How to Spend 16 Days in Switzerland and Germany

My boyfriend and I recently took a (much needed) vacation to Switzerland and Germany. I always struggle with deciding where to take an international trip since there are so many places I have never been, and there are such beautiful and different places to visit. We knew we wanted to do a trip that was more city-heavy since our last trip was to the beaches of Thailand. His parents were going to Oktoberfest,and that was our sign to do a European vacation to Germany. We also wanted to go to Switzerland because we heard it was extremely beautiful, but only went to a few cities there since Switzerland is so expensive. 

Below I’ve listed out our trip itinerary with the big things we did each of the days. I’ve included more in-depth itineraries of each of the cities within my blog linked here. This trip really had something for everybody - especially if you enjoy beer.

Day 1 - Zurich (arrived in the afternoon) 

• Food:  authentic swiss food at Zeughauskeller

• Explore the Lindenhof shopping area 

• If you have time, go to the Lindt Chocolate museum or pick up some swiss chocolate from “The Coop” which is what we did 

• Bars: Widder Bar for a cozy night out 

Day 2 - Zurich (full day) 

• Get coffee: Le Cafe Vi Cafe 

• Go to the Lindenhof Hill to enjoy your coffee and viewpoint of the city

• Explore the Old Town Zurich and its shops 

• Quick Lunch at K Kiosk Bellevue 

• Take a ferry around Lake Zurich 

• Dinner at the Raclette Factory to try Raclette! 

• Bar hopping at: 

  • Jules Verne Panorama Bar

  • Drinks (and fries) at Hotel Bourbon 

  • Old Crow (my favorite) 

Day 3 - Lucerne (arrived at noon) 

• Lunch at Wirtshaus Bar Krienbruggli 

• Explored the Riverfront and walked across Chapel Bridge

• Drinks alongside the Riverfront

• Dinner and a traditional swiss show at Stadtkeller 

Day 4 - Lucerne (full day) 

• Breakfast at Mill’Feuille

• Climbed the Musegg tower walls

• Took the tram up to Hotel Chateau Gutsch and had coffee at the cozy upstairs bar

• Walked around Lake Lucerne

• See The Lion Monument 

Day 5 - Lucerne (full day)

• Get coffee at Cafe Tacuba (our favorite coffee shop in Lucerne)

• Take a boat ride across Lake Lucerne to get to the Cogwheel train at the bottom of Mt. Pilatus 

• Go up the Cogwheel train to get to Mt.Pilatus to enjoy the views

• Go down the mountain by Gondola 

• Drinks at Monopol 

Day 6 - Heidelberg (arrival at noon)

• Walk around old town to get to know Heidelberg 

• Have authentic German food at Weinstube

• Get drinks at Hemingway’s - an bar that Ernest Hemingway would frequent in Heidelberg

• Watch the sunset over the Neckar river 

Day 7 - Heidelberg (full day) 

• Start the day off getting coffee from Coffee Nerd 

• Spend the morning hiking Philosopher's Walk 

• Go up to the Heidelberg Castle and explore the grounds + take a tour 

• Eat lunch at Brauhaus Vetter

• Go for a river sunset cruise 

• Go for drinks and apps at:

  • Wine’S

  • Palmbrau Gasse

Day 8 - Koln (arrives in the afternoon) 

• Drinks and Food at Fruh Am Dom

• Walk around Old Town 

• Go to the Cologne Cathedral

• Go for a river cruise to see the city from the water 

• Kolsch at Augustiner

• Kolsch at Peter’s Brauhaus 

Day 9 - Koln (full day)

• Start your day off with breakfast and coffee from LINT No 7

• Go to the love locks bridge and place your own lock

• Go shopping in the Belgisches Viertel Neighborhood

• Have lunch at Gilden im Zims for some authentic German Food 

• Walk alongside the River to the Rheinauhafen Neighborhood

Day 10 - Munich (arrive in the afternoon/evening)

• Get dinner/drinks at Hofbrauhaus 

• See the St.Peter’s Cathedral at night

Day 11 - Oktoberfest

• Go when Oktoberfest opens and experience the different beer tents

• We went to the following: 

  • Hacker Pschoer

  • Augustiner

  • Paulaner

Day 12 - Fussen and Neuschwanstein Castle

• Take the early train to get to Neuschwanstein before it gets touristy

• Hike up the mountain to get to the castle and make sure you see the outlook point and the bridge view 

• Explore the town of Fussen 

Day 13 - Munich (full day) 

• Watch the Glockenspiel show at Marienplatz

• Head to the BMW museum 

• Go explore the English Gardens

• Lunch at Seehaus 

• Go shopping in Old Town 

Day 14 - Berlin (arrive in the afternoon) 

• Go to Brandenburg Gate + walk around the area and see the Holocaust Memorial and the Reichstag Building

• Walk around Humboldt University Campus 

• Go to the Checkpoint Charlie 

• Go to the Berlin Symphony 

Day 15 - Berlin 

• Coffee and Breakfast at BagCo Backwaren 

• Head to the East Side Gallery

• Go to the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood for shopping

• Stop by Tossakan for lunch 

• Drinks at Cafe Anna Blume

• Go to drinks at Schwarzes Cafe

• Late night pizza at Romero 

Day 16 - Berlin

• Coffee at The Barn 

• Go shopping in the Scheunenviertel Neighborhood

• Walk through City Center and take a picture with the TV Tower 

• Head back to the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood for more shopping 

• Go to Prater Garten for a beer 

• Try Zaddy’s for Doner Kebab

• Go out for drinks at Monkey Bar