Paul

Hi. On my trip to Switzerland I will be in Luzern for 5 nights and Interlaken for 4 nights. Should I stay in the Mountains instead of downtown Interlaken? Can I train easily from to these mountain towns with luggage? Which town is best? Murren? <BR>Also. What are you thoughts on renting a car for getting to these areas. Thanks.

Ed

Paul, you'll find a lot of pros and cons in this forum on the question of where. You'd do well to give the search function of this site a whirl. <BR> <BR>I say the mountains certainly, and Mürren far preferable though Wengen a close second. <BR> <BR>In any case you absolutely do not need a car, and it won't do you much good if you spend your time as most people do, visiting the mountain villages and peaks, where cars aren't allowed (except in car-congested Grindelwald.) <BR> <BR>Luggage no problem at all. <BR> <BR>You'll find a pretty throrough runthrough on all the city/village options beginning at <BR>www.twenj.com/bovisit.htm

Betsy

Mountains! Its, just stunning and so much, much more tranquil than Interlaken. Murren is bigger, but I like Wengen too. You get to both from Lauterbrunnen. If you are not afraid of heights and end up in Murren, get in the very front of the gondola that takes you down to the valley floor from Murren. Its an E-ticket ride!

Bob Brown

I think your selection of a destination depends on what you want to do in the mountains. I have spent quite a few days in Lauterbrunnen because it is a transportation center and I can easily go to a wide variety of places from there. But the least amount of time I spent there was 1 week. <BR>If you are are there for 4 nights, I would suggest Mürren because of the gorgeous views. If you like to walk around a little, there are several opportunities that originate in Mürren. <BR> <BR>There is plenty to see in the area and plenty of places to go. I would not stay in Interlaken because the best parts of the mountain area are 8 to 10 miles away, and they are not visibile fully from Interlaken. <BR> <BR>I do not think you will be sorry you selected Mürren. <BR> <BR>All of the villages and towns of the area due south of Interlaken are served by trains and lifts from Interlaken Ost. <BR>If you go to Mürren, you take the train to Lauterbrunnen, and then switch to a furnicular that takes you up the mountain side. Another little train takes you on to Mürren. Or, you can ride the post bus to Stechelberg and take the cable car up to Mürren. <BR>The bus is timed to the train and the cable cars. <BR> <BR>Wengen, which is also perched up on the hillside, is reached by mountain train from Lauterbrunnen. You take the train from Interlaken Ost and switch to a cog train for the ride up the hill to Wengen. <BR> <BR>Grindelwald trains also depart from Interlaken Ost. Usually the train that leaves Interlaken Ost is in two sections that divide at a village called Zweilutschinen. (The two forks of the Lutschinen River meet there; hence the name -- zwei = 2 in German) <BR>One section takes the east line to grindelwald and the other one continues south to Lauterbrunnen. <BR>The trains run frequently all day long. <BR>

Russell

Murren's your best choice for sheer beauty. Although it's slightly inconvenient for visiting the rest of the Lauterbrunnen valley, the key word is slightly. (Murren is quite a bit smaller than Wengen.) Lauterbrunnen is probably the most convenient, since it's the hub of the valley, but it's not particularly attractive.