Hi Ric
We didn't get to Basel unfortunately - would have liked to, but just didn't have enough time.
We'd originally planned to stay in Geneva, but am SO glad we decided to stay in Montreux instead. We did a day trip to Geneva and the place was an absolute rat-race - masses of people everywhere, non-stop traffic, streets full of tour buses, etc. I was also surprised when, to get to the famous water jet out in the lake, you had to trek through this messy, smelly old boatyard along that side of the lake, dodging work vehicles, fishermen etc - not quite what I'd expected at all. It was quite a relief to get back to peaceful Montreux and go for yet another walk along the lovely lakeside promenade there!
Funnily enough, Innsbruck wasn't even on the radar when we were planning the trip. We were going to take the train from Zurich to Salzburg, and as it passes through Innsbruck, we decided to stop there for a few nights and reduce the length of our stay in Salzburg. And I'm so glad we did - we LOVED Innsbruck. A delightful little city, very easy to get around, the people were wonderful, lots of things to see and do, beautiful buildings - and you can can the funicular and cable car right from the centre of the city up to the top of the mountain above Innsbruck for spectacular views. We'd actually walked up to the Alpenzoo and caught the funicular (then cable car) the rest of the way from there. Tip: If you're going to Innsbruck for a few days, get the Innsbruck card. It cost us around 30 Euros each for a 72-hour card, but we got at least 60 Euros value EACH out of them. The card covers all the public transport in the city and free entry to lots of attractions. Just the trip up the mountain would normally cost 25 Euros if I recall correctly, so that almost covered the cost of the card on it's own. We would go back there in a heartbeat. Stayed at a Best Western called the Goldener Adler - but not like any Best Western here in Australia - it was a historic inn built in 1390!!!! Wonderful place to stay.
Loved Vienna as well - we finished our trip with 5 nights there and it still wasn't enough. We didn't end up buying the Vienna card as we weren't catching public transport much (we preferred to walk a lot) and you only got small discounts on entry to places, not free entry like the Innsbruck card. The buildings in Vienna are just jawdropping, and I can't even remember how many photos we took! So many places to visit, we'd love to go back there again one day too. Vienna was busy, as any big city is, but not overwhelmingly so, and was very easy to get around. Stayed at a delightful little hotel called Hotel Austria in the "Old Town" part of Vienna - fantastic location, walking distance to Hofburg Palace, Spanish Riding School etc, subway station a couple of minutes walk away (easy to get to Schonbrunn Palace, the Zoo etc), couldn't have picked a more ideal location for us - at the end of our stay, it was also only a few minutes walk to the bus stop for the airport bus. Older-style hotel, but the breakfasts (included in the rate) were great and the staff were fantastic. We would definitely stay there again on our next visit.
If you've got any other questions, let me know and I'll do my best to answer them!
Cheers
