5 day Stop off between Paris and Lake Garda by train

[Frazzled74]

We have eurocamp holidays booked near Paris and Lake Garda with 4 nights in between, we would be happy to stay in either holiday park, apartment or hotel. So far I’ve come up with Bern, Interlaken, Zurich, Munich. Can anyone recommend any of these? We could possibly do 2 nights in 2 places, I just would like to explore Europe as much as possible.

Are you travelling the whole holiday by train? If so, I'd stick to staying in cities for ease. We love campsites but they're easier if you're driving as they aren't overly well-equipped and although you can hire linen, it gets expensive if you're only staying for one or two nights. What about using Airbnb in the cities instead? Check for those with linen and cleaning included and then you can use them like hotels. What cities does the train pass through?

The train doesn’t pass through any of the places mentioned but with 5 days free it would be nice to see another country, We have never been to either Switzerland or Germany so they both appeal but would like a base with lots of scenery/ interesting places to see and a bit of culture. We will be holidaying with extended family at both eurocamps (different people at each campsite) and mostly be having bbqs, swimming etc so it will be nice to have a few days exploring with just me, dh and our dc.

There are many camp sites and places to stay in southern Bavaria, and English tourists are enough of a novelty as to be a talking point - met one other Brit last year in over a week! If you wanted to visit Neuschwanstein that needs planning but the rest of Bavaria is empty. Munich is lovely if a bit expensive.

Any of those places would be lovely for a couple days, though Interlaken might be a bit too similar to Garda?

Oh OK, but I'm sensing you are limited to public transport rather than your own vehicle? In which case, I guess it's still easiest to stick to places accessible by train. The area around Freiburg/Colmar is quite pretty - French/German border. Not been to Interlaken but I think that is supposed to be really nice and there are some pretty hotels on the lake. There is also a Eurocamp right on the lake and with good facilities so you could be independent when you are there (called Manor Farm). However, if I was you, I would definitely try and stop in Milan overnight as I'm sure the train must go through there. Never been into the city but always wanted to. Como is gorgeous too.

Thank you, yes I did wonder if Interlaken may be similar to Lake Garda, Bavaria and Munich sound like a good option.

Have you been to Lake Garda? We've been there many times and really love it. In places, it feels like the south of France on a sunny day so I think Interlaken might be enough of a contrast but still be pretty. Unfortunately, I don't really know Munich but the Black Forest and Bavaria generally are areas we'd like to visit. You could also go via Austria maybe and go to Salzburg? No been there but that is known to be lovely. We did stay in a very nice campsite/hotel in Austria at Zell am Zee, which should be reasonably accessible. I'd recommend that area generally if it the train journey works. The food is great and there are lakes and mountains aplenty. We then drove on to Lake Garda from there but I'm sure you can also get the train.

I can recommend Munich The station and transport system are brilliant.
There are some lovely hotels near the Englischer Garten/ Lehel. Your DCs can watch the locals surfing on the river.
You can easily get to Lake Starnberg on the local S bahn for a sport/fun day. The Nymphenburg Palace is also along the S bahn. Two contrasts.
I didn't find Bavarians' gruff but very helpful ( when we were looking at maps). They all seem to speak English too!

You'll be bankrupt if you stay in Switzerland for long! How old are the DCs? Munich, although expensive is half the price.

There is a campsite in Interlaken but close by there is Camping Jungfrau in Lauterbrunnen. It is in a beautiful valley setting surrounded by waterfalls. We had an amazing couple of days there. We stayed in a Safari tent with Eurocamp. Lauterbrunnen has its only train station and you can travel to Lake Garda by train from there or from Interlaken.

Interlaken would be a contrast to garda. Very different culture, scenery and atmosphere. From there you can take public transport into the mountains - jungfraujoch, Schilthorn - or to other cities like Bern or lausanne. Interlaken is quite small though - as are all cities in Switzerland.

Thank you, lauterbrunnen looks lovely but am still tempted by Munich area , will have a look at campsites/ hotels and prices.

I'd recommend Milan and Lake Como too.

Would definitely recommend airbnb having done our first trip at Christmas. With kids, it's so much easier to be in a two bed place, rather than crammed into a hotel room. We hired sheets (although sometimes they're included) and all we really needed was ourselves. We catered in most of the time but also had the odd meal out. We are thinking of doing a city road trip in Europe later this year - Berlin, Vienna etc - and will definitely be looking at airbnb rather than hotels. I imagine Munich will have lots to offer.