I'll be in England on business this spring. When I'm done with the speaking tour, both boys and Julie will join me somewhere, and I'd love to hear your advice on a good meeting place.

We want to rent a vehicle and tour the various flavors of the Alps, as well as some historical sites, for about 9 days. So the meeting place should be:

1) Easy for me to get to from London.

2) Easy for them to get to from the US.

3) Well-suited to rent a car.

4) Central to the Alps.

I was thinking Zurich, Strasbourg, Frankfurt, Milano, or maybe even Rome. Any suggestions? We'd return the vehicle to the same place.

If you're interested in history and scenery, where would you land and how would you spend the 9 days? Will I have to make special arrangements to take the rental vehicle across borders?

Thanks!

David, I would consider launching from Munich.

Been there, so it would be familiar.

Will it be a problem to rent one car for multiple countries?

I can't say for sure, but with an international drivers license, and considering the consolidation of the European Union, I wouldn't imagine there would be a problem driving a rental all around the EU. I know you can do it with motorcycles.

If somebody with actual experience doesn't chime in by tomorrow, I'll ask my in-laws in Germany.

BTW, Munich is my very favorite city in Europe. Loads of great stuff to do in and around the city and it's very convenient to most of the really great stuff in the Alps. Good luck with your choice.

If spring, I would start South of the Alps, Milan or Rome. Car rental used in several countries no problem, specially in a all Euro zone.

Good point on the weather, Paul. I've lived in Savannah so long I've forgotten that it snows in other parts of the world.

Milano would be my choice. I would probably not stay there though, preferring to drive up to Lugano if the Alps are the option; or take a train down to Firenze and walk around there for a couple of days before renting a car and touring the Tuscan countryside, which might be more temperate than the mountains, depending on what part of Spring you're talking.

In 9 days you could sample all of the flavors of the Alps; Austrian, German, French, Italian and Swiss; but would be a fair amount of driving each day and many of the scenic passes are closed until April, May or June.

As far as renting a car, all of the EU is open to you. There may be restrictions on eastbound travel, for example in Italy you might be restricted from visiting Slovenia. Also, in places in Europe, the legal limit for blood alcohol is 0.00%, something best you're aware of before that third glass of wine.

I've only been to Italy, so I won't attempt to answer your whole question, but since there are several votes for Milano I will say that we enjoyed our time there, though it was short. The location is certainly fine for you. You have the Alps, Tuscany, the Cinque Terre all your finger tips from Milano. In Milano we very much enjoyed the Castello Sforzesco. The Duomo was our first, so we were in awe of it, but I think it is a pretty good one.

It was the only hotel we were truly comfortable in during our entire Italian stay, and a bargain at Italian rates:



Modern, fine walnut paneling throughout, and thoroughly functional conveniences... all lighting and shutters controlled from the bed, for instance. One of the few hotel breakfasts that we didn't wish we had skipped for a nice cafe down the street. Nice walk to the Castello, the Duomo and the Park. If you are looking for a room in an ancient walled medieval city, this is not it. More like a good, older, U.S. neighborhood.

Here is our Italy thread with gallery links:

Italy

If you want a brief tour and our impressions.

Driving in multiple countries isn't a big deal (and I haven't heard of an international drivers license since the 80's. I've shown my Utah license in more countries and to more LEO's than I want to admit, but suffice to say, it's no biggie), but often times you need different types of tags (read: taxes or pre-paid tolls) for driving on their highways. Eg. Austria. However, that's easy. Any gas station along the Autobahn between Munich and the Austrian border will sell them and know all about them. I would imagine it's the same for every other country with similar laws. The rental car company just wants/needs to know what countries you'll be in - similarly to how they ask here what states you'll be in.

I know I've said it before on this board (perhaps not to you) but my favorite city in Europe is Zagreb (and this coming from someone with a degree in German.) I REALLY like Croatia. (Just never buy Mexican food there.) I wish I'd been able to make it out to Dubrovnik. Zagreb is definitely within driving distance of a trip like that - especially Munich. Dubrovnik... well, maybe not so much. I still really want to go some day.

I seem to remember you've got a zumo, so if you're driving, get the Euro maps. I LOVED my 775t over there. You can buy a european map sd card off ebay (assuming you're not going to be over there frequently) and then hawk it again on ebay for roughly what you paid for it. You can of course just buy/download the maps as well, but you can't re-sell those.

The road between Innsbruck and Füssen is really quite nice and littered with scenery and castles. (If you don't know what/where Füssen is, it's roughly on the border and very close to Neuschwanstein/Hohenschwangau and not far from Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Zugspitze. Unfortunately, the last time I drove by it (November), it was night time. Innsbruck is a VERY nice city too, but as with most of Austria, it takes a long time to understand the accent (and if you move 30km down the road, it's a different accent.)

I can recommend the Hotel Penz in Innsbruck if you're staying there at all. The airport Mövenpick wasn't bad in Munich, but it was just an airport hotel - nothing you'd want to use as a "base".

With that said, I actually really like London too. Just because you're there for work doesn't mean you should immediately pass on that...

Anyway, just my 2(4?)¢.

Glad to see you're so flexible on the route, that really makes it easy to take advantage of savings.

On the day your family arrives you'll be well adjusted to the timezone -- they'll be a wreck. If you rent a car and start driving they'll fall asleep and delay their adjustment. I'd recommend picking an origin city with great public transport and sights they'll enjoy that first day and stay there. In my limited experience, both Munich and Milan would fit your bill.

Car rental rates can vary by rental origin, and Italy has been higher than Germany for me. Driving in the Alps is amazing and a lot of fun, but paying for a rental car to sit in a garage while you tour a big city tacks on needless expense. I really, really, really enjoyed the drive from Munich to Innsbruck. Just beautiful to see the Alps from that side. Tell the rental company up front where you'll be going, they'll put it on your approved list or tell you to rent elsewhere. Plenty of places sell the "vignette" for driving major Austrian motorways, buy it and don't risk the ticket if caught.

Alps are weather catchers, so if it's rainy on one side then it's normally clear on the other. Might keep your trip really flexible and be ready to dodge the weather.

I'd consider an open-jaw trip where you fly out from another airport than you arrived. Yes, your car rental becomes one-way and the flights may be higher, but it keeps you from HAVING to make a loop or backtracking, and seeing a repeat-city instead of a new one. Last trip I should have done this, rental would have been same but flights would have been $150 USD cheaper! Arrrgh.

Travel guru Rick Steves has a great map for $6 USD called Germany, Austria & Switzerland Planning Map that's worth every penny. I made photocopies of various sections, then highlighted routes we wanted to take -- and kept a couple unmarked so locals could highlight side trips for us too. If you see a summer luge (sommerrodelbahn) then do it!

Some cities have bicycle tour guides and while I've never taken one, it sure looks appealing after a couple days of walking. Hit your local library for the Fodor's and the Lonely Planet series of guide books. Let the family peruse and pick what appeals to them, might surprise you. Given 9 days I think you'll adequately cover two main cities and one small one without feeling rushed.

Random thoughts -- passports; shots up to date, immunized against HepA (food borne pathogen); shoes broken in; legs used to walking several hours a day; key phrases in local languages memorized; backpacks (daypack, not expedition) for everyone to carry jackets, snacks, water etc.