driving from Heidelberg to switzerland

i AM GOonig to have 3 Days to site seewith my wife we are going to be driving from heidelberg to switzerland (LAKE CONSTANCE) Can someone give ussites or routes to take I her the rhine valley is great but should we drive to Ladau? or stop and take the ferry accross? what sites are one of a kind I Hhear the falls at the lake are great also any good hotels recommendations??? we are traveling MARCH 8TH so we know it si going to be cold....can we drive intothe alps.???

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The fastest way there would be to take the autobahns, A5 south from Heidelberg to near Karlsruhe, then A8 east to near Stuttgart, and then the A81 south which will take you near the lake.

If you want a pleasant drive, take Hwy 37 (which will become 27)SE along the Neckar River from Heidelberg to Heilbronn. There are many castles, vineyards, and pleasant towns on the way (Bad Wimpfen is nice). Then by Heilbronn you can get on the A81 heading south.

If you would like to visit a very pleasant old college town that we like better than Heidelberg, stop in Tuebingen (south of Stuttgart) with its hilly cobblestone streets. A little south of there is a great castle, Burg Hohenzollern- Hechingen (www.burg-hohenzollern.com) which is the family seat of the influential Hohenzollern family. It shouldn%26#39;t be missed, a great fairytale-like castle.

Personally, I would stay on the German side of the Bodensee (Lake Constance). You have a nice view across the lake of the Alps which are only in Switzerland or Austria by the lake, whereas the view toward Germany isn%26#39;t that good. The loveliest town on the lake is Meersburg, where I would stay, and also has Germany%26#39;s oldest castle. You can easily drive into the Alps in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland from the Bodensee.

Some useful websites for the Bodensee and nearby parts of Germany:

Bodensee www.bodensee-tourismus.com

Swabian Alb (low limestone mountains with lots of caves and castles) www.schwaebischealb.de

Upper Swabia (numerous beautiful Baroque churches, monasteries and palaces) www.oberschwaben-tourismus.de and the Baroque Road- www.barockstrasse.org

State of Baden-Wuerttemberg www.tourismus-bw.de and for the castles, palaces, monasteries and gardens operated by them- www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de If it%26#39;s a warm day and clear, a visit to Hohentweiel, Germany%26#39;s largest castle (fortress) ruins by Singen would be nice, which is in the website.

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%26gt; take I her the rhine valley is great

Not the part from Heidelberg to Basel (Switzerland). Here the Rhine valley is quite wide (40-60 km). Strictly seen in geological terms it%26#39;s not a valley but a depression. The most interesting part of the Rhine is north-west of Heidelberg between Bingen and Koblenz.

Nice is the Neckar valley from Heidelberg to Heilbronn as marcopolko already suggested.

Another option would be to drive down from Heidelberg to Baden-Baden and from there the Black Forest High Road (federal road B 500) towards Lake Constance.

http://www.baden-baden.de

http://www.blackforest-tourism.de

%26gt; but should we drive to Ladau?

There are quite some nice towns around Lake Constance. Lindau is one option

http://web20.icserver3.de/index.php?sid=1027

%26gt; or stop and take the ferry accross?

car ferries run between Friedrichshafen to Romanshorn and Meersburg to Konstanz.

http://www.friedrichshafen.ws

http://www.meersburg.de

http://www.konstanz.de

%26gt; Hhear the falls at the lake are great

http://www.rhinefalls.com/

are not far from Lake Constance. At March not the most impressive. They are the largest falls in Europe, but pretty small e.g. compared to the Niagara Falls.

%26gt; traveling MARCH 8TH so we know it si going to be cold....

Not necessarily. Lake Constance area is one the warmest regions in Germany. Early Spring is quite possible.

%26gt; can we drive intothe alps.???

In the Alps is still winter. At least in the higher (= more interesting) altitudes. Something you and your car would have to be prepared for. And the Alps will add of course further travel time. You can of course spent 3 days on the road if this is what you%26#39;re looking for.

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