pittsburgh

We are trying to plan roughly a 2-week trip (flexible still on the exact number of days) for mid-August this year with our two little ones (2 year old girl, almost 5 year old boy). So, our goal is to find plenty of time for them to run around in parks and for us to basically relax walking around towns.

My current thinking:
Day 1: Fly into Zurich, train to Lugano (or Locarno)
Day 2 and 3: At Lugnao/Locarno
Day 4: Train to Lucerne
Day 5/6/7: Lucerne
Day 8: Train to Lausanne
Day 9/10/11: Lausanne (Chocolate train for 1 day, maybe Evian for a day)
Day 12: Train to Zurich
Day 13: Fly home

So, the questions:
- Lugano or Locarno?
- # of days in each town seem reasonable?
- Ordering of towns? Was based on the fact that each train ride will be just around 2 hours.
- Other considerations?

And then the next questions will be around hotels in those towns that are: a) kid friendly, b) walking distance to the train stations (as we lug our stuff and the kids...)

Thanks.

PalenQ

No Alpine experiences-just cities? Nice cities but the beauty of Switzerland is IMO the awesome high Alps and the Interlaken - Jungfrau Region would be perfect for this- ensonce yourself in a small mountain village like car-less Wengen (great for families -play areas -outdoor municipal pool) and do easy excursions by train or cable ways:

https://www.google.com/search?q=jung...w=1920&bih=950

I humbly suggest you perhaps head for the hills rather than spending say 3 days in Lausanne - a nice city but a modern city...

In any case a 2-week Swiss Pass would be it seems a great deal for you- covers lake boats, buses, city transports and free entry to hundreds of sights and museums -for lots of info on Swiss trains and passes -www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.sbb.ch (Swiss Railways site).

PalenQ

So, our goal is to find plenty of time for them to run around in parks and for us to basically relax walking around towns.>

Lausanne, Lugano etc are not necessarily relaxing small towns. For Lake Geneva Montreux or Vevey are much smaller and relaxing and are perpetual favorites here on Fodors.

Montreux and Vevey are just a few miles from Lausanne.

Besides the Chocolate Train which also includes a stop at Gruyeres - a perfectly walled old town - boat rides on Lake Geneva are great - can easily pop over to Evian-les-Bains in France - a spiffy resort town known for its Evian mineral water.

Also boat to Chateau de Chillon - a dreamy looking lakeside castle.

For a mountain adventure take a train Montreux to Rochers-de-Naye -tiny train (but not nearly as awesome for mountains as the Jungfrau Region.)

As cities go I think Bern is about the nicest I've seen - easy day trip from Lucerne.

PalenQ

Day 5/6/7: Lucerne
Day 8: Train to Lausanne>

You can take the Golden Pass scenic train with spiffy panoramic observation cars on this route though it is significantly longer than the less scenic main line via Bern and Lausanne. GP takes you to Interlaken - Montreux.

Melnq8

These are all cities, none of which would be my top choices in Switzerland.

I've waffled over the same Lugano/Locarno question myself, and talked myself out of both, primarily due to their size - Lugano is a full on city with an area population of about 145,000, Locarno a more manageable 15,000.

Have you considered Ascona? That's how we're leaning. But mostly because we've been to Switzerland so many times and we've not yet explored this area.

Most first time visitors to Switzerland head for the hills, and while I personally wouldn't visit the more popular locations in the busy summer months (such as the Berner Oberland and Zermatt), there are still a lot of alpine options that have more much appeal than towns, IMO.

kja

I was surprised by how different I found Lugano and Locarno (where I stayed in Ascona). Since you are planning to give the Ticino only 2 days, you might want to decide based on what you want to do. For example, if you want to visit the lovely gardens of Isole di Brissago, stay in Ascona; if you want to hike Monte San Salvatore (about 4 hours IIRC – too much for your young ones?), stay in Lugano. (Those are just examples – you should, of course, base your decision on what YOU want to do in these locations!)

I really enjoyed Lausanne, but you might consider staying in Montreux or Vevey instead. You can easily day-trip to Lausanne from either Montreux or Vevey, but the views will, IMO, be better from them.

Hope that helps!

PalenQ

pittsborg- what dya think?

pittsburgh

Thanks for all the feedback so far. We are looking at our options. Will let you know when we make a decision Wengen in particular looks very enticing. We love the idea of smaller towns. One of our best visits was a couple years ago (with just one kid -- 1.5 at the time) to Montalcino outside the prime tourist season. Was fun to have the town largely to ourself.

PalenQ

Well in August Wengen will be in the prime of tourist season as is the B O in general.

But since cars and tour buses can't penetrate Wengen it will be as calm as any place except maybe Gimmelwald.

pittsburgh

Thanks for all the feedback.
But, we ended up on missing out on good fares to Switzerland while fares to Germany are now dirt cheap, so Munich will be our base this summer. Maybe next year...

kja

Thanks for letting us know!

PalenQ

If after all is said and done I encourage you to report back (OK kja

PalenQ

I have no idea how that stupid facial symbol got in there - not intended.

kja

@ PalenQ: No worries.