and out of Munich. We did a circuit by train and bus that included Salzburg, Innsbruck, Seefeld in Tirol, and finally Füssen. All of these towns were lovely, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any one of them. All also convenient by train from Munich's Hauptbahnhof. I'll be posting our trip report in the next couple of days.
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Thanks again.
I have to mention that we are constrained to fly only on American Airlines since we are using companion tickets of an AA employee. AA flies to Zurich, Madrid, Paris and London. We could fly to Zurich and take the train to other cities. Rumseydog, I would love to hear about your train trips and the places you visited especially if some of them are accessible from Zurich. Another option would be to fly to Madrid and take to train to Lisbon (we have not been to Portugal). Does anyone have a suggestion on a possible route? Thanks again, Jojo |
Jojo
Speaking of constraints: I urge you to get familiar with bahn.de. This is the German railway site but they list schedules for all of Europe. You will quickly find out what is practical and what isn't. Try plugging in Madrid to Lisbon on that site and you will see what I mean. |
jojo - well, if you can fly into Zurich, why not make that a starting point for a short tour of the swiss lakes? Munich is about 4 hours away on the train and Salzburg even further - not much if you've got 2 weeks but a long time if you are only there for 5 days. Luzern is only 45 mins away by train and you could use trains, buses and boats to get around - great for someone with limited mobility.
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Flying into Zurich you could visit the Black Forest and/or the Lake Constance (Bodensee) area.
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From Zurich, Lucerne, on the beautiful lake and ringed by mountains, just 60 minutes by train, the lovely town of Rapperswil just 30 minutes, exciting/eclectic shops in Bern less than an hour away.
Zurich itself has wonderful museums and both uber-high and upper-middle price shopping, welcoming cafes. Nearby Einsiedeln for a baroque monastery with famous "Black Madonna". So there you have it-religion, shopping, sights, mountains, lake, and culture all perfectly reachable for a 5-day jaunt. Caution: high prices in Switzerland. |
I have several trip reports on Switzerland. Just click on my name if desired! (And I thought 8 days was ridiculously short!)
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Thanks all.
The lakes and mountains in and around Lucerne sounds wonderful. I have seen them two summers ago (but my nieces have not). Just wondering, is March a good time to explore these places? Will it be mostly covered with snow? Would a flight to Madrid and day trips from there to say, Lisbon be easier ("weather wise")? |
>>We will fly out Thursday evening, get to Europe on Friday morning and return to the US the following Tuesday. So that's four full days and maybe half a day on Tuesday.<<
You really have very little time. Count on at least one or more of you being jetlagged Friday and maybe Saturday too. And you can't really count on doing much on Tuesday. So I'd pick the place w/ the shortest flight (Most likely London) to maximize your time and just do the one city. |
Thanks janisj. I will try and talk my nieces into doing just one city to maximize our enjoyment of one place.
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There is so much to do in the London area without having to waste a lot of time getting from place to place.
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