Hi, my husband and I are planning a 4-5 day trip to Switzerland OR Germany and are looking for advice on which you would consider the most fulfilling and idyllic/ picturesque winter destination. We like a bit of everything as far as traveling: scenery, culture, food, history, adventure, romance, architecture, nature, etc... so we arent picky. We have both traveled a lot but have somehow not made it to either country.
Switzerland: We would fly into Zurich and take the train to Lucerne, spend a couple days based out of there. We would also be visiting a couple mountain towns (maybe buy the Swiss Rail pass) and maybe Bern. Side question- we would like to do a horse-drawn sleigh ride. Which of the many beautiful mountain towns do you like best that offer these?
Germany: We would base ourselves out of Munich, and visit Salzburg and Neuschwanstein Castle.
I know it is a matter of opinion, but I would appreciate yours! This trip will be in the next couple of weeks (February). Thanks for your help!
Switzerland VS. Germany
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IMHO Neuschwanstein is a faux castle (mad ludwig built it in the 1860s - and it's a howl lot of not much). And Salzburg is in Austria.
You can certainly visit the German alps - from Garmisch-Patenkirchen - to get to mountain tops. Hve never done horse drawn sleigth rides.'
I can tell you Switz is likely to be a lot more expensive. And Lucern, which a charming town that I love, is in the valley and you will have to trek to get to mountain villages form there.
Nowhere in the German (Bavarian) Alps is really snow reliable. At least not the towns/villages. You might end up in rain instead of snow. You need to go higher up in the mountains, thus Switzerland is the better idea, I think. Agree with nytraveler that Switzerland is much more expensive, though.
I personally prefer the high altitude places in Grisons. The villages in the Engadin are picturesque/idyllic - www.scuol.ch and www.engadin.stmoritz.ch (avoid St. Moritz itself, it's too busy and overbuilt/ugly, but the villages in the region are pretty - Sils e.g.) Or try Klosters. Horse-drawn carriage rides are available everywhere.
I also liked Adelboden in the Bernese Oberland very much. Mürren is another good idea.
I would not recommend to stay in Lucerne if you're looking for snow.