What are the most top tier places to see in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg?

>>2803093 (OP)
>top tier places to see
what are you interest in?
>in Germany,
literally has (almost) anything you could want to see
you need to specify a bit more
even VERY specific thing like farm houses to visit build from 1650 to 1700 or night clubs in industrial buildings will yield a looong list
>Austria, Switzerland,
again very wide range of things to see
>and Luxembourg?
Luxembourg only has Luxembourg city, which is nice for a weekend (not extended, 2 days are enough) and the region around Echternach for hiking
otherwise it's boring

Salzburg and nearby Eagles Nest

>>2803093 (OP)
Nuremberg is great, Köln is amazing. Aachen cathedral is cool.

>>2803093 (OP)
I live in Switzerland and love many things about the place, but it’s hard to offer specific recommendations without more information about the kinds of things you like and would like to see. And although there is much that is wonderful about this country, I’ve always felt that it’s a little overrated as a tourist destination—it’s clean and safe and in many places beautiful, and it has the best transit system in Europe by light years, but it’s also very, very expensive, arguably somewhat boring, and although our mountains are pretty and accessible, we haven’t got much in the way of true wilderness. Our natural-beauty areas are too landscaped and developed for a lot of /out/ types, even if we can offer scenic hikes and nice lake views. And our neighbors all have better food than we do, apart from Germany, which is at least as bad but costs half as much, and Austria, which is also not a gourmet destination but has good cafés.

Among Swiss cities, Luzern and Lausanne (not the same place!), are arguably our heaviest hitters for tourism. Much nicer for a visitor than, for example, Zürich or Geneva. Luzern is locally regarded as overtouristed, but you probably won’t notice. Good for boat trips on the big lake, walking around a cute little old city, and an easy trip up a mointain in a gondola. Lausanne is great for lakefront. The little cities of Ticino, the one Italian-majority canton, are also really nice, with either Lugano or Locarno having a lot to offer.

When it comes to alpine destinations, it depends on the season and personal preferences. The Lauterbrunnen area in the Bernese Oberland is beloved by tourists, for good reason (it is otherworldly in its natural beauty), but locals are jaded and unfriendly, and it’s incredibly touristy. My favorite mountain towns are in canton Bern and Canton Graubünden, but which are best depends on what you want to do.

If this is a serious inquiry I am happy to share additional thoughts.

>>2803476
I'll stay a week in Bern this august and i'll buy the 4 days swiss pass, i was thinking of seeing Thun, Interlaken, Sion, Lausanne, Friburg, other places i should see (already been in Zurch and Luzern)? I like small towns and castles.

>>2803094
>>in Germany,
>literally has (almost) anything you could want to see
>you need to specify a bit more
jack of all trades but master of none, eh?

>>2803093 (OP)
Europa Park and Rulantica are better than any theme park in America

>>2803476
I'm not OP, but I'll be visiting Bern soon. Can you recommend any places within about 45 minutes of Bern for sightseeing and/or a bit of light hiking? I'll be vising Interlaken & Grindelwald after Bern, so I don't need to go that far while in Bern.

>>2803522
Thun is very nice, with a quality castle, and Lake Thun in general is great for historic places—there are a bunch of thousand-year-old churches, some with castle ruins, all around the lakeside. Highlights are Schloss Spiez in Spiez and the castle at Oberhofen am Thunersee, which has ancient roots but is in its modern preserved/restored form mostly a 19th-century folly. Still very impressive. You can get around the lake to all of the above by ferryboat.

As you’ll be in Thun and you’re interested in Interlaken (which is much more popular among foreigners than Swiss people, but it’s a decent, comparatively cheap destination for outdoor sports and an attractive setting), you might like to go ahead and visit Lauterbrunnen, which is very close and very picturesque, no matter how much I badmouthed it above. Another pretty option is Wengen.

The fortified basilica above Sion is worth the walk up the hill. There’s a smaller castle ruin in town as well.

Not far from Lausanne, the Chateau de Chillon is among Switzerland’s finest castles.

>>2803556
>jack of all trades but master of none, eh?
incredible ironic how you posted a pic of Solingen with this

which is has beautiful spots like
>the castle
>Müngstener Brücke
>parts of the old town
>multiple very good museums (like the LVR or Klingenmuseum)

but even more importantly
many of the worlds best knife and tool manufacturers are there
everything from shaving to kitchen / professional knives
some even have tours through the factory
and most have factory "outlets" / shops where you can get B ware or in general just all of their products

if this were /ck/ I'd elaborate on all the manufacturers (or if you're interested)
but in any way, Solingen is definitely
>master of knives

>>2803610
See above and check out Thun. It’s under half an hour from Bern.

>>2803645
thanks

>>2803522
Fribourg is great. Sion is totally worth it and then there's the underrated region around lake Biel, Murten and Neuchatel (seriously there are plenty of small towns/villages with intact Middle Ages town centers, castles etc). As a bonus you get great wine.

>>2803633
>>2803682
Thanks frens

>>2803094
your mum is boring

>>2803637
>>master of knives
like pic related, eh?

Fucking, Austria

>>2803791
They legally changed it to the completely inoffensive and obviously non-comical Fugging a few years ago, silly.

>>2803314
> Köln is amazing.
Satire?

>>2803920
what's the problem with cologne?
other than that it has (so) many ugly parts it's a really cool city
so many bars/brauhäuser, clubs, big art scene and amazing museums (in cologne and vicinity), big music scene, lots of events every day, plenty of roman stuff, well plenty of historic stuff from every period of the last 2000years, great restaurants, 1h (or less) by train to Aachen, Bonn, Düsseldorf etc.

and most importantly for /trv/ tourism, it's a young city, lots of students, and people are generally very open / social
with Berlin, the easiest city to meet other travelers / locals and go out for a beer together

if you just want to see well preserved historic towns from the last 300y
it's probably the wrong city though

>t. grew up in Cologne

>>2803926
>what's the problem with cologne?
The city centre is full of beggars, easily double the amount you see in cities such as Brussels. Crazy stuff.

>>2803093 (OP)
>What are the most top tier places to see in Germany
I can't believe Trier has not yet been mentioned, top-tier city for a weekend trip.

>>2803093 (OP)
Luxembourg really isn't that great unless you want to go hiking or cycling in the northern half. There's some pretty good cycling infrastructure everywhere and a few cool hiking trails.
Luxembourg-Ville is something you can spend a day in and once you've seen the upper and lower towns, you're pretty much good. Most of the city is just mid-rise office towers and residential areas without much local life.
Esch sucks. Don't go there.
>t. frontalier

>>2803948
>The city centre is full of beggars
did it got worse?
When I lived there it there it only was bad in some spots

but it's still a cool city nonetheless

>Trier has not yet been mentioned, top-tier city for a weekend trip.
and if you enjoy roman stuff, Xanthen is worth mentioning as well