We taking the Cosmos Central Europe tour and staying extra days in Frankfurt after the tour in October. Any suggestions on activities or sights ?? Should we rent a car and drive to Zurich or Paris ??? Get a hotel in Frankfurt and do day trips to Zurich and Paris ? Should we stay in Germany ?
Any suggestions would be helpful..
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It depends on what you like to do. I would not consider either Paris or Zurich as day trips. Paris is 4 hours on the ICE and I think Zurich is around 3 or so.
Basing in Frankfurt is good for taking day trips to Heidelberg, Köln, Mainz, Weisbaden, Bad Homburg, Königstein, Kronberg, Würzburg and all the lovely little towns along the Rhein.
Staying in Germany is up to you. Do you want to see Germany or do you want to see France or Switzerland? There are wonderful places to see in all these countries. We have no idea where you are going on your cosmos tour either.
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We are going to Frankfurt, Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow, Budapest and Prague for 2 nights each. Vienna and Munich for 1 night each. We end in Frankfurt and have 5 nights on our own. We are going to pass on France. We would like to focus on Germany and Switzerland for the days on our own. We just don%26#39;t know what the best way to see things will be... car rental seems great to just meander around. We love wine tasting, outdoor walks/hikes, castles and my husband collects watches, so a swiss watch making tour would be great.
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Please get a map and have a look at the distances. Switzerland is not a day trip from Frankfurt. Basel could be done, maybe. Zürich is not 3 but 4.5 to 5 hours from Frankfurt one way(!)
There is more than enough to do and see in that part of Germany within sensible day trip distances from Frankfurt. %26quot;Sensible%26quot; in the sense of one or maximum one and a half hours by train. By car you will not be faster than the trains, rather slower.
Heidelberg, the Rhine gorge, Würzburg, Marburg can easily be reached from Frankfurt and would fill your five days well.
Your tour schedule is a rat race which won%26#39;t give you much time to actually see places. One night in a city like Vienna or Munich is close to nothing. These cities cannot be experienced in half a day. That means being herded to a few overrun tourist sites within a couple of hours, nothing more. Well, if that%26#39;s the way you like to travel - it%26#39;s your decision. Anyway, how about a slower pace and checking out one region a bit more in depth afterwards?
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Blandine gave excellent advice, especially about slowing down a bit and exploring. I am glad she knew about the correct train time to Zurich, all I knew is that it would NOT be a day trip. Try looking up all the small towns we mentioned and see what appeals to you. Riding a train is easy and cheaper most of the time. Especially if you plan on sampling any of the fine wines or German beers on your travels from place to place.
I don%26#39;t know your dates that you will be here in Oct. but there is a huge book fair in Frankfurt from 14-18 Oct. that will make finding an affordable room anywhere in Frankfurt or even Mainz or Weisbaden difficult.
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Advise about things to see around Frankfurt is good. You could also rent a car and visit the numerous excellent sights in more rural areas and the countryside. To me this is a relaxing way to visit and there are many small excellent places to frequently stop along the way, just get excellent maps such as those in the Shell regional map series of Germany which will show all country roads and hundreds to thousands of places worth visiting and ratge the attractions. The German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg is on the way to Switzerland and has lots to offer (see www.tourismis-bw.de and www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de ). The world%26#39;s second largest beer festival, Cannstatter Volksfest ( www.cannstatter-volksfest.de ), is in Stuttgart ( www.stuttgart-tourist.de ) from 25Sept to 11Oct.
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Among my several typos, one is important. That first website should be www.tourismus-bw.de .
One thing about driving around the countryside, rooms will usually only be a fraction of the cost of a hotel in a large city, and you can make a large loop easily stopping at places of interest along the way.
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Thank you all for your great advice. I will do some more research and reading. We really want to relax and enjoy the last part of our trip and take in the sights, scenery, food and wine.
I appreciate all the websites given !!
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