Slovakiap435

Hungaryp295

Polandp355

Czech Republicp95

Sloveniap481

Austriap40

Switzerlandp521

Germanyp159

CentralEurope

THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY

Ryan Ver Berkmoes, Mark Baker, Kerry Christiani, Steve Fallon,

Tim Richards, Andrea Schulte-Peevers, Luke Waterson

Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

Welcome to Central Europe . . . . . . . . . .6

Central Europe Map . . . . . .8

14 Top Experiences . . . . . .10

Need to Know . . . . . . . . . .18

If You Like . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Month by Month . . . . . . . 24

Itineraries . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Countries at a Glance . . 35

AUSTRIA . . . . . . . . . . 40Vienna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44The Danube Valley . . . . . 59Krems an der Donau . . . . . 59Drnstein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Melk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Linz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61The South . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Graz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Klagenfurt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Salzburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Around Salzburg . . . . . . . 72Schloss Hellbrunn . . . . . . . 72Werfen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Salzkammergut . . . . . . . 73

Bad Ischl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Hallstatt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Wolfgangsee . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Northern Salzkammergut . . . . . . . . . 76Tirol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Innsbruck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Mayrhofen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Kitzbhel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82St Anton am Arlberg . . . . . 84Lienz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Hohe Tauern National Park . . . . . . . . . . . 85Vorarlberg . . . . . . . . . . . . 86Bregenz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86Understand Austria . . . . 87

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Contents

History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Arts & Architecture . . . . . . 88Food & Drink . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Survival Guide . . . . . . . . . 89Directory AZ . . . . . . . . . . . 89Getting There & Away . . . . 92Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . 93

CZECH REPUBLIC . . 95Prague . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Around Prague . . . . . . . 122Karltejn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122Konopit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Kutn Hora . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Terezn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Bohemia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Karlovy Vary . . . . . . . . . . . 126Loket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Plze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130esk Budjovice . . . . . . . 132esk Krumlov . . . . . . . . . 134Moravia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Brno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Olomouc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142Tel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Mikulov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Understand Czech Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152Environment . . . . . . . . . . . 153Food & Drink . . . . . . . . . . . 153Survival Guide . . . . . . . . 154Directory AZ . . . . . . . . . . 154Getting There & Away . . . 156Getting Around . . . . . . . . . 157

GERMANY . . . . . . . . 159Berlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161Around Berlin . . . . . . . . 184

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp . . . . 184Potsdam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Dresden & Saxony . . . . 186Dresden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Around Dresden . . . . . . . . 191Leipzig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192Weimar & Thuringia . . . 194Weimar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195Erfurt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197Saxony-Anhalt . . . . . . . . 199Magdeburg . . . . . . . . . . . . 199Dessau-Rosslau . . . . . . . .200Lutherstadt Wittenberg . 201Harz Mountains . . . . . . . . 202Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania . . . 203Schwerin . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204Wismar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205Rostock & Warnemnde . . . . . . . . . . .206Stralsund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207Bavaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209Munich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209Bavarian Alps . . . . . . . . . .220Romantic Road . . . . . . . . . 223Fssen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224Augsburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225Rothenburg ob der Tauber . . . . . . . . . . 226Wrzburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226Nuremberg . . . . . . . . . . . . 227Bamberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230Regensburg . . . . . . . . . . . . 231Stuttgart & the Black Forest . . . . . . 232Stuttgart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232Tbingen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236Heidelberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236Baden-Baden . . . . . . . . . . 238Black Forest . . . . . . . . . . . 239Freiburg im Breisgau . . . . 242

Lake Constance . . . . . . 243Constance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244Meersburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245Lindau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245Rhineland-Palatinate . . 245Romantic Rhine . . . . . . . . 246Moselle Valley . . . . . . . . . . 247Trier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248Hesse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249Frankfurt-am-Main . . . . . . 249North Rhine- Westphalia . . . . . . . . . . . 255Cologne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255Dsseldorf . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259Aachen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .260Lower Saxony . . . . . . . . 262Hanover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262Around Hanover . . . . . . . .264Bremen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267Hamburg . . . . . . . . . . . . 268Schleswig-Holstein . . . 275Lbeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275North Frisian Islands . . 276Sylt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276Understand Germany . . 278History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278Germany Today . . . . . . . . .280Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280Food & Drink . . . . . . . . . . . 281Survival Guide . . . . . . . . 282Directory AZ . . . . . . . . . . 282Getting There & Away . . . 285Getting Around . . . . . . . . .286

HUNGARY . . . . . . . . 295Budapest . . . . . . . . . . . . 297The Danube Bend . . . . . 316Szentendre . . . . . . . . . . . . 316Vc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318Visegrd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319Esztergom . . . . . . . . . . . . .320

Northwestern Hungary 321Gyr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321Sopron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323Lake Balaton . . . . . . . . . . . 325South Central Hungary 328Pcs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329Southeastern Hungary 332Kecskemt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333Szeged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335Northeastern Hungary 338Eger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339Tokaj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342Debrecen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343Understand Hungary . . 345History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .346Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347Environment . . . . . . . . . . .348Food & Drink . . . . . . . . . . .348Survival Guide . . . . . . . . 349Directory AZ . . . . . . . . . .349Getting There & Away . . . 352Getting Around . . . . . . . . . 353

POLAND . . . . . . . . . . 355Warsaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358Mazovia & Podlasie . . . 371d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371

Maopolska . . . . . . . . . . 374Krakw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374Lublin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387Kozwka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391Zamo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391Carpathian Mountains . 393Zakopane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393Tatra Mountains . . . . . . . . 395Dunajec Gorge . . . . . . . . . 397Przemyl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397Silesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398Wrocaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .398Sudeten Mountains . . . . .403Wielkopolska . . . . . . . . .404Pozna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .404Pomerania . . . . . . . . . . . 408Gdask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .408Around Gdask . . . . . . . . . 415Toru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416Szczecin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .420Warmia & Masuria . . . . 421Elblg-Ostrda Canal . . . . 421Frombork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422Olsztyn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422Great Masurian Lakes . . . 424Understand Poland . . . 424History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .426

Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .426Environment . . . . . . . . . . . 427Food & Drink . . . . . . . . . . .428Survival Guide . . . . . . . . 428Directory AZ . . . . . . . . . .428Getting There & Away . . . 432Getting Around . . . . . . . . . 433

SLOVAKIA . . . . . . . . 435Bratislava . . . . . . . . . . . . 438Around Bratislava . . . . . 447West Slovakia . . . . . . . . 447Trenn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447Central Slovakia . . . . . . 449ilina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .449Around ilina . . . . . . . . . . .450Mal Fatra National Park . . . . . . . . . . 451Bansk Bystrica & Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454Tatra Mountains . . . . . . 455Poprad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455High Tatras . . . . . . . . . . . . 456Bel Tatras . . . . . . . . . . . . .462East Slovakia . . . . . . . . . 463Kemarok . . . . . . . . . . . . . .463Pieniny National Park . . .463Levoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .464

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Spisk Podhradie . . . . . .465Slovensk Raj & Around . 467Koice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .469Around Koice . . . . . . . . . 473Bardejov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474Bardejovsk Kpele . . . . . 475Understand Slovakia . . 475History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476Environment . . . . . . . . . . . 477Food & Drink . . . . . . . . . . . 477Survival Guide . . . . . . . . 478Directory AZ . . . . . . . . . . 478Getting There & Away . . . 479Getting Around . . . . . . . . .480

SLOVENIA . . . . . . . . 481Ljubljana . . . . . . . . . . . . 483Julian Alps . . . . . . . . . . . 495Lake Bled . . . . . . . . . . . . . .496Lake Bohinj . . . . . . . . . . . .500Kranjska Gora . . . . . . . . . .502Soa Valley . . . . . . . . . . . .503Karst & Coast . . . . . . . . 505Postojna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .505kocjan Caves . . . . . . . . .506Koper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

Piran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .508Portoro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512Eastern Slovenia . . . . . 512Maribor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513Ptuj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513Understand Slovenia . . 514History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515Environment . . . . . . . . . . . 516Food & Drink . . . . . . . . . . . 516Survival Guide . . . . . . . . 516Directory AZ . . . . . . . . . . 516Getting There & Away . . . 519Getting Around . . . . . . . . . 519

SWITZERLAND . . . . 521Geneva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523Lake Geneva Region . . . 532Nyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532Lausanne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532Montreux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534Gruyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535Valais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536Zermatt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537Bern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538Murten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542Neuchtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542

Central Switzerland & Bernese Oberland . . . . . 543Lucerne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543Interlaken . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545Jungfrau Region . . . . . . . . 547Zrich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550Northern Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . 556Basel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557Schaffhausen & the Rhine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559Appenzellerland . . . . . . . .560Ticino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560Locarno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .560Lugano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561Graubnden . . . . . . . . . . 563Flims-Laax . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563St Moritz . . . . . . . . . . . . . .564Understand Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . 566History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .566People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569Environment . . . . . . . . . . . 569Food & Drink . . . . . . . . . . . 570Survival Guide . . . . . . . . 571Directory AZ . . . . . . . . . . 571Getting There & Away . . . 574Getting Around . . . . . . . . . 575

Directory A-Z . . . . . . . . . 578

Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . 586

Language . . . . . . . . . . . . 592

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604

Map Legend . . . . . . . . . . 622

SURVIVAL GUIDE

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AUSTRIA . . . . . . . . . . .40VIENNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44THE DANUBE VALLEY . . . . 59Krems an der Donau . . . . . .59Drnstein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Melk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Linz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61THE SOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Graz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62Klagenfurt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64SALZBURG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65SALZKAMMERGUT . . . . . . . 73Bad Ischl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73Hallstatt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74Wolfgangsee . . . . . . . . . . . . .75Northern Salzkammergut . .76TIROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Innsbruck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76Kitzbhel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82St Anton am Arlberg . . . . . 84Lienz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Hohe Tauern National Park 85VORARLBERG . . . . . . . . . . . 86Bregenz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

CZECH REPUBLIC . . .95PRAGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Karltejn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122Kutn Hora . . . . . . . . . . . . .123Terezn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126BOHEMIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Karlovy Vary . . . . . . . . . . . .126Loket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129Plze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130esk Budjovice . . . . . . . .132

esk Krumlov . . . . . . . . . .134MORAVIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Brno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138Olomouc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142Tel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146Mikulov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

GERMANY . . . . . . . . . 159BERLIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Potsdam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185DRESDEN & SAXONY . . . . 186Dresden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186Leipzig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192WEIMAR & THURINGIA . . 194Weimar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195Erfurt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197SAXONY-ANHALT . . . . . . . 199Magdeburg . . . . . . . . . . . . .199Dessau-Rosslau . . . . . . . . 200Lutherstadt Wittenberg . .201Harz Mountains . . . . . . . . 202MECKLENBURG- WESTERN POMERANIA . .203Schwerin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204Wismar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Rostock & Warnemnde . . 206Stralsund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207BAVARIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209Munich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209Bavarian Alps . . . . . . . . . . 220Romantic Road . . . . . . . . . 223Fssen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224Augsburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225Wrzburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226Rothenburg ob der Tauber . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Nuremberg . . . . . . . . . . . . .227Bamberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230Regensburg . . . . . . . . . . . . .231STUTTGART & THE BLACK FOREST . . . . . 232Stuttgart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232Heidelberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236Baden-Baden . . . . . . . . . . 238Black Forest . . . . . . . . . . . 239Freiburg im Breisgau . . . . 242LAKE CONSTANCE . . . . . . 243RHINELAND-PALATINATE 245Romantic Rhine . . . . . . . . 246Moselle Valley . . . . . . . . . . .247Trier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248HESSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249Frankfurt-am-Main . . . . . . 249NORTH RHINE- WESTPHALIA . . . . . . . . . . . 255Cologne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255Dsseldorf . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259Aachen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260LOWER SAXONY . . . . . . . . 262Hanover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262Bremen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267HAMBURG . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN . . 275Lbeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275NORTH FRISIAN ISLANDS 276Sylt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276

HUNGARY . . . . . . . . .295BUDAPEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297THE DANUBE BEND . . . . . 316Szentendre . . . . . . . . . . . . .316Vc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318

On the Road

See the Index for a full list of destinations covered in this book .

Visegrd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319Esztergom . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320NORTHWESTERN HUNGARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321Gyr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .321Sopron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323Lake Balaton . . . . . . . . . . . 325SOUTH CENTRAL HUNGARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328Pcs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329SOUTHEASTERN HUNGARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332Kecskemt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333Szeged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335NORTHEASTERN HUNGARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338Eger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339Tokaj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342Debrecen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

POLAND . . . . . . . . . . .355WARSAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358MAZOVIA & PODLASIE . . . 371d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371MAOPOLSKA . . . . . . . . . . 374Krakw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .374Lublin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387Zamo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .391CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS . . . . . . . . . . . . 393Zakopane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393Tatra Mountains . . . . . . . . 395Przemyl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397SILESIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .398Wrocaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398Sudeten Mountains . . . . . 403WIELKOPOLSKA . . . . . . . .404

Pozna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404POMERANIA . . . . . . . . . . . .408Gdask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408Toru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .416WARMIA & MASURIA . . . . 421Elblg-Ostrda Canal . . . . .421Olsztyn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422

SLOVAKIA . . . . . . . . .435BRATISLAVA . . . . . . . . . . . .438WEST SLOVAKIA . . . . . . . . 447Trenn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447CENTRAL SLOVAKIA . . . . .449ilina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449Mal Fatra National Park . . 451Bansk Bystrica & Around 454TATRA MOUNTAINS . . . . . 455Poprad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455High Tatras . . . . . . . . . . . . 456Bel Tatras . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462EAST SLOVAKIA . . . . . . . . .463Kemarok . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463Pieniny National Park . . . 463Levoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464Spisk Podhradie . . . . . . 465Slovensk Raj & Around . . 467Koice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469Bardejov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .474

SLOVENIA . . . . . . . . .481LJUBLJANA . . . . . . . . . . . .483JULIAN ALPS . . . . . . . . . . . 495Lake Bled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496Lake Bohinj . . . . . . . . . . . . 500Kranjska Gora . . . . . . . . . . 502Soa Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

KARST & COAST . . . . . . . .505Postojna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505Koper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507Piran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508Portoro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .512EASTERN SLOVENIA . . . . 512Maribor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .513Ptuj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .513

SWITZERLAND . . . . . 521GENEVA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523LAKE GENEVA REGION . . 532Lausanne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532Montreux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534Gruyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535VALAIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536Zermatt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .537BERN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538Neuchtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542CENTRAL SWITZERLAND & BERNESE OBERLAND . . 543Lucerne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543Interlaken . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545Jungfrau Region . . . . . . . . 547ZRICH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .550NORTHERN SWITZERLAND . . . . . . . . . 556Basel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .557Schaffhausen & the Rhine 559Appenzellerland . . . . . . . . 560TICINO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .560Locarno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560Lugano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .561GRAUBNDEN . . . . . . . . . . 563Flims-Laax . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563St Moritz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564

Matterhorn, SwitzerlandNoble peak rising above

the village of Zermatt (p537)

Jungfrau, SwitzerlandCharming villages beneath

glacier-encrusted peaks (p547)

esk Krumlov,Czech RepublicGlorious riverfrontOld Town (p134)

Munich, GermanyWorld-class beer hallsand Oktoberfest (p209)

Berlin, GermanyHistory-making wall, turned

gallery and trail (p161)

Salzburg, AustriaBaroque fortress andmountain vistas (p65)

Mt Triglav & Vri Pass,Slovenia

Amazing hike and hair-raisingmountain pass (p501)

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LakeMaggiore

LakeComo

LakeGarda

LakeConstance

HeligolandBight

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Seine

Loire

Rhine

Elbe

Rhne

LeipzigCologne

Frankfurt-am-Main

Munich

Zermatt

Lugano

Kiel

Hamburg

Neuchtel

Zrich

Dsseldorf

Bremen

PotsdamHanover

KarlovyVary

Bonn

LbeckStralsund

Saarbrcken

Klagenfurt

Erfurt

Chur

Innsbruck

BregenzBasel

LitomiceTerezn

Dresden

Lausanne

Salzburg

Mayrhofen

Linz

Stuttgart

Plze

Mainz

Lienz

Werfen

BadIschl

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Bamberg

Bled

Amsterdam

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Geneva

eskKrumlov

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Aachen

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Wismar

Brussels

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Heidelberg

Loket

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e Valley

RhineValley

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Mont Blanc(4807m)

Grossglockner(3798m)

Jungfraujoch(3471m)

RMt Triglav(2864m)

Vri Pass(1611m)

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0 200 km0 100 miles

Central Europe

Vienna, AustriaImperial elegance

and architecture (p44)

Krakw, PolandMedieval royal capital witha modern bar scene (p374)

Prague, Czech RepublicGothic splendour and buzzing

neighbourhoods (p98)

Visegrd, HungaryAncient citadel with

soul-stirring views (p319)

High Tatras, SlovakiaEasy alpine hiking

at budget prices (p456)

Toru, PolandPicturesque town withgreat local life (p416)

Budapest, HungaryA city with beautyand energy (p297)

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SLOVAKIA

20E

55N

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Gulf ofGdask

PomeranianBay

LakeTisza

GreatMasurianLakes

LakeBalaton

Nemunas

Vistula

Danube

OdraTisa

Tisa

Elbe

Koice

Kaliningrad

GdaskKoszalin

Olsztyn

Szczecin

Visegrd

Toru

d

Biaystok

Pozna

ZielonaGra

Olomouc

Kutn Hora

VcEsztergom

Trenn

Bardejov

Graz

Debrecen

Poprad

Sopron

Sifok Kecskemt

Tokaj

Gyr

Wrocaw

Maribor

Lublin

Szeged

Zakopane

Pcs

Tihany

Keszthely

Eger

eskBudjovice

Brno

PrzemylOstrava

Krakw

Melk Vienna

Warsaw

Vilnius

Prague

Bansktiavnica

LjubljanaZagreb

Belgrade

Budapest

Bratislava

Levoa

Owicim

Tel

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#KiskunsgiNemzeti Park

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#Mal FatraNational Park#Slovensk Raj

National Park#^

Top Experiences

Ryan Ver BerkmoesCoordinating Author, Switzerland Ryan Ver Berkmoes first visited Switzerland in 1984 when he used it as his mail drop during a year-long backpacking trip. He next tried to visit Czechoslovakia but was denied access by a pudgy bureaucrat out of central casting. Since then he has delighted in numerous, hassle-free trips across Central Europe. These days he divides his time between Europe and the US. Follow him at ryanverberkmoes.com. He tweets at @ryanvb.

Mark BakerCzech Republic, Slovenia Based permanently in Prague, Mark has lived and worked in Eastern Europe for more than 20 years, first as a journalist for The Economist Group and then for Bloomberg News and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. He travels frequently throughout the region and counts Bulgaria, Slov-enia and Romania among his favourite countries in Europe. In addition to this book, Mark is co-author of the Lonely Planet guides to Prague, Slovenia, and Romania and Bulgaria.

Kerry ChristianiAustria Ever since her first post-grad trip to Austria, Kerry has seized every available chance to travel to the country of Mozart, Maria and co. Picking the cream of Viennas coffee houses, glimpsing September snow in the Alps above Innsbruck and finding out the truth about the von Trapps in Salzburg kept her busy for this edition. Kerry has worked on some 20 guidebooks, including Lonely Planets Austria, Germany and Switzerland. She tweets @kerrychristiani and lists her latest work at www.kerrychristiani.com.

Steve FallonHungary Steve, who has written every edition of Lonely Planets Hungary, first visited Magyarorszg in the early 1980s by chance. It was a brief visit but he immediately fell in love with thermal baths, Tokaj wine and bableves (bean soup). Not able to survive on the occasional fleeting fix, he moved to Budapest in 1992, where he could enjoy all three in abundance. Now based in London, Steve re-turns to Hungary regularly for all these things and more: plinka (fruit-flavoured brandy), art nouveau and the haunting voice of Marta Sebestyn.

OUR STORYA beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 thats all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end broke but inspired they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week theyd sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.

Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tonys belief that a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse.

OUR WRITERS

Although.the.authors.and.Lonely.Planet.have.taken.all.reason-able.care. in.preparing. this.book,.we.make.no.warranty.about.the.accuracy.or.completeness.of.its.content.and,.to.the.maxi-mum.extent.permitted,.disclaim.all.liability.arising.from.its.use .

Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty LtdABN.36.005.607.98310th.edition..Oct.2013ISBN.978.1.74220.421.5.Lonely.Planet.2013....Photographs..as.indicated.201310..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1Printed.in.ChinaAll.rights.reserved ..No.part.of.this.publication.may.be.copied,.stored.in.a.retrieval.system,.or.transmitted.in.any.form.by.any.means,.electronic,.mechanical,.recording.or.otherwise,.except.brief.extracts.for.the.purpose.of.review,.and.no.part.of.this.publication.may.be.sold.or.hired,.without.the.written.permission.of.the.publisher ..Lonely.Planet.and.the.Lonely.Planet.logo.are.trademarks.of.Lonely.Planet.and.are.registered.in.the.US.Patent.and.Trademark.Office.and.in.other.countries ..Lonely.Planet.does.not.allow.its.name.or.logo.to.be.appropriated.by.commercial.establishments,.such.as.retailers,.restaurants.or.hotels ..Please.let.us.know.of.any.misuses:.lonelyplanet .com/ip .

OVERPAGE

MORE WRITERS

Tim RichardsPoland Tim taught English in Krakw in the 1990s, and was fascinated by Polands post-communist transition. Hes returned repeatedly for Lonely Planet, deepening his relationship with this beautiful, complex country. In 2011 Tim released a Kindle ebook collecting his media articles about Poland, We Have Here the Homicide. When hes not on the road for Lonely Planet, Tim is a freelance journalist in Melbourne, Australia, writing about travel and the arts. You can find his blog and social media contacts at www.iwriter.com.au.

Andrea Schulte-PeeversGermany Born and raised in Germany and educated in London and at UCLA, Andrea has travelled the distance to the moon and back in her visits to some 65 countries. Shes written about her native country for two decades and authored or contributed to some 60 Lonely Planet titles, including all editions of Germany, Berlin and Pocket Berlin. After years of living in LA, Andrea now makes her home in Berlin.

Luke WatersonSlovakia Dividing his love affair with Slovakia between the castles, the mountains, pirohy (potato dumplings) and (more unexplainably) Soviet architecture, Luke has, besides contributions to 15 Lonely Planet titles, written for BBC Travel, the Guardian, Avalon Travel Publishing and a clutch of in-flight magazines (thus keep-ing you entertained even in mid-air). He lives on the very edge of Bratislava, con-veniently located for slurping Small Carpathian wine, and his favourite weekend activity is hiking into the hills to a quirky krma (rural pub).

Read more about Luke at: lonelyplanet .com/members/lukewaterson

Itiner-aries

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Two WeeksTop Capital Tour

Spending two to three days per capital will give you a great overview of the region. Start your trip in the dynamic, delightfully idiosyncratic Berlin; the history-filled capital of reunited Germany is also something of a party place. Then ride the rails to sprawling Warsaw, with a reconstructed Old Town that became the capital of the

Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania back in the mid-16th century. After a few days, continue south to mystical Prague. The Czech seat of power is famous for its fantasyland of Gothic architecture and for great beer. Next? Slovakias Bratislava is a fascinating mix of Old Town charm and new development, while the imperial opulence of the long-reigning Habsburg empire is still evident in Austrias capital, Vienna. Just dont satiate yourself on coffee-house culture there; you have more cafes to visit in one-time cocapital Budapest. Today Hungarys main city is abuzz with a mix of the modern and the historic. If you have time, detour to Ljubljana in Slovenia and tiny Vaduz in Liechtenstein; otherwise World Heritagelisted Bern, the Swiss capital fought over by the Holy Roman and Habsburg Em-pires alike, is your final stop. Its so beautiful, its no wonder everyone wanted a piece of it.

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With two months, you can cover the entire region, but it will still be a bit of a Best of trip. Skyscraper-filled Frankfurt-am-Main is most useful as an air hub, but you may want to spend a night. From there, shake off jet lag at the chi-chi spa centre Baden-Baden before exploring the bucolic towns of the Black Forest. Just across

the Swiss border, the cobblestone streets and cafes of Basel await. Move on to the modern art and ancient architecture of the capital, Bern.

Soon the Alps beckon: Interlaken and the Jungfrau region have some of the most ex-treme mountain scenery around. Check out the cafe scene of Zrich before crossing the spine of the Alps and getting ready to imbibe in the beer halls of Munich. Spend a few days, so you can bus it along the Romantic Road and see the fantasyland-like Schloss Neuschwan-stein in Fssen. Next stop is the baroque, music-filled city of Salzburg. Then its south into the Julian Alps and picture-postcard, lakeside Bled, in Slovenia.

The lovely Slovenian capital of Ljubljana is also worth a stop before you ride the rails on to impressively imperial Vienna for a couple of nights. A riverboat ride along the vineyard-laden Danube Valley is a worthy detour before travelling downstream to the bathhouses and bars of Budapest. To the south, the architecture in Pcs retains some remarkable Turkish relics.

Heading north again, myriad Old Town cafes in Bratislava make a good pit stop en route to the Tatra Mountains. On the Slovak side, the most atmospheric midmountain village is diar; in Poland, its Zakopane. Hike rugged area trails before you continue to Krakw, one of Europes prettiest Old Towns, near the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp. A local favourite and another lively Old Town, Wrocaw is next, then Dresden, a restored German city that exhibits some impressive art.

The whole of Czech captial Prague is like a museum, so youll want to take several days wandering its neighbourhoods, or side trip to spend a night in even more medieval esk Krumlov. From Prague exciting and edgy Berlin is only three hours north by fast train, or you can return west to catch a flight in Frankfurt-am-Main (7 hours by train).

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Three WeeksNorthern Route

Mild weather makes summer the best time for seeing the northernmost reaches of Germany and Poland. Start by spending a few nights in multicultural Cologne. Pass two days touring the countrys largest cathedral and several small museums. By evening heft a glass of locally brewed Klsch beer in one of the towns lively beer

halls and bars. From there day-trip over to character-filled Aachen, where you can float in bubbling thermal baths before wandering the quirky cobblestone streets. Moving on to charming Bremen for a night or two, youll explore art nouveau alleyways and an ornate market hall before winding up at a cafe on the waterfront promenade.

Next, Germanys most energetic port town, Hamburg, will keep you entertained for at least three days. Youll enjoy the maritime history, the old brick warehouse district and the new glass-encased philharmonic hall. Take the ferry out to the windswept beaches and sea-food restaurants of Germanys northernmost point, the North Frisian Islands.

Back on the mainland, Lbeck is a 12th-century, Unesco-recognised townscape of me-dieval merchants houses and towers that is well worth a stopover. Save at least three days and nights for the rich history, museums, bars and clubs of Berlin. The Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial and East Side Gallery at the Berlin Wall are must-sees. In the evening you have your choice of subdued-but-happening nightlife in Prenzlauer Berg, the hipster havens in Friedrichshain or alternative clubs in slightly grungy Kreuzberg.

Entering Poland, make the Old Town of Pozna, where the lively university population keeps the ancient centre buzzing, your first overnight stop. Two days in the impressively Gothic, church-filled Toru has a much slower pace. To the north, Gdask is Polands larg-est Baltic Sea port town. You can easily spend a few days wandering the waterfront, taking boat excursions and exploring resorts like Sopot.

Five hours or so south, Warsaw may not be the prettiest city, but it has loads of history hidden among the big-city sprawl. Take two days exploring the Old Town and war monu-ments. End your tour with an outing to Biaowiea National Park, a biosphere reserve where the once nearly extinct European bison roams. The small village has plenty of places to stay overnight before your journey onward.

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Three WeeksAlpine Adventure

Getting up close and personal with the Alps takes time; connections are almost never direct. Allow at least three to four days per region.

Starting out in Geneva, take a day and night to enjoy the citys cosmopolitan lake-front, cafes and fountains. If you want to gain altitude immediately, transfer on to

quainter, also-lakeside Lausanne part former fishing village with a summer beach-resort feel, part upscale, elegant shopping and dining town.

Next, explore Valais and Switzerlands 10 tallest peaks. Don your stylish togs and base yourself beneath the Matterhorn in the ritzy 19th-century resort town of Zermatt. Nearby, cogwheel trains and cable cars provide access to amazing hiking, skiing and mountain views.

From Zermatt take the 7-hour Glacier Express train ride over high mountain passes to St Moritz. This region has 11,000km of hiking trails and incredible black diamond ski runs and the town has fab nightlife to boot.

To the north, the Swiss National Park area is a quieter, more peaceful stop with rugged dolomite peaks, sprawling larch woodlands and untouched, topaz lakes. Stay in the village of Zernez or in the park itself.

Continuing on to the Liechtenstein Alps, youll have to connect through Vaduz to get to the famous alpine hike, the thrilling Frstensteig Trail. Dont forget to snap a shot of the towns famous hilltop castle.

Neighbouring Austrias wild and beautiful Arlberg region is home to St Anton am Arlberg, a huge draw for skiers and boarders, with an active party scene.

The Tyrolean Zillertal Valley is as much a summer playground as a winter one. Set off from the town of Mayrhofen to go cycling, hiking, rock climbing or rafting.

One of the best drives in the Alps awaits you in Hohe Tauern National Park, a nearly 1800-sq-km wilderness with 3000m peaks. Youll undoubtedly pass over Grossglockner Road, a 1930s engineering marvel with 36 switchbacks.

South in Slovenia, Triglav National Park encompasses almost all of the Julian Alps. A postcard-perfect mountain setting and cute village make Bled the most popular base. But you should also check out the larger, less-crowded lake at Bohinj or adventure-sports- oriented Bovec before connecting on from the capital, Ljubljana.

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One WeekSeven-Day Sprint

Only have a week to spend in Cen-tral Europe? You dont actually have to run far. The picture-perfect towns close to the borders of Switzerland,

Austria and Germany are tailor-placed for a quick highlights tour. Fly into Zrich, and spend a night in the lively urban cen-tre that retains an Old World heart; dont miss hip Zri-West. From there, head to the mountains and the ever-idyllic lakeside city of Lucerne, where iconic half-timbered bridges cross glacier-cold waters.

Leave Switzerland for its immediate neighbour to the east, Austria. Innsbruck has hosted the Winter Olympics twice and is a great mountain base; from there you can ski or hike, taking sustenance in moun-tain huts. The beer halls of Munich are now only a short hop away. This atmospher-ic Bavarian town with good museums is worth a couple of days; when its clear, you can see the Alps. A short final jaunt brings you to the perfect combination of hills and music: Salzburg. Mozarts one-time home has an abundance of old architecture, in-cluding an impressive castle, surrounded by mountains and Alpine lakes.

10 DaysBlue Danube

Build on Johann Strauss classi-cal attempt to capture the mood of Central Europe by exploring the re-gion around the Blue Danube river.

Start with a water-view meal in Germanys Regensburg, a city replete with historical constructions. Then visit Linz and its stun-ning riverside art gallery before boarding a tour boat. Cruises stop in pretty Melk, dominated by an intimidating Benedictine monastery. After that, head to the Danube Valley, crowded with castles and vineyards, and best seen by water. On the northern bank of the Danube, Krems an der Donau has a pretty cobblestone centre.

Meander on by train to Vienna. Take a couple of days to tour the city before go-ing by boat, train or bus to spend a night in the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, with its interesting mix of ancient Old Town and communist concrete. From there you can cruise along, following the Danube east into Hungary. Look up at Esztergom to see the awesome walled basilica high above. Fin-ish with a few days in Budapest, where renting a bike and tootling around mid-river Margaret Island caps off your Danube adven ture.

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(above) Stift Melk (p60), Austria (left) Kapellbrcke (p543), Lucerne

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Far EastCoast to Coast

Two WeeksCoast to Coast

From the Adriatic to the Baltic, going coast to coast takes you right up the centre of Central Europe. Connect to Slovenia through capital Ljubljana,

and make your way to the water. Divide several days between the modern-day port of Koper and the old Venetian gem Piran. Backtracking north, a side trip to the colos-sal kocjan Caves is in order before you head into Austria.

From Ljubljana, you go through Salz-burg (and may want to stop) en route to boating, bobbing and nature-walking in the Lake District, Salzkammergut. Next, its avant-garde and arty Linz. North in Ger-many, medieval Regensburg lies on the Danube riverfront. From there head north to Wrzburg to taste the wines of the val-ley (or to oh-so-cute Bamberg for smoked beer). Spend a couple of days of cultural pursuit in Weimar like Goethe, Liszt and Nietzsche before you. You might detour to see Erfurt and the nearby castle, or Buch-enwald concentration camp. Transferring on to happening Hamburg, youve reached the coast and a lively last port of call.

One MonthFar East

Taking an eastern tack youll be trav-elling through former communist countries, but youd hardly know it today. Start in Berlin, where, instead

of a wall dividing the city, youll find an art gallery and walking path. Then travel to the dynamic East German city of Leipzig, where Bach and Wagner once lived. Make a stop in reconstructed baroque Dresden before staying a few days in tourist-filled Prague. Youll have a more authentic Czech experience in a smaller, Unesco-recognised town like Tel. Then, see modern Mora-vian life in upbeat Brno, and head east for another astronomical clock in laid-back Olomouc. If you like medieval construc-tion, youll love Krakw, in Poland. To get to Slovakia, you pass through the Tatra Mountains, so you may as well stop. Below the mountains, the walled city of Levoa is close to the impressive Spi Castle ruins. A musical fountain and Gothic cathedral high-light Koice. Thirsty? Because little Tokaj, in Hungary, has been producing great des-sert wines for ages. Vineyards also cover the hills surrounding the old town of Eger and its walkable wine-tasting valley. From there Budapest and your onward journey are not far west.

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Central Europe title pageContentsOn the Road Contents Destination MapOur WritersItinerariesTop Capital TourCentral Europe In-DepthNorthern RouteAlpine AdventureSeven-Day SprintBlue DanubeCoast to CoastFar East