pumscmu

I'm planning a trip to Switzerland in October with my mom. It'll be our first time Switzerland (and in Europe, for that matter!). Unfortunately, we don't have that many days in Switzerland to sightsee.

I was wondering if you guys could help me out: If you only had time to see one mountain, which one is more "worthwhile"? Would it be Jungfrauch, Mt Rigi, or Mt Pilatus? Or is there another one that's equally enchanting?

Any advice you guys have on choosing one of these will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

bob_brown

My vote goes to the Jungfraujoch trip. In saying that, however, bear in mind that it is also the most expensive.

Undiscounted, the cost of the trip from Interlaken Ost (base station for the Jungfraubahn) is 172 chf. At the current rate of exchange, that price converts to about $142. The cost is per passenger.

The trip up takes about 2 hours, 20 minutes. The same is true of the return. There are 2 changes of trains both going up and coming down.

Part of the appeal of the Jungfraujoch for me is hiking the groomed snow track out to the hikers' shelter facility about a mile away. The views from there are spectacular and far reaching.

Other candidates for similar trips include the Schilthorn, also accessible from Interlaken Ost and the Gornergrat from Zermatt which takes the passenger to the viewpoint at the end of the line.
From there Monte Rosa is highly visible on a clear day. A second trip from Zermatt is to the Klein Matterhorn.

It, too, is an eye popper.

Another cable ride, which gives great views of the Berner Obeland is the gondola from Grindelwald to the end station of First. You are not on top of any peak there, but the views of the north face of the Eiger and the other giants of the Berner Oberland are superb.

I am assuming from your spelling that you do indeed mean the Jungfraujoch.
Jungfrauch is not close to any other Swiss mountain viewpoint that I can think of.

treplow

I agree with Bob Brown that the Jungfrau is probably the most rewarding IF the weather is good.

With that in mind, you may want to select the Pilatus or Rigi, both of which can be reached from Luzern. If the weather does not cooperate, then you have some attractive sightseeing alternatives in Luzern.

I can't weigh Pilatus vs. Rigi, since I haven't been on top of the Pilatus. But I did like the Rigi, taking the cograilway up from, I believe , Vitznau and returning by cable car to Weggis, itself a very attractive town.

bob_brown

Treplow is 110% correct.

If the day is cloudy, the trip to the Jungfraujoch is too expensive for a close view of clouds. I suppose you could amuse yourself riding the dog sled and sliding on the snow. But the price to get up there and back for me is prohibitive unless there is some kind of payoff in the form of a sterling view. (The food in the eatery in the Sphinx building is not worth the price to ride up there and back, that is for darn sure.)

The price considerations are true of many of those mountain top excursions. If the view is totally obscured, the price to get there is not a good investment of either money or time.

I remember one day we visited Zermatt and boarded the train headed for the end station on the Gornergrat cog rail line. I got one good look at the Matterhorn before it disappeared.

Sort of a bummer really. At least we had one good look at the Matterhorn for all of 4 minutes.

The day was not a total loss, the top of Monte Rosa was visible for a few minutes until the snow began falling. I had planned to walk part of the way back, but the fog and the snow were so thick I had trouble finding the trail.

I figured the train would not get lost!!
It knew the way; I didn't.

nytraveler

Jungfrau is by far the best trip - longest, most different views along the way, activities at the top, etc. However, you should note it is also the most unreliable in term of weather - since many days the top is hidden in the clouds. (We had to try 3 separate days before we found one the top was not in clouds - even though it was a sunny day in Lucerne and Interlaken.)

Pilatus is interesting, has some very dramatic views and is less likely to be in the clouds - although any mountain that high is subject to those problems. (We had ordered lunch at the outdoor restaurant and before we were half through rain clouds rolled in and we had to head inside with our food.)

bettyk

As stated, Jungfrau is great if the weather is good. We just did Schilthorn in May and absolutely loved it. A much different perspective than from Jungfraujoch (which you can see straight on from Schilthorn).

FauxSteMarie

Yes, I had the cloudy day experience on the Jungfrauhoch many years ago. Just remember there is a good reason the early morning trip is sold at a discount from the ones later in the day: More likely to be clouds.

Due to the changeable weather, ask when you get there and do not go if it is cloudy. We did not see a damn thing except a bunch of Japanese tourists taking photos of themselves under a sign that said "Top of the World".

Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

Cicerone

I have read both your posts and know that you will be in Zurich on business in October and are taking a few days for a trip. I don't know when in October your trip is, but from about mid-October on is generally NOT a good month in the mountains, it tends to be rainy and foggy, so I would very strongly suggest that you keep your plans flexible and see how the weather turns out. Now, you could get lucky and have beautiful sunny days and I hope that happens, but the odds are against you, take a look at weatherbase.com for historical info. (I used to live in Zurich and am pretty familiar with the crappy October weather.)

I also saw your other post on whether to go to Rome for 2 days, that is a possibility albeit it is a good bit of flying for a short trip and it is hard to "see" Rome in only 2 days. If you can get a non-stop flight, and can get the first flight out in the morning and/or a late evening flight so you can maximize sightseeing times, then this may work. Honestly, with only 2 days and given the chances of dodgy weather in the mountains, I would actually go to Rome for as little as 2 days rather than risk going to the mountains and being banked in by fog. Weather in Rome in October is usually quite nice, but it can be a bit rainy too.

If you decide to stick to Switzerland, you would need to determine that the cogs trains and/or cable cars for any of the three choices are running on the days you want to go, as October is one of the months during which they can be closed for repair (April is another). This may narrow down your choices, i.e. it may not be possible to do the Pilatus trip at all in October on the day(s) you want.

IMO the Jungfrau is the most beautiful, but any will offer you a nice view if it is a clear day. However, if it is a crappy day, there is more to do in Lucerne in October, because the small mountain villages in the Jungfrau will be shut down as most hotels and many restaurants will be closed. Interlaken will be open and Grindelwald will probably have more open in terms of restaurants but there are no museums or shops really to speak of in Grindlewald and no charming cobble-stone street villages in the area so if it raining there is not a lot to do in the immeidate area, although you could get out by train to Thun which has a nice old town or the open-air museum in Ballenburb (maybe not so much fun in a cold rain). Therefore if the trains/cable cars for Pilatus and Rigi are running on your dates, you might be better off in Lucerne and then if you get up and it is a clear morning, head up into the mountains.

If you decide to fly to Rome, then door to door with flight time, getting to and from airports, check-in, security (and God knows really that what will be like now) I estimate that the trip would take about 4 hours assuming absolutely no flight delays (which are common in Europe), and if you take a taxi in from Rome airport and there is no traffic. Now, in about the same time and with much less hassle IMO you could take a train to Milan. Although it does not have nearly as many historical sites as Rome, Milan is a wonderful city with lots to see and do beyond the obvious and wonderful Last Supper and the Duomo; and you could IMO get a much better feel for either city in 2 days than you could for Rome, and you would get to see the lovely Swiss and Italian countryside along the way. There are also great restaurants and shopping. Finally, train fares are is a lot cheaper than Swiss Air to Rome and probably cheaper than any discount airlines. Just something to think about.

Finally, if you decide to stay in Switzerland, you might want to give some thought to going to the very lovely Lake Genera area, particualy the Vevey and Laussane area. The views of the mountains from here accross Lake Geneva are fantastic, you atually don't mind so much not being up in the mountains. You may even be in time for the grape harvets in the vineyards which would be wonderful. (Harvest is generally at the end of September but depends on weather and rainfall for that year.) Lots of beatuful small villages, charming old towns, great restaruatns; this is probably my favorite part of Switzerland. This is about 2.5 by train from Zurich so is very doable for 2 days.