September in Switzerland

Old May 2nd, 2015, 11:44 AM
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September in Switzerland

For the first time I will be in Switzerland for 4 full days. I would like to see some of these places if not all but I need help putting them in the proper order.
Gornergrat, Mt. Rigi, Zermatt, Klein Matterhorn, Glacier Paradise, Jungfrau Region.
I would appreciate any suggestions you may have.
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Old May 2nd, 2015, 12:17 PM
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With just 4 days I would chose one region and perhaps one close by other place - like my favorite would be:

Land at Zurich - take train to Interlaken and into dem hills to a dream spot like Grindelwald or Wengen or Lauterbrunnen - places wher eyour hotel balconies will be eyeball to eyeball with soaring glacier-girdled peaks rising thousands of feet above lush meadows - a myriad of toy-like mountain trains and thrilling aerial gondolas going off in all directions - this is the awesome majestic Jungfrau Region:

https://www.google.com/search?q=jung...=1600&bih=1075

and stay their the first three nights - take the train up to the Jungfraujoch station, the highest in Europe and a place of perpetual snow - walk to a nearby glacier - walk thru long ice grottos, etc a Top of the World scene as they bill it.
Spend a day by boat on either lake book-ending Interlaken - those iconic Swiss steamers - get on and off at several neat places on either lake.

Go up to Murren by thrilling aerial gondolas and take one of the Alps' longest aerial cablecar rides out to the icy outpost of The Schilthorn and its famous revolving restaurant - Piz Gloria (venue of much of James Bond's On Her Majesty's Secret SErvice whenit was under construction) - take the cable down to Gimmelwald, legendary Gimmelwald a totally awesome place - out literally in the middle of nowhere but soaring majestic peaks and deep ravines and cows - it's a small cow-farming hamlet.

Take the famous and every easy Ridge Walk from The Mannlichen to Kleine Schiedegg - a few mile gently descending stroll that is no doubt the most popular in the whole area with the general tourist - The Mannlichen is known as one of the finest vistas in Switzerland - over Interlaken bookended between its two lakes far far below and a lateral view over the rocky Alpine spinne of central Switzerland in another direct and the path then offers views of both the Grindelwald Valley and deep gorge-like Lauterbrunnen Valley en route to Kl Scheidegg with the majestic Jungfrau Massif in full frontal views.

Then take the train to Lucerne for night # 4 just to see this gorgeous gorgeous town that is also close to Zurich airport by train in less than an hour or abouts.

anyway loads of stuff to do

The Zermatt area is also awesome but IMO it does not offer the sheer variety of things to do as does the Jungfrau Region - the Matterhorn no doubt has the world's most familiar visage as mountains go but ifs oft shrouded in rain, clouds or fog or smog - there is a lot of fairly steep IME hiking trails and some thrilling gondolas up to the same Top of the World scene as a the Jungfraujoch but for the average tourist on limited time I'd stick to the Jungfraujoch area.

Anyway you may want to check into some kind of railpass - the Swiss Transfer Ticket may be the ticket for you or just the Jungfrauhan Pass or Berner Oberland passes that are sold locally at many train stations - good if you are sticking largely to this or any one region - great sources of info: www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com.
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Old May 2nd, 2015, 01:03 PM
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To PalenQ you listen.
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Old May 2nd, 2015, 01:10 PM
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I'll echo Edward2005 and PalenQ about staying in the Berner Oberland area, and add that i think September is a good time go there. Certainly look at buying one of the passes.
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Old May 2nd, 2015, 05:29 PM
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Thank you very much for such a good information. Extremely helpful and I appreciate it.
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Old May 3rd, 2015, 03:32 AM
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...but don't be disappoined if you will find 4 consecutive cold and rainy days with thick clouds covering all alpine mountains.
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Old May 3rd, 2015, 05:56 AM
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Yes potentially poor weather can set in for days at times and has some of the past summers - keep plans flexible for day trips out of the hills to place like Bern, etc. Zermatt is much more isolated from any real nice day trips out of the mountains - you'd have to go down to Visp and the Rhone Valley to any better weather perhaps places and that is a long train ride down and back up.
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Old May 3rd, 2015, 08:41 AM
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While the Jungfrau Region may not have something exactly similar to Glacier Paradise in the Zermatt region it does have imposing glaciers you can walk to - one is an easy scramble from Grindelwald itself - another is on top the Jungfrau - the Aletsch Glacier a short walk from the train station and I believe the largest glacier in the Alps, tumbling miles down a big gorge.
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Old May 3rd, 2015, 03:17 PM
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Yes if possible keep a flexible schedule if doing the Alps - don't put one day only into seeing Zermatt and the Matterhorn as many have done - it may not be visible on any given day - ditto for taking the famous Ridge Walk from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg - it could be wet on any one day - be flexible and plan for possible day trips to cities that can be more enjoyable in wet weather.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 01:54 AM
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Generally speaking, one has to choose between
a nice remoted mountain village, better than anything else
and
a transport hub (like the medieval city of Brig) from where one can travel in less than 2 hrs to different climate zones and into towns with museums, cathedrals, castles, spas and other bad weather things.

From Brig, for example, you can choose between 5 different climate zones that you can reach by public transport in less than 2 hrs:
Lago Maggiore (1 hr by train)
Aletsch Glacier etc. (30 min)
Central Switzerland (Andermatt)
Bernese Oberland (Interlaken etc.)
Swiss midlands (Berne, Biel, Burgdorf, etc.) and Lake Geneva (Chillon, etc)

Almost impossible to find rain at all these places at the same time.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 01:55 AM
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it should be: ...better than anything else IF THE WEATHER IS FINE,
sorry!
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Old May 4th, 2015, 03:39 AM
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I stayed in Brig before a delightful city with an old cstle and neat town center.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 09:33 PM
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Yes, I also love Brig and stayed there once for 4 nights. It's a great base to ascend Bettmeralp & Riederalp to see the majestic Alps, and I love its flower-decked central square with interesting streets radiating off to explore.

Other towns that put much of Switzerland within 2h are Bern and Thun.

s
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Old May 5th, 2015, 06:34 AM
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Brig, Bern, Thun and especially Interlaken are really nice sweet towns and cities but the first-time traveler should IME stay right up in the Alps at a Zermatt or Grindelwald or a Wengen, etc. Or at least stay in one of those places for a few days and after that go base in one of those nice cities and use it as a base.

But do not IMO use a city like Bern or Thun as a base for doing the Jungfrau Region as its awesomeness cannot really be appreciated on a day trip basis - it is I believe staying up there are night - sitting on your hotel balcony as the sunsets and gently illunated the jagged peaks - turning them a rosey surrealistic color.

Hotels in Thun, Bern, etc will have no views except of streets usually. You miss so much IMO if you do not base a few days up in dem hills!
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