DLP and Other Sites in Europe: Questions

[GenerationX]

Bonjour! Guten Tag!

My family is heading to Europe for nine days in late July. There are five of us (me, my wife, and our three teenage sons). I could use some help with many aspects of the trip:

1. We're flying into Stuttgart, renting a car through Sixt, and flying back home from Paris. Any advice on Sixt or driving in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, or France would be appreciated. I have not driven anywhere but the U.S. and Canada.

2. We're interested in restaurants authentic to the area or unique in some way. Good food, reasonably priced, popular with locals. We'll be in Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Munich, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Fussen, Zurich, Basel, Chambord, Bailly-Romainvilliers, and Paris. My wife will be hitting a milestone birthday the day we're in Chambord, so I'm willing to go more fancy for that meal. By the time we arrive in Europe, my sons will have been through two years of high school German. I've been studying French daily since August. However, we will not be fluent. Given all that, any restaurant recommendations? Would I need to make reservations?

3. We'll have one day in Parc Disneyland. What are the best counter service and table service restaurants? In WDW, our favorites are the Cape May Cafe, Sci Fi Drive In, 50s Prime Time, and Garden Grill, if that helps with our theme park tastes. I've been collecting attraction recommendations from here for awhile, and it sounds like Must Sees are Space Mountain, Alice's Labyrinth, Phantom Manor, BTMRR, PotC, and the Dragon's Lair under the castle. Many others sound like fun, but should I promote any to Must Sees?

4. The specific sites we want to visit, so far, include the Mercedes-Benz Museum, Heidelberg Castle, Englischer Garten, Summer Bobsleds in Igls, Neuschwanstein Castle, Mt. Titlis, Chateau de Chambord, Notre Dame, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, and Parc Disneyland. I'm open to ideas for anywhere along our route, particularly in Salzburg. Are either of the Mozart Museums good?

Thank you for any help you can provide!

 

[peep]

Wow, you're certainly packing everything in!

1. I don't drive so I'm not much use here, just make sure you read up on the local rules and regulations. If memory serves it's fairly similar to the US (I'm assuming that's where you're from). The hire car company should have all the extra bits and pieces already in the car for you for some of the road rules in Europe (high viz jackets among other things).

2. Out of the list you've provided I've only been to Paris and I tend to just wander and try to find something not too touristy. Regarding the language barrier you might not have any issues, judging from how long you've been studying French you probably know all the basics on ordering, anything more than the basics the staff will probably be happy that you've at least tried. In the cities most tend to have a decent grasp on the English language, those in rural areas might not be as knowledgeable but will try their best if you throw lots of pleasantries their way.

3. The best restaurant at Disney is Walts (on Main Street) which may need a reservation (just go to guest services in Town Hall on Main Street in the morning). However due to your limited time be advised it will take a large chunk of time out of your day. Agrabah Café (Adventureland) and Central Plaza Gardens (Main Street) are also great and have a fantastic atmosphere. They're both buffet restaurants and cater to all tastes but quality does tend to differ. If you like Steak there is also a steak restaurant (may need reservation in a similar way to Walts) in Frontierland but unfortunately I can't tell you what that's like as it's still on my to do list!

In addition to the rides it's always fun to discover the caves in Adventureland. Also don't miss out on Disney Dreams, it's one of the best Disney shows.

4. Louvre is huge so it might be a good idea to look on their website as to what artists are in what part of the building etc and sort of plan it out. Someone told me you can get some sort of pass which allows you to come and go over a couple of days as apparently it's good to break it up as it can be challenging to do as much as possible in one day. If you can I'd try and visit Palace of Versailles. It's beautiful.

I'm planning on visiting Neuschwanstein castle in September so if you have any tips after you go I'd appreciate that!

If you want me to elaborate on anything just ask, I'm always happy to help

 

[|Q|]

1. We're flying into Stuttgart, renting a car through Sixt, and flying back home from Paris. Any advice on Sixt or driving in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, or France would be appreciated. I have not driven anywhere but the U.S. and Canada.

You should check out highways admission rules for each country, cause they are very different from each other. In Germany they are totally free, in France (for what I remember) there are barriers and each time you encounter one of them you need to pay a toll, while in Switzerland you need an annual toll sticker (for about 30 euros, wikipedia says), while I on't know anything about Austria.

 

[Swissmiss]

Hopefully you made a typo and your trip is 19 days, not 9! Honestly, if you didn't, you should cut out about half of the places you want to see, otherwise you won't really get to see much of any of these places because by the time you arrive, you'll need to be on your way to somewhere else. Austria, like Switzerland, requires a toll sticker. In both countries you are stopped at the border to purchase it if one is not already on the car. Pay attention to speed limits posted as you enter a country, as after that point speed limits are not posted as much as in the US. Also beware of the use of speed radar cameras, particularly in Switzerland. You should count on any Saturday driving time to be longer than you expect, as that is the most common day of the week for departure or return from vacation.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Europe?

- Get tetanus shots
- Bring beads and mirrors for the natives
- Drink only bottled water
- Avoid eyecontact
- Learn the local languages, or get an interpreter (now those beads come in handy!)

 

[GenerationX]

If you want me to elaborate on anything just ask, I'm always happy to help

Thanks for the tips, peep! I'll have to check with Sixt to see what comes with the car. I think I need a warning triangle and a breathalyzer kit, too. I like the fact that Agrabah and Central Plaza are buffets - with our compressed time frame it gives us the flexibility to take our time or eat quickly, if necessary. They sound good. Where's the best spot to watch Dreams? I'll have to do more digging into the breakdown of the Louvre, again because we don't want to miss seeing some paintings. I'll have a full trip report here after we get back, so I'll have Neuschwanstein pics and tips!

You should check out highways admission rules for each country, cause they are very different from each other. In Germany they are totally free, in France (for what I remember) there are barriers and each time you encounter one of them you need to pay a toll, while in Switzerland you need an annual toll sticker (for about 30 euros, wikipedia says), while I don't know anything about Austria.

Thanks, |Q|! I'll try to order the toll sticker ahead of time and pack it.

Hopefully you made a typo and your trip is 19 days, not 9! Honestly, if you didn't, you should cut out about half of the places you want to see, otherwise you won't really get to see much of any of these places because by the time you arrive, you'll need to be on your way to somewhere else. Austria, like Switzerland, requires a toll sticker. In both countries you are stopped at the border to purchase it if one is not already on the car. Pay attention to speed limits posted as you enter a country, as after that point speed limits are not posted as much as in the US. Also beware of the use of speed radar cameras, particularly in Switzerland. You should count on any Saturday driving time to be longer than you expect, as that is the most common day of the week for departure or return from vacation.

Great tips, Swissmiss! Believe me, I wish we had 19 days. I'm trying to limit the siteseeing to two big sites per day with quite a bit of drive time included. We'll need to stop for gas, and we're looking forward to going to local supermarkets, too, so we definitely won't hit all of the big sites en route. Thanks for the warning on speed limits and Saturday drive times, I'll incorporate those into our plan.

Europe?
- Get tetanus shots
- Bring beads and mirrors for the natives
- Drink only bottled water
- Avoid eyecontact
- Learn the local languages, or get an interpreter (now those beads come in handy!)

Oh, man, my drive times assumed the roads were paved! I'll have to go back and recalculate. Good thing you were here, TEL!

 

[GenerationX]

How does FP work at DLP? Is there a one hour return window, and you can't get another FP until the start of the return window or two hours have passed? What about returning after your return window - is that allowed?

How far in advance do I need to make dining reservations if we head to Central Plaza or Agrabah Cafe? We'll be there in late July, which I suspect is a busy time.

 

[Ralphlaw]

Europe?

- Get tetanus shots
- Bring beads and mirrors for the natives
- Drink only bottled water
- Avoid eyecontact
- Learn the local languages, or get an interpreter (now those beads come in handy!)

Also, no sudden movements. It makes them skiddish. Ply them with fire water. Don't take their picture--it captures their spirit. To impress them, refer to the great chief in Washington. I would also suggest you watch an old army training film: VD, The Souvenir You Can't Leave Behind. And if all else fails, don a cowboy hat, talk through your nose, and act like France or Germany would make an acceptable 51st state.

Yeah, that should all work, and I hope I haven't drawn the ire of the PC people in the crowd.

 

[peep]

How does FP work at DLP? Is there a one hour return window, and you can't get another FP until the start of the return window or two hours have passed? What about returning after your return window - is that allowed?

How far in advance do I need to make dining reservations if we head to Central Plaza or Agrabah Cafe? We'll be there in late July, which I suspect is a busy time.

Fastpass tends to be fairly strict in Paris, so once you get your ticket you must return within the time window your ticket states. You also can't get another ticket before the end time on the first pass. You'll probably want to try and use the system as much as possible considering when you're going.

To be honest, I've never had to reserve a spot for either restaurant and I've been on busy days. But if you want to be on the safe side just head to Town Hall in the first hour or so of being in the park and you should be able to pick any time slot you're after. Europeans don't tend to reserve far in advance, it's nothing like the crazy booking and reserving you have to do for WDW.

Dreams is possible to view from pretty much anywhere in the Central Plaza area, the only thing you have to watch out for is kids on their Dad's shoulders getting in your way. Sometimes if you stand fairly close and there's a strong wind you can get a little wet from the fountains. As it's busy you might want to try and grab a good spot near the front in the center (sometimes the further back you go the less you see of the archway projections). On busy days in the Summer they have been known to show it twice in one night, during the first performance the rides can get quieter, especially Pirates and Phantom.

 

[Swissmiss]

I thought I'd give you a heads up that since 1 January this year car headlights must be on during the day in Switzerland (or risk getting a fine). If the car you rent has not been adapted to have the headlights turn on and off automatically, don't forget to put them on yourself once you have crossed the border. Also, beware of radar cameras on Swiss freeways.

 

[GenerationX]

Thanks for the tip, Swissmiss! I'm still assembling my plan for the trip. If you have any recommendations for good restaurants in Zurich, I'd love to hear them.

 

[Raoul]

Watch your speeding while driving in France (and the Netherlands). There are many speed-camera's waiting to get a nice picture of you.
Also, just outside of Disneyland Paris there is now an speed-camera. This is installed on the way from the exit of the highway toward the parking entrance.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Watch out when driving in France and the Netherlands. There are many vulnerable French and Dutch people on the road who deserve to not get killed just because you felt like speeding.

Also, as you exit the highway into Disneyland be aware that from that point there are always children out and about, walking to and from parks and hotels and parking places. Keep your eyes off the speeding cameras and on them and the road.

 

[Lucky]

2. We're interested in restaurants authentic to the area or unique in some way. Good food, reasonably priced, popular with locals. We'll be in Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Munich, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Fussen, Zurich, Basel, Chambord, Bailly-Romainvilliers, and Paris. My wife will be hitting a milestone birthday the day we're in Chambord, so I'm willing to go more fancy for that meal. By the time we arrive in Europe, my sons will have been through two years of high school German. I've been studying French daily since August. However, we will not be fluent. Given all that, any restaurant recommendations? Would I need to make reservations?

3. We'll have one day in Parc Disneyland. What are the best counter service and table service restaurants? In WDW, our favorites are the Cape May Cafe, Sci Fi Drive In, 50s Prime Time, and Garden Grill, if that helps with our theme park tastes. I've been collecting attraction recommendations from here for awhile, and it sounds like Must Sees are Space Mountain, Alice's Labyrinth, Phantom Manor, BTMRR, PotC, and the Dragon's Lair under the castle. Many others sound like fun, but should I promote any to Must Sees?

4. The specific sites we want to visit, so far, include the Mercedes-Benz Museum, Heidelberg Castle, Englischer Garten, Summer Bobsleds in Igls, Neuschwanstein Castle, Mt. Titlis, Chateau de Chambord, Notre Dame, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, and Parc Disneyland. I'm open to ideas for anywhere along our route, particularly in Salzburg. Are either of the Mozart Museums good?

Thank you for any help you can provide!

I liked this restaurant in Heidelberg. They brew their own beer.

http://www.heidelberger-kulturbrauerei.de/en/

Check out the castle ruins at the top of the big hill in Heidelberg.

I would just walk around the older parts of Zurich near the river and pick a place with a menu that looks good. Everything including food tends to be very expensive there.

I didn't go to any restaurants in Salzburg. The Mozart Museums are worth doing if you're a classical music fan. They're relatively small and inexpensive as museums go. Salzburg is small enough you can walk from one to the other, and see several of the outdoor settings from The Sound of Music (they haven't changed much since then).

Heidelberg, Zurich and Salzburg are all beautiful, but Salzburg especially.

Munich is much larger than the others. The biggest concentration of interesting things to see is downtown near Marianplatz. I walked through the Englischer Gardens, but there was a lot of snow on the ground when I went. Supposedly in summer you might run across nude sunbathers there.

Hope this helps! Have a great trip!

 

[GenerationX]

Watch your speeding while driving in France (and the Netherlands). There are many speed-camera's waiting to get a nice picture of you. Also, just outside of Disneyland Paris there is now an speed-camera. This is installed on the way from the exit of the highway toward the parking entrance.

Good to know! Thanks, Raoul. I will watch my speed closely. Any other driving tips you might have are certainly welcome. I've downloaded pictures of signs from each country, and I'm trying to keep them all straight.

I liked this restaurant in Heidelberg. They brew their own beer.

http://www.heidelberger-kulturbrauerei.de/en/

Check out the castle ruins at the top of the big hill in Heidelberg.

I would just walk around the older parts of Zurich near the river and pick a place with a menu that looks good. Everything including food tends to be very expensive there.

I didn't go to any restaurants in Salzburg. The Mozart Museums are worth doing if you're a classical music fan. They're relatively small and inexpensive as museums go. Salzburg is small enough you can walk from one to the other, and see several of the outdoor settings from The Sound of Music (they haven't changed much since then).

Heidelberg, Zurich and Salzburg are all beautiful, but Salzburg especially.

Munich is much larger than the others. The biggest concentration of interesting things to see is downtown near Marianplatz. I walked through the Englischer Gardens, but there was a lot of snow on the ground when I went. Supposedly in summer you might run across nude sunbathers there.

Hope this helps! Have a great trip!

Wow, thank you for all of the tips and recommendations, Lucky! The Heidelberg restaurant looks great, and it is really close to one of our hotels. I've added it to my plan. We've heard about the castle ruins, and everyone in the family is up for touring them.

My wife has always wanted to see downtown Zurich. I found this cool website - car-parking.eu - and I'll just look up a parking garage in the old town area and plug it into our GPS.

With Salzburg, this again is almost all for my wife (I'm looking to help take the sting out of her 50th, while I will still be in my 40s ... barely). She's a big Mozart and Sound of Music fan. I like when things are close enough to walk, as it's cool to just walk around an unfamiliar place. I'll have to plan a little route for us that allows us to see both museums. We'll have "plenty" of time in Salzburg (half a day or so), which will hopefully be enough.

We heard that the "thing to do" in Munich is to rent bikes and ride them through the Englischer Garten. It looks like the south end of the park is near Marienplatz so we'll take a look. Thank you again for your help!

Watch out when driving in France and the Netherlands. There are many vulnerable French and Dutch people on the road who deserve to not get killed just because you felt like speeding.

Also, as you exit the highway into Disneyland be aware that from that point there are always children out and about, walking to and from parks and hotels and parking places. Keep your eyes off the speeding cameras and on them and the road.

This is going to take some getting used to. Here in the good ol' US of A, I read billboards, check the height of snow drifts, shave, eat lunch, watch the car in front of me's TV, etc. What I don't do is pay attention to the road or pedestrians, which, really, is what only n00b drivers and sissies do. But your impassioned plea for the innocent French, Dutch, and DLP-bound people has moved me. For those nine days (and those nine days ONLY), I will not drive like a maniac.

 

[Lucky]

Half a day is enough for Salzburg if you have everything planned and route mapped beforehand, and if you don't mind walking a lot without taking breaks. Guide books can help you find the Sound of Music sites.

 

[Ralphlaw]

Half a day is enough for Salzburg if you have everything planned and route mapped beforehand, and if you don't mind walking a lot without taking breaks. Guide books can help you find the Sound of Music sites.

There's actually quite a lot to do in Salzberg: the museums, a great market, a magnificently situated castle, churches, The Sound of Music tour, beautiful gardens, and the salt mine tour. It's also a very manageable city. In my opinion, if you're frantically driving around and need a break, some extended time in Salzberg can rejuvenate the weary traveler.

 

[Lucky]

There's actually quite a lot to do in Salzberg: the museums, a great market, a magnificently situated castle, churches, The Sound of Music tour, beautiful gardens, and the salt mine tour. It's also a very manageable city. In my opinion, if you're frantically driving around and need a break, some extended time in Salzberg can rejuvenate the weary traveler.

All of my touring in Europe is tacked onto business trips, and I usually just see what I can in a day or 1/2 day on foot. It would have been great to have more time in Salzburg, but the conference (and hotel my employer was paying for) was in another town, and I just took a day trip by train.

 

[Ralphlaw]

All of my touring in Europe is tacked onto business trips, and I usually just see what I can in a day or 1/2 day on foot. It would have been great to have more time in Salzburg, but the conference (and hotel my employer was paying for) was in another town, and I just took a day trip by train.

Better to have half a day in Salzberg than to have none. Even in a few hours, you can take away the flavor of the place. But I imagine you would agree that taking 3 or 4 days there, some day, would be great. My bucket list is full, and a few days in Salzberg is definitely in that bucket. Send me a note when you're ready. Our families could meet up.

 

[Bolna]

As others have said: With your itinerary you will spend a lot of time in the car and not so much time really touring the cities unless you drive at night.

I can offer some tips on Bavaria though as I live here.

For Munich I would recommend to eat at the Weißes Bräuhaus: http://www.weisses-brauhaus.de While popular with tourists, it is very authentic. It belongs to one of the biggest wheat beer breweries (some people I know consider this the best wheat beer from a larger brewery in Germany) and they have a lot of different beers on tap and even pair them with the different dishes. They have some very traditional food on the menu, but plenty less scary stuff as well (even I would not ever think of ordering the sweet-sour lung of veal!!!!!!! ). I recently dined there with some visitors and we all really enjoyed the evening. I would recommend booking a table though as it can get very crowded.

Sightseeing in Munich: There is a lot to do, it really depends on what you are interested in! Biking through the Englischer Garten is of course doable, but it really is nothing else than just a park, a nice one though. If you want to see a park, I would rather recommend to visit the Olympic Park from the 1972 games. If the weather is good, visit the television tower there, you might have a spectacular view of the city and the Alps behind it! The architecture of the buildings there is quite interesting and it is a nice park with a lake. http://www.olympiapark.de/en/home/tours-sightseeing/sightseeing/

If you are interested in cars, there is a BMW museum (run by the company) just next to the Olympic park. And the wonderful science museum (called Deutsches Museum) has a great exhibit on cars - it is now located in a satellite, away from the old museum.http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/verkehrszentrum/information/

There are also two castles to look at in Munich that used to be owned by the Bavarian kings, the city palace and the country house.

Besides that, walking around the inner city area can be interesting, lots of shops, a wonderful food market (Viktualienmarkt). If you want to see quirky shops and nice cafes, I would recommend the area around the Gärtnerplatz.

I went to university in Munich, so I know it quite well! Oh - and that reminds me: If you bike through the Englischer Garten, make sure to have a look at the university, it is just outside and it as well as the Ludwigstraße are some very impressive examples of neo-renesaince style. Also, inside the university's main building there is a small, but sweet memorial to the Weiße Rose (White Rose) a students' group who were working against Hitler.

If you go to Füssen, I guess it is for Neuschwanstein. Here my only tip is to consider if you really want to see the castle from the inside. Since it was never finished there is not that much to see and you get to walk through on a guided tour in a very large group. We much preferred our tour of Hohenschwangau which is the second castle on that spot - or more the real one, the one that was actually in use. Both of them are not old structures however, they were both built in the 19th century. Hohenschwangau is interesting as it does feel like the imagineers might have taken the outside of Neuschwanstein as inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Anaheim, but the inside decorations were certainly much more inspired by Hohenschwangau!! Also, it is less of a cattle event there. However, what you chose to do, make sure to book your ticket ahead of time!!! The lines there can be really bad for tickets!!