[Whiteywhiteboy]

Hi All,

First time BMW purchaser and starting it off right with a 2020 M2C. The girlfriend and I think we have come up with a good plan for our time in Europe, but would really appreciate any input the community is willing to give, whether it be possible negatives, suggested improvements, or places/things to see and do along the way. This is her first time to Europe, so I want to make sure she gets to soak in some of the different cultures while I get to enjoy my new performance vehicle (toy) on amazing roads.

Thank you in advance for your help!

May 26

Fly from San Diego to Munich

May 27

Arrive in Munich 1:10pm.
Check-in to hotel. We are not sure which hotel go to with. The EU welcome packet includes deals for the following:

-Bayerischer Hof
-Platzl Hotel
-Hilton Munich Park Hotel
-Munich Marriott Hotel
-Kings Hotel (Center and First Class)
-Leonardo Royal Hotel Munich
-Hilton Munich Airport Hotel

Any suggestions or experience regarding the list?

Nap and eat. Explore some of Munich if we feel up to it.

May 28 (My Birthday)

Check-in at the Welt at 8:20am. Delivery of car at 10:10am.
Experience the Welt, BMW Museum, and factory tour.
End BMW experiences around 1ish(?)

Explore more of Munich and meet up with friends for bday dinner.

Stay the night at the same hotel.

May 29

Explore more of Munich in the morning and leave for Neuschwanstein Castle in the early afternoon (1.5 hour drive).
Enjoy Castle.

[Trying to figure out whether we then drive straight to Lucerne, Switzerland (3 hr 15 min) OR find somewhere to stay in between the castle and Lucerne. Is the straight drive from the castle worth doing in the evening? If not, suggestions for where to stay?]

Assuming we find a place to stay near the castle...

May 30

Leave early in the morning for Lucerne.
Show gf why hiking Mt. Pilatus is my all-time favorite memory (all day event).
Die.
Allow promise of beer at the top to revive me.
Explore Lucerne in the evening.

May 31

Head to Interlaken.
Drive the Susten, Gotthard, and Furka Passes on the way (any others in the area we should hit?)
Explore Interlaken and the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

June 1

Convince girlfriend canyoning or whitewater rafting will not kill her.
Go up to Jungfrau if persuasion fails.

June 2

This is where we need extra help. We drop off the car in Paris on the 5th and fly out EARLY the 6th. We want to spend a least a full day in Paris. Where should we stop/stay between Interlaken and Paris? GF loves wine and pastries (she claims those are the only reasons she is coming ). Any suggestions for interesting routes up to Paris?

June 3

Leave wherever we stayed and drive to Paris.
Explore Paris.

June 4

Explore Paris and surrounding area.

June 5

Explore Paris.

Drop off car by CDG Airport around 4pm.
Stay at airport hotel.

June 6

Fly back to San Diego.

Again, any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated! Nothing is set in stone other than the flights and pickup/dropoff dates.

[Thescout13]

Hotel in Munich - stay at Hilton. By far the best of the lot for the price. Easy walk to city center and right next to a beautiful park to walk through.

At the Welt - if you are doing museum, factory, etc no shot you are finishing by 1. The tour alone doesn't end until 2 and starts around 11–11:30 (call ahead). Worst thing is scheduling a pick up time that makes you miss the factory tour. We did BMW museum day before, pick up right at 9 then factory tour then got on road around 2:30-3.

Do the castle mid day which allows time to get to Lucerne. If you insist on doing it in the evening then stay in Fussen. But my very strong recommendation is to wake up early, skip exploring more Munich (trust me there isn't much to do at all), and drive to Rothenburg Ob de Tauber and drive on the Romantic Road down to the castle then stay in Fussen. You will get some great driving and get brownie points from the gf. It's like driving through a Disney movie.

I would just do straight to Paris from Interlaken. Better off spending more time in Paris. The countryside on the way is beautiful but not much sightseeing.

PM me if you have any specific questions re the above.

[johnkitt]

If your gif is really into wine, I can't think of a better place to stay than Beaune.

I'm actually planning something similar to scout's route above on our ED trip. We're planning on going from Munich to Schloss Linderhof, staying the night in Fussen, and then hitting Neuschwanstein castle first thing in the morning (I've heard that the place can be crazy so I am hoping to beat the crowds). After that north along the Romantische to Rothenburg.

[Space gray]

I would not plan on keeping the car in Paris. My suggestion is to drop off your luggage at the hotel, take pictures of car in Paris, and then drop off car. Driving in Paris is stressful and parking garages are expensive and have tight or tiny spaces. You can also get to places faster taking the Metro and walking.
You can get back from CDG by taking RER train and transfer to Metro to get anywhere in Paris in 1 hr or less, provided there are no strikes (French unions seem to strike often).

[Whiteywhiteboy]

Originally Posted by Space gray

I would not plan on keeping the car in Paris. My suggestion is to drop off your luggage at the hotel, take pictures of car in Paris, and then drop off car. Driving in Paris is stressful and parking garages are expensive and have tight or tiny spaces. You can also get to places faster taking the Metro and walking.
You can get back from CDG by taking RER train and transfer to Metro to get anywhere in Paris in 1 hr or less, provided there are no strikes (French unions seem to strike often).

Thank you for the advice. I was thinking we leave it at the hotel for most of the time in Paris just in case we wanted to travel out of the city for anything. But you are right, we may as well just drop it off a little earlier and take the train everywhere.

[Whiteywhiteboy]

Originally Posted by johnkitt

If your gif is really into wine, I can't think of a better place to stay than Beaune.

I'm actually planning something similar to scout's route above on our ED trip. We're planning on going from Munich to Schloss Linderhof, staying the night in Fussen, and then hitting Neuschwanstein castle first thing in the morning (I've heard that the place can be crazy so I am hoping to beat the crowds). After that north along the Romantische to Rothenburg.

I completely forgot about Schloss Linderhof. We may have to add that at some point if we have time. And i will look into Beaune if we determine the trip from Interlaken to Paris is too long of a straight haul.

[Whiteywhiteboy]

Originally Posted by Thescout13

Hotel in Munich - stay at Hilton. By far the best of the lot for the price. Easy walk to city center and right next to a beautiful park to walk through.

At the Welt - if you are doing museum, factory, etc no shot you are finishing by 1. The tour alone doesn't end until 2 and starts around 11–11:30 (call ahead). Worst thing is scheduling a pick up time that makes you miss the factory tour. We did BMW museum day before, pick up right at 9 then factory tour then got on road around 2:30-3.

Do the castle mid day which allows time to get to Lucerne. If you insist on doing it in the evening then stay in Fussen. But my very strong recommendation is to wake up early, skip exploring more Munich (trust me there isn't much to do at all), and drive to Rothenburg Ob de Tauber and drive on the Romantic Road down to the castle then stay in Fussen. You will get some great driving and get brownie points from the gf. It's like driving through a Disney movie.

I would just do straight to Paris from Interlaken. Better off spending more time in Paris. The countryside on the way is beautiful but not much sightseeing.

PM me if you have any specific questions re the above.

Thank you for the advice. We will look into the Hilton.

I did not realize the BMW experience would take that long! That makes me happy. I will coordinate with the Welt to make sure we can fit everything in.

You are right, the extra day in Munich is probably not necessary. We will look into Rothenburg and Fussen.

The drive from Interlaken to Paris is a cool 6.5 hours...Not sure we can handle that in one day, especially since we will probably do it later in the evening so we can spend more daylight in Interlaken and Paris. Any advice on how to break it up or routes to keep the drive interesting?

[nosbocaj]

Ha, my birthday is May 28th too!

Sounds like you have a pretty solid plan already.

As far as staying near Neuschwanstein, I would highly recommend Hotel Sonne. It was by far our favorite hotel during our ED. Fussen is a cool little town as well. There's not much going on between Fussen and Lucerne if you go the google maps route, so that could also be done at night without much fuss.

Your plans for May 31st look fantastic. We drove the Susten and it was incredible. Just an FYI though, the roads are narrow and there are motorcycles and cyclists flying up and down. It can be a bit stressful! I would also recommend spending as much time as possible in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. It's absolutely incredible. We only spent a few hours in Grindelwald and we wish we spent more.

As far as where to stay between Interlaken and Paris, I would certainly recommend at least one day in Geneva. It's not too far out of the way and it's a fantastic city. Moving further up towards Paris, Dijon is a cool little city. Bourgogne is a wine and food heavy region of France if you're interested in that kind of stuff.

If you need some inspiration, my ED journal from last summer is in my signature.

[Whiteywhiteboy]

Originally Posted by Exar Kun

Ha, my birthday is May 28th too!

Sounds like you have a pretty solid plan already.

As far as staying near Neuschwanstein, I would highly recommend Hotel Sonne. It was by far our favorite hotel during our ED. Fussen is a cool little town as well. There's not much going on between Fussen and Lucerne if you go the google maps route, so that could also be done at night without much fuss.

Your plans for May 31st look fantastic. We drove the Susten and it was incredible. Just an FYI though, the roads are narrow and there are motorcycles and cyclists flying up and down. It can be a bit stressful! I would also recommend spending as much time as possible in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. It's absolutely incredible. We only spent a few hours in Grindelwald and we wish we spent more.

As far as where to stay between Interlaken and Paris, I would certainly recommend at least one day in Geneva. It's not too far out of the way and it's a fantastic city. Moving further up towards Paris, Dijon is a cool little city. Bourgogne is a wine and food heavy region of France if you're interested in that kind of stuff.

If you need some inspiration, my ED journal from last summer is in my signature.

Thank you so much! I will check out Hotel Sonne to see if they have any availability that night. I have spent a lot of time in Lauterbrunnen, but the GF has never been exposed to scenery like it before. So, we will definitely be spending a lot of time there.

We may stop in Dijon to break up the long drive to Paris. I will check out your journal. Thanks again!

[CosmosMpower]

Step 1, find a new girlfriend that's easier to deal with. Oh and stay at the Leonardo Royal Munich, best hotel and a great value.

[Whiteywhiteboy]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

Step 1, find a new girlfriend that's easier to deal with. Oh and stay at the Leonardo Royal Munich, best hotel and a great value.

GF being difficult stuff was sarcasm. And I checked with the Leonardo Royal, they are all booked up because a Backstreet Boys concert is taking place the same night. Thank you for the advice, though.

[alavigne]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

Step 1, find a new girlfriend that's easier to deal with. Oh and stay at the Leonardo Royal Munich, best hotel and a great value.

Hotel Leonardo Olympiapark is also quite nice and reasonably priced, and you can walk (about 25min) across the park from the hotel to the Welt.

[Top Gon]

I think it's definitely doable to drive from Neuschwanstein castle to Lucerne in the evening. I did the opposite almost, Lucerne to Munich.

I would also double check to make sure those mountain passes are open during the time you're going. I was in that area in early May in 2018 and they were closed until mid June if I remember correctly

[somberlaine]

Originally Posted by EM SQRD

I think it's definitely doable to drive from Neuschwanstein castle to Lucerne in the evening. I did the opposite almost, Lucerne to Munich.

I would also double check to make sure those mountain passes are open during the time you're going. I was in that area in early May in 2018 and they were closed until mid June if I remember correctly

Thanks for flagging.

Generally, they open from June to September but it all depends on snow accumulations.

[Whiteywhiteboy]

Originally Posted by alavigne

Hotel Leonardo Olympiapark is also quite nice and reasonably priced, and you can walk (about 25min) across the park from the hotel to the Welt.

We decided on the Hilton Munich Park since it was the best bang for the buck. The amenities they offer seemed to outclass the Leonardo.

[Whiteywhiteboy]

Originally Posted by somberlaine

Thanks for flagging.

Generally, they open from June to September but it all depends on snow accumulations.

Oh shoot. You are right. https://www.myswissalps.com/car/trafficinfo

I was thinking May since the others open in May. I don't see an issue with shuffling the driving day into June, assuming the passes open June 1. I guess we will have to wait and see

[Aloha Joe]

Congrats on your ED trip. Hilton Munich Park sounds like a good choice. On my ED my wife & I stayed at the Leonardo Royal Munich, very nice hotel and convenient for the Welt. However if we did another ED, we'd choose a hotel in the area you chose.

Someone posted about the Romantic Road and Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber. We did that and totally loved it. However, the route is a little in conflict with what you'd like to do. Rothenburg is a cool place to take pics of your car, here's just a couple of mine.




Someone also mentioned Hotel Sonne in Fussen, we stayed there for one night & loved it. Below is a pic from our hotel room in the early evening.


Coincidentally your travel dates are almost identical to ours from 2017. Unfortunately the passes in Switzerland you mentioned were closed for us. The only one which was open and i got to drive was Klausen pass in Switzerland. I wish you better luck.

Regarding Paris, I agree with everyone else, you don't want to drive there. Do all your driving in small cities outside of Paris, you'd like to see first, then drop your car off and just use their transit system. Easy to find your way around and definitely safer for a brand new M2C.

Once again congrats and enjoy your trip!

[Whiteywhiteboy]

Originally Posted by Aloha Joe

Congrats on your ED trip. Hilton Munich Park sounds like a good choice. On my ED my wife & I stayed at the Leonardo Royal Munich, very nice hotel and convenient for the Welt. However if we did another ED, we'd choose a hotel in the area you chose.

Someone posted about the Romantic Road and Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber. We did that and totally loved it. However, the route is a little in conflict with what you'd like to do. Rothenburg is a cool place to take pics of your car, here's just a couple of mine.
Attachment 2029343

Attachment 2029344

Someone also mentioned Hotel Sonne in Fussen, we stayed there for one night & loved it. Below is a pic from our hotel room in the early evening.
Attachment 2029352

Coincidentally your travel dates are almost identical to ours from 2017. Unfortunately the passes in Switzerland you mentioned were closed for us. The only one which was open and i got to drive was Klausen pass in Switzerland. I wish you better luck.

Regarding Paris, I agree with everyone else, you don't want to drive there. Do all your driving in small cities outside of Paris, you'd like to see first, then drop your car off and just use their transit system. Easy to find your way around and definitely safer for a brand new M2C.

Once again congrats and enjoy your trip!

Aloha,

Thank you so much for your input and kind words. I think we are going to take everyone's advice and head up to Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber the morning we leave Munich and then drive down to the castle - worth the extra few hours. This means we will probably also stay at Hotel Sonne. So, glad to have yet another person suggest it.

What site did you use to track if the passes were open? I am sure we can still find some fun roads to explore even if those few are closed! Just means we will have go to back.....

[Aloha Joe]

Whitey, I can't remember if this was the exact site I used, but here's one that appears to be good. I use google chrome as my web browser when I travel, it's translate feature works fairly well for most foreign websites.

http://webmaptcs.trafficmap.ch/default_de.aspx

[Sellotape]

Originally Posted by johnkitt

If your gif is really into wine, I can't think of a better place to stay than Beaune.

Agreed.

[Whiteywhiteboy]

Originally Posted by Aloha Joe

Whitey, I can't remember if this was the exact site I used, but here's one that appears to be good. I use google chrome as my web browser when I travel, it's translate feature works fairly well for most foreign websites.

http://webmaptcs.trafficmap.ch/default_de.aspx

Bookmarked! Thank you.

[Finz]

Originally Posted by johnkitt

If your gif is really into wine, I can't think of a better place to stay than Beaune.

I'm actually planning something similar to scout's route above on our ED trip. We're planning on going from Munich to Schloss Linderhof, staying the night in Fussen, and then hitting Neuschwanstein castle first thing in the morning (I've heard that the place can be crazy so I am hoping to beat the crowds). After that north along the Romantische to Rothenburg.

There is a very special way to get to Neuschwanstein from the Fussen area. Go a short distance to Pinswang to the Gutshof zum Schluxen. (https://www.booking.com/hotel/at/gas...-schluxen.html)
You can stay there or just park in the lot. There is a path from there that goes through the woods, comes at at Hohenschwangau Castle, the "parent" castle of Neuschwanstein. Tour there then a carriage up the hill to the other castle. About a 90 minute walk each way. Absolutely beautiful. I have done it twice and will do it again this year on my ED. Happy to give you more info.

And I agree on the Beaune area. Great wines and great scenery.

Whitey - I have been to Munich several times and the Platzl is my favorite. A bit more expensive, but well worth it.

Bill