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Europe Travel Assistance

Posted this on the chat thread as well, but here we go: planning a trip to Europe over New Years/the week after. Thinking of hitting some combo of Munich, Zurich, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna (and probably a ski resort) over 10 days. Zurich is the cheapest flying option by like $200 or so per ticket (surprisingly). Munich is the only direct option from CLT (ideal travel times too). Main question right now is if we should ditch Zurich/Switzerland entirely in favor of Austria. I've been to Geneva for a couple brief visits, but my wife has never been to Switzerland. Guessing from this thread, the consensus would be Austria. And should we round trip it from Munich or maybe do Munich and end up in Vienna? Or vice versa?

Would obviously appreciate any winter-friendly activity/restaurant thoughts (outside of the great stuff Vad and others have posted). Thanks for the feedback.
 
tigerswood said:
Posted this on the chat thread as well, but here we go: planning a trip to Europe over New Years/the week after. Thinking of hitting some combo of Munich, Zurich, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna (and probably a ski resort) over 10 days. Zurich is the cheapest flying option by like $200 or so per ticket (surprisingly). Munich is the only direct option from CLT (ideal travel times too). Main question right now is if we should ditch Zurich/Switzerland entirely in favor of Austria. I've been to Geneva for a couple brief visits, but my wife has never been to Switzerland. Guessing from this thread, the consensus would be Austria. And should we round trip it from Munich or maybe do Munich and end up in Vienna? Or vice versa?

Would obviously appreciate any winter-friendly activity/restaurant thoughts (outside of the great stuff Vad and others have posted). Thanks for the feedback.
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My wife and I did a somewhat similar trip for our honeymoon: flew into Zurich, but immediately took a train up to Lauterbrunnen, SW. From there, we went to Colmar, France, and swung through Strasbourg en route to Tubingen, Germany, which we used as a staging area to visit Hohenzollern and Lichtenstein Castles. We then cut across Germany and ended up in Munich, making a day-trip to Salzburg.

Obviously, everyone will be looking for something different in their trips, and I don't think you can go wrong with anywhere in that part of the world. My wife's favorite part, hands-down, was Switzerland, especially when we went up to Kleine Scheidegg. The natural beauty there is unmatched, and if you're going to go to Switzerland, I would recommend spending less time in major cities (Zurich, Bern) and more time in the scenic areas (Kleine Scheidegg, Lucerne, any lake).

Colmar was my favorite part of the trip, a small, scenic town that looks similar to Beilstein, which I believe was the model for Beauty and the Beast. There was also a great museum there. It's a small town, able to be covered in a full day or a day-and-a-half max.

Tubingen itself was fine, nothing special, but was the best staging area to see Hohenzollern and Lichtenstein, which were both very cool, even though we walked all the way up a freaking mountain to reach Lichtenstein.

Munich's a cool city, and I assume you'll take a day to do Neuschwanstein (we chose a tour that included Linderhof, and that was worth it). I can't say it was our favorite, and may strike you somewhat as Vienna's little brother if you see them back-to-back. Still, the Residenz was awesome and I think their treasury was even more impressive than Hofburg's.
 
OldGoldBeard said:
My wife and I did a somewhat similar trip for our honeymoon: flew into Zurich, but immediately took a train up to Lauterbrunnen, SW. From there, we went to Colmar, France, and swung through Strasbourg en route to Tubingen, Germany, which we used as a staging area to visit Hohenzollern and Lichtenstein Castles. We then cut across Germany and ended up in Munich, making a day-trip to Salzburg.

Obviously, everyone will be looking for something different in their trips, and I don't think you can go wrong with anywhere in that part of the world. My wife's favorite part, hands-down, was Switzerland, especially when we went up to Kleine Scheidegg. The natural beauty there is unmatched, and if you're going to go to Switzerland, I would recommend spending less time in major cities (Zurich, Bern) and more time in the scenic areas (Kleine Scheidegg, Lucerne, any lake).

Colmar was my favorite part of the trip, a small, scenic town that looks similar to Beilstein, which I believe was the model for Beauty and the Beast. There was also a great museum there. It's a small town, able to be covered in a full day or a day-and-a-half max.

Tubingen itself was fine, nothing special, but was the best staging area to see Hohenzollern and Lichtenstein, which were both very cool, even though we walked all the way up a freaking mountain to reach Lichtenstein.

Munich's a cool city, and I assume you'll take a day to do Neuschwanstein (we chose a tour that included Linderhof, and that was worth it). I can't say it was our favorite, and may strike you somewhat as Vienna's little brother if you see them back-to-back. Still, the Residenz was awesome and I think their treasury was even more impressive than Hofburg's.
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Well this is kind of making me wish we didn't exclude Switzerland! But I think a rough itinerary of Vienna --> Salzburg --> Kitzbuhel (old medieval mining town, supposed to be excellent skiing) --> Innsbruck? --> Bavarian small towns --> Munich will give us plenty to do.
 
tigerswood said:
Well this is kind of making me wish we didn't exclude Switzerland! But I think a rough itinerary of Vienna --> Salzburg --> Kitzbuhel (old medieval mining town, supposed to be excellent skiing) --> Innsbruck? --> Bavarian small towns --> Munich will give us plenty to do.
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If you are doing that trek, you are going to want to hit Hallstatt

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I'll second the sense that Munich is just okay. I've been several times and I always found it a bit underwhelming. Of the "famous" cities in Europe, it might be my least favorite.

That being said, if I could snap my fingers and be on vacation there, I would certainly take it.

I like Austria more than Switzerland, but I think this one is more a matter of personal taste. Switzerland feels like a country as a business concept to me.
 
Any southern Germany towns that are must-visits? Fussen looks really cool for the castles, but is a pain to get to from Innsbruck unless you rent a car, and they charge an obscene amount it appears to drop off in another country.
 
Currently thinking splitting up the 9 nights as Vienna x3, Salzburg x2, Innsbruck x2 (ski at least a day here), Munich x2. Bit concerned that doesn't do Bavaria enough justice (obviously, it doesn't, could easily spend a week there alone), but not sure where to cut nights. A lot of the nicer hotels in Vienna require 3 night stays over new years, and we want to ski at least one day. Perhaps only one night in Salzburg?
 
It's probably worth pinging Vad. I don't know how often he checks the boards, but he lives (or lived) in Vienna.
 
Looks like he hasn't posted since 4/7. Come back, Vad! Now thinking Vienna x3, Salzburg x1 (but most of 2 days), Innsbruck x2, Bavaria/Munich x3.
 
Thinking about going to Siena next week, staying at a Rustico nearby, and driving around Tuscany for a couple of days. I've been primed to do this for a while.
 
tigerswood said:
Currently thinking splitting up the 9 nights as Vienna x3, Salzburg x2, Innsbruck x2 (ski at least a day here), Munich x2. Bit concerned that doesn't do Bavaria enough justice (obviously, it doesn't, could easily spend a week there alone), but not sure where to cut nights. A lot of the nicer hotels in Vienna require 3 night stays over new years, and we want to ski at least one day. Perhaps only one night in Salzburg?
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If you have a car you can do some nice excursions from these places.
 
tigerswood said:
Looks like he hasn't posted since 4/7. Come back, Vad! Now thinking Vienna x3, Salzburg x1 (but most of 2 days), Innsbruck x2, Bavaria/Munich x3.
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I would lean towards this. I think 1 day is enough in Salzburg.
 
that's such a great time. Hit Montalcino and have a Brunello tasting; Montepulciano is another great hill town and we love this place: https://www.caffepoliziano.it/ Ask to sit on their terrace - the views are amazing.

If you're up for a really small town experience, go to Il Conte Matto in Trequanda. https://guide.michelin.com/en/toscana/trequanda/restaurant/il-conte-matto It is about 50 yards from my family's house and it's outstanding, especially for such a tiny town.

Another good place is https://www.locandadicasalmustia.it/en/ in Castelmuzio. Right in the middle of town - again, it's tiny, you can't miss it once you're in town. (Looks like they have rooms as well, if that's what you're looking for.)
 
DeacDiggler said:
that's such a great time. Hit Montalcino and have a Brunello tasting; Montepulciano is another great hill town and we love this place: https://www.caffepoliziano.it/ Ask to sit on their terrace - the views are amazing.

If you're up for a really small town experience, go to Il Conte Matto in Trequanda. https://guide.michelin.com/en/toscana/trequanda/restaurant/il-conte-matto It is about 50 yards from my family's house and it's outstanding, especially for such a tiny town.

Another good place is https://www.locandadicasalmustia.it/en/ in Castelmuzio. Right in the middle of town - again, it's tiny, you can't miss it once you're in town. (Looks like they have rooms as well, if that's what you're looking for.)
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never been to Montalcino, so that's definitely on the list; thanks for the other three also
 
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May depend on what you can do in a day. Rick Steve's and guidebooks like that often are written for older people who are not as mobile and cant around as quick. I often found that when we used those books for reference, we did in 1 day what they suggested in 3. One concern will be temperature, alot of what you want to do in Vienne and Salzburg is walk around the streets and see the sights. If the weather is hovering around 0, it may push you to more inside things.

Another thought is if you are bringing your own ski gear that is alot of work for 1 day. Bringing bags from train to train, hotel to hotel is kind of a drag after a while.
 
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