Switzerland in November?

Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 01:39 PM
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Switzerland in November?

My fiance and I are planning to travel to Switzerland from November 11-30. The destinations we were hoping to stay in are Zurich, Bern and Zermatt. We're unsure what weather conditions to expect, whether hotels/trains/etc. will be active and running, and whether or not November is a good time to even visit.We're more outdoor adventure types than museum goers. We're big foodies and beer/wine lovers and open to any fun activity options (cooking classes, wine tastings, etc). Any advice on how to build or tweak the itinerary would be great!
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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 01:55 PM
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Trains will be running -some aerial gondolas may be closed for maintenance in this off season in Alpine areas but nothing essential not running.

the Interlaken area to me is the best Alpine region for novice Swiss travelers -even in November some easy walks and hikes and excursions. Stay in a remote Alpine village like Wengen or Grindelwald -but weather may be cold at higher elevations.

Anyway for trains -and for that much time a Swiss Pass of some type makes a lot of sense- check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

3 weeks is a long time for Switzerland -especially at that time of year when Alpine wonderlands could have dicey weather -think of dipping into Italy for a week and maybe fly home from Venice or Rome.

Or go to the Lake Geneva area - Montreux and Vevey are favorites on the lake -again lots of nice excursions- experience the French Swiss area too.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 06:50 PM
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Well, outdoor fun will be a crapshoot. I was just there this past November. Some days were agreeably calm and almost warm - briskly walking up the Gurten hill by Bern at midday meant shirtsleeves, but then the wind sprung up and the sweater and jacket had to come out. We could see the panorama of alpine peaks from the Gurten lookout, it’s quite a distance, and it was a bit hazy - not good enough for a photo but passable.

Then there was rain, and chill, and the locals quickly came out with sturdy coats and jackets and gloves and those ever-so-fashionable scarves they all wrap around three times.

Days are short - daylight savings ends Oct. 29. Many funiculars and gondolas and such stop running, they’re seasonal. Ditto the public boats on lakes. Not all - the Thunersee boats keep running, and even the Niederhorn appears open - translate this site (you might as well get used to having to do this occasionally): http://www.bls.ch/de/fahren/unterweg...iff/niederhorn

However, the nearby Niesen will be closed - www.niesen.ch/en/niesen-news/?oid=1948&lang=en

So, while there is beauty to behold, it is in rather short supply when compared to other times. You just don’t get your money’s worth in my opinion.

Not being arts and museum oriented will cramp your style when mother nature gets iffy.

There is a cooking class in Vevey, on the “Swiss Riviera” near Montreux on the Lake Geneva, where the climate tends to be a bit more benign than elsewhere (hence the nickname):
www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/cooking-class.html

You can also visit chocolate factories for something fun to do, in Broc (https://cailler.ch/en/maison-cailler...aterie-suisse/) and elsewhere (http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/c...factories.html)

You can go see how the famous cheeses are made, in many places: www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/show-dairies.html

Switzerland has a fabulous network of hiking trails, called Wanderwege - all uniformly marked in yellow with distances given as the time a family with kids would take. They link up with public transportation, starting and ending at bus stops and train stations.

See http://www.wanderland.ch/en/verein-s...anderwege.html (in English)
This other official website is only in German and French - see anyway www.wandern.ch

If you’re now thinking of splitting your time between Switzerland and elsewhere to maximize your trip, maybe do what I just did: After my stay (I was visiting relatives or I wouldn’t even have gone in November) I flew to Lisbon - for some $80 equivalent roundtrip from Basel (BSL) with easyJet. Lisbon was warmer, also had a day or two of light intermittent rain, but overall we could do whatever we wanted, mother nature didn’t get in the way.

That’s so cheap (and Lisbon is much, much cheaper than the extremely expensive Switzerland) that you could even keep your booking into and out of Switzerland and make this sidetrip. Of course, if you still could, you would book the flight into Switzerland (Zürich ZRH or Geneva GVA) and home from Lisbon (LIS).
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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 08:06 PM
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You might find some useful ideas in my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...any-thanks.cfm

Enjoy!
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Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 08:59 PM
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Hi gfata12,

I concur that you may want to spend a few days in/around Montreux during your trip -- not just for the warmer weather, but also for the Christmas markets.

Switzerland, in general, doesn't do Christmas markets like the Germans and Austrians do; you generally have to get to a big-ish city to find a market in Switzerland (Basel, Zürich, etc). But Montreux throws one of the biggest markets in the country. Er, rather, it hosts about 3 major Christmas markets -- the one by the lake, the Santa's House at Rochers-de-Naye, and the Medieval market at Chillon castle.

http://www.montreuxnoel.com/

So you could get to Montreux at the end of your trip and enjoy a few days of the market.

Have fun as you plan!

s
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Old Jan 25th, 2017, 01:34 AM
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Last November had nothing but sun in the Canton of Valais (where Zermatt, Saas Fee, Crans-Montana, etc are), with a snow line around 2000 metres and nothing but fog and clouds along the more shady Northern slopes of the Alps (Bernese Oberland, Lucerne area.)
But weather is always unpredictable in the Alps.
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