temarisa

Our son is interning at the ILO in Geneva, so we will be spending the first two weekends with him, but would like to tour Switzerland for the intervening week. Any suggestions/itineraries? I have learned so much about Switzerland in the last few weeks, that it is overwhelming. Def want to ride the trains - which ones? Would like to take TGV to Paris on the 2nd weekend. We have never been to Europe, so Paris is also def on the list. Need some guidance. Thanks

mjnbrown

I went to Switzerland last September for the first time and absolutely loved it. I spent a few days in Pontresina (close to St. Moritz), Zermatt and Lauterbrunnen. Lauterbrunnen (close to Interlaken) was my favorite, although I loved all of Switzerland. The Berner Oberland region is truly spectacular - I would recommend that you head there for the week.
Martha

swandav2000

Hi temarisa,

You'll have a wonderful time!

Suggest you take the Golden Pass trip from Montreux on Lake Geneva through Gstaad & Zweisimmen to Interlaken, then see Lauterbrunnen and the mountain villages (Wengen, Grindelwald, Muerren) from there. You may want to stop in Gstaad for lunch.

Train info at www.rail.ch
Village info:
www.wengen.com
www.wengen.ch
www.grindelwald.ch
www.gstaad.ch

Have fun!

s

enzian

What time of year? That will make a difference in the recommendations for Switzerland.

Dukey

Add this link:

www.goldenpass.ch

You might also enjoy the city of Lausanne and also Montreux and the Castle Chillon all along Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) and easily reached by rail.

A possible short side trip from Montreux would be to take the rack (cog) railway up to Rochers de Naye for the views.

Consider also going up to Zermatt for Matterhorn views.

xntrikal

Hi there,

The TGV takes about 3.5 hours to/from Geneva, and as with most of these things, the sooner you book, the better/cheaper. The TGV has it's own website, easily found. I went last week from Geneva to Paris for about 32 swiss francs, but I booked two months in advance.

Geneva itself can be easily done in a day or two, depending on the time of year, and how much you want to do in a day. The trains are great, and easily accessible, and aside from the obvious Alpine trains, there is a great one that does a chocolate and cheese tour too, depending on the time of year.
Try here: http://www.myswitzerland.com/en.cfm/home
and
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/Swis....html?&L=2

Another easy day trip is to Chamonix, and the Mont Blanc. Takes about an hour or less by car. They have a neat mountain train too, to see a glacier, as well as the normal lifts up to the Aiguille du Midi, highest you can go in Europe. (at least I am pretty sure there...)

temarisa

thanks one and all. we are going in the beginning of march. Any suggestions as to hotels in Geneva? We don't need the Waldorf, but must have spotless. Any other suggestions for hotels, or inns (would love to stay at a B&B type place when we are touring) would be appreciated. I can hold my own in French, so language should not be a problem. Also, my son's apt is in Thonex, just south of Geneva. Is there anything of interest in that area? Thanks again.

swandav2000

Hi temarisa,

Try this website for b&bs: www.bnb.ch. You can do a search by geography, and the b&bs usually have photos.

Good luck!

s