Zurich, Munich, or Amsterdam honeymoon suggestions?

First of all, I don't think you're going to be able to go non-stop from the west coast to Europe--I live on the east coast and it's an 8 to 10 hour flight, depending on the destination. You will probably have to fly to New York or another east coast city, depending on which airline you use, then fly from there. I have been to Munich and had a really good vacation, but I flew there from the U.S., not from another city in Europe. Also, I went with my adult son, so I wasn't looking for romantic places!! The original Hofbrau is in Munich, if you're into big steins of beer. Marienplatz is great--a pedestrian only street with shops and churches and restaurants. You can also set up day trips through a vendor there--we went to Neuschwanstein (probably not spelled correctly!), the castle that Walt Disney modeled his castles on. It was beautiful! We also went to Dachau, the concentration camp, but unless you're a history buff, you probably don't want to go there on your honeymoon--sad. We also went to the science and industry museum. I have never been to the other two cities, but I have heard from others that they really enjoyed Amsterdam. Good luck--hope you have a fabulous honeymoon, wherever you decide to go!

Hi Jolie - I've been to these three locations and travel frequently to Europe, so thought I'd add a few thoughts. For starters, you should be able to fly direct to Europe, and due to the flight path it is only about 2-3 hours more to fly from the West than it is to fly from the East. Where you can fly direct will depend on who you fly with. For example, I fly Air Canada so it's usually Vancouver to London, Frankfurt, Munich, or Istanbul.

If your flight carrier gives you the choices of Amsterdam, Zurich, or Munich to travel through, I'd choose them in this order: 1) Zurich, 2) Munich, 3) Amsterdam.

It totally depends on what you like though. I'll add that I looove Munich, but for a honeymoon, Zurich is so just so amazingly beautiful. Amsterdam is a neat place to go too, but I'd choose the other two over it.

Hope you have a great honeymoon!

I lived just outside of Zurich for a while and it's amazing. I would go back in a heartbeat. It's beautiful and it has something for everyone IMO. It has an area of big name high dollar shops if that's your style and also little winding streets of tiny boutiques and antique stores. I always started the day in the farmers market (in the train station) when it was open and picked up a lunch that I carried with me for whenever I got hungry. It was super cheap and I loved getting to try the local cheeses and fruits that way. If it's interesting to you at all there is a wonderful tiny little store there that sells hand made teddy bears called Meinrad's. Some of the most wonderful bears I've ever seen in my life and I wouldn't miss it personally.

Reggie - thanks! Zurich does look interesting, although one of the pricier places.

kLo - the non stop flights I found from SFO were to those cities (there's others but those are the 3 I'd like to check out). I'm not familiar with any of them so any recommendations /tips are so much appreciated. WE love to eat, shop, sight see, people watch.

Hi! We just came back from our honeymoon a few weeks ago, we visited Paris, Zurich, Innsbruck, Venice and Rome, and traveled between cities by train. Then we flew back to Paris in a small carrier, it was like $40 per ticket.

If you want to talk about it in detail, send me an invitation to connect and I'll message you more! But I have a bit of advice:

- I recommend the website rome2rio.com, it's AMAZING. You enter two cities and it tells you every way there is to get from one to the other (driving, train, bus, flight, etc), and the prices. It helped us decide our route and whether to fly or take the train.

- I only know Zurich and Amsterdam. Both are pretty. Zurich is gorgeous, smaller and very clean and safe. The only downside is that it's really expensive. Groceries are not too bad, but eating at a restaurant was too much. For example, a Greek salad at a small restaurant costed 20 Swiss Francs (close to USD $20). Like Reggie said, it's cute, with winding roads if you want something low-key and making your own meals.

- Amsterdam is bigger, and has a more fun and lively nightlife. So if you're into big cities or going out at night, or even if you wish to eat out every day, it's a better idea. But you have to like big cities, and it's not as picturesque/clean/cute. It does have wonderful architecture, though, and the canals are lovely to travel by boat.

- If I could recommend something very close to Venice, go to Innsbruck! It's gorgeous and very affordable. It's right in Tirol, so you'll see beautiful mountains and a breath-taking scenery. It's very small, but it has a few really cool bars and several neat restaurants, and the architecture is beautiful too.

Zurich *can* be expensive but it doesn't have to be. It depends on how you like to travel and what you like to do. Granted I didn't have hotel costs because I was living there but as far as just during the day. There are some really great little tiny restaurants that I personally prefer to the big fancy places along with cute little carts to buy food from which I really enjoyed and there are a ton of things to see and do that don't cost a thing.

@VC yes would love more info, I invited a connection with you Now I'm more indecisive Amsterdam instead of Venice since they also have canals...

I only know Amsterdam but I can put in a good word for it. How long will you be in the stopover city?

Sent you an email

Oh I didn't know you lived outside zurich reggie, when did you live there? I actually grew up in Zurich and lived there until three years ago, so I can tell you all about it. It's late now though and I'm on my phone, so I can add more tomorrow. There are definitely direct flights to Zurich from SFO through United or swiss, I'm not sure about san José.

While I'm from the Netherlands, I'd say Amsterdam! I live 30 minutes from Amsterdam, so if you'd like to know anything, ask away!

@Farina What do you recommend for 2 days in Amsterdam?

1 day in Zurich or 1 day in Munich?

- we love to try food, watch people, do some shopping (or just get inspired/absorb the culture), learn

I'd do a nice canal cruise, visit the Anne Frank house or the Rijksmuseum. Do a bit of shopping in the city center, rent a bike and explore the city (if you dare! Amsterdam is a city of bicycles, everyday millions of people take their bike to go to school or work).

In Amsterdam you could also visit Madame Tussauds, Amsterdam Dungeon, The Sex museum or The Heineken experience.