My husband and I and our 9 year old daughter are spending 8 days in Switzerland Feb.26- Mar.6, 08. We would love recommendations for great places to stay, eat, etc. We are thinking of going to Zurich,Lugano, St. Moritz, Zermatt, Lausanne, and Bern. Are we crazy? Would you recommend car or train? Thanks!

You have too many places for eight days.

Skip Lausanne and St. Moritz.

Go to Lucerne and go to Titlis (3 nights)
Berner Oberland (Wengen, Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen), (3-4 nights) Bern as day trip.
Zürich (1 night)

You (and especially your 9 year old) will enjoy Switzerland much more if you don't travel around too much. And go by train!

Hi pope,

I agree with both points by schuler above (no surprise!): use the trains, and cut your itinerary if you want a glorious trip!

Six destinations in eight days is far, far too many. Remember that you lose about half a day each time you switch destinations, what with packing up & checking out at the old hotel, then checking in & unpacking at the new hotel, plus getting to know your new neighborhood. I think it may take you even a little more time because you probably will spend time helping your 9-year-old with her own packing & unpacking. So, with six destinations, count on losing about three days; that leaves you about five days to really enjoy yourselves.

I like schuler's itinerary quite a lot, and it's a good start to seeing the country. In your list, you have three mountainous areas (St. Moritz, Zermatt, & Bern), and I don't think you need to hit all three on your first trip. Getting to any one of them -- and spending more time there on gentle walks and on cable cars and soaking up the scenery -- will be more memorable than rushing from one to another. And believe me, any one of these mountain destinations has more than enough to fill at least four days!

You mention Bern, but you should know that the city is about 90 minutes from the mountaintops and the mountain villages. Schuler's suggestion of Wengen, Grindelwald (and I'll add Mürren) will get you actually into the mountains.

But if you don't want to see either Zermatt or St. Moritz, they would be fine too. I would just drop two of the three mountain areas and spend more time at the third.

Lugano, in the Italian section, and Lausanne, in the French section, and good and interesting destinations, but each deserves about a week. So you should save them for another trip. Or, you could do four days in the mountains and four days in either Lugano or Lausanne.

And, back to the train. There is a train station at both the Zürich & Geneva airports, so using them is quite easy. You can dump your bags onto a luggage cart at baggage claim and wheel it all the way to the train tracks using either the elevators or the escalators. Your daughter will travel for free. You can get all the schedules and fares at the Swiss rail site,

www.rail.ch

Have fun!

s

Sorry, mistyped. I meant,

"But if you don't want to MISS either Zermatt or St. Moritz . . "

s

Pope,

We did your itinerary in 8 days, when we were young and restless. I didn't even feel rushed and it gave me a comprehensive view and a "feel" of Switzerland. It also set the stage for many subsequent (slower) trips, in that we could focus on places we liked best.

Today, I would agree with schuler and others and pick 2 - 3 areas to explore. The above suggestions are great, though I would probably cut two nights from one of the mountain areas and include Lausanne, with visits to Vevey and Montreux. But that depends on your personal preferences - pretty towns vs. spectacular nature and small villages.

Lugano is one of my personal favorites and it is very easily combined with Milan and Lake Como, perhaps for another trip.

Thank you all! I appreciate your advice. As for taking the train, what do you do with your bags while sight-seeing? Do they have lockers for at the train station? We're also looking for great places to stay if anyone has a recommendation for that. Thanks again!

Hi pope,

Yes, there are lockers in most train stations, especially the larger ones.

But if you stay in one base for a few days, of course you won't need the locker.

We'll be happy to point you to some good hotels if you give us your definite destinations -- are you looking for hotels in the cities you listed? Or have you changed your itinerary?

s

If I understand correctly, at some of the towns you mention you will not be staying overnight? Just stopping on the train for a few hours to look around (since you ask about suitcases/lockers)?

We have changed our itinerary--thank you for your advice. How does this sound...

Zurich--1 day/night
Interlaken Region--4 days/nights
trips possible to Jungfraujoch, Bern, Shilthorn, Kleine Schleid., Matterhorn
Montreux--2 days/nights

Will that give us a good taste of the country? Is there anything you would change? Recommend? Places to stay or eat? Thanks again!

If going by train check out the 8-consecutive day or 3-day flexi Swiss Railpass - a real bargain and your child gets a free pass and free tickets even on trains to mountain tops that the Swiss Pass may only cover in portion like the Jungfrau and Gornergrat trains. www.swisstravelsystem.com; and for lots on Swiss passes and train travel these two fine sites: www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com

Note that Swiss passes are significantly cheaper if bought in the U.S. than in Switzerland for some weird recent. www.sbb.ch for prices of Swiss Passes at stations in Switzerland or regular tickets to see if the pass is good and for your itinerary it certainly is IMO

Are you flying into Zurich and out of Geneva?

I'd suggest Luzern over Montreux. I find it much more scenic and 'Swiss'-feeling. Your daughter might enjoy the Swiss Transport Museum, with it's many hands on exhibits, Imax movies (see "The Alps"--it's stupendous) and enjoy the meal and hokey/fun Swiss music/entertainment at the Stadtkeller in Luzern's Altstadt.

Hi again,

Just a quick note -- you can't really see the Matterhorn from a base in the Jungfrau area. The transportation by itself will take about 2h30 in each direction, and then the mountain may be socked in by fog when you arrive.

For hotels, I'm not sure how much you want to spend, but here are some ideas.

Zürich -- I like to stay in a suburb outside of the city. I've stayed at the Romantik Seehotel Sonne (www.sonne.ch) in Küssnacht twice and like it a lot. It's a 4-star. It sits right on the lake, and it's across the street from the train station -- you can be in town in about 10 minutes or at the airport in about 20 minutes.

Jungfrau region -- I've enjoyed the 3-star Hotel Alpenrose (www.alpenrose.ch) in Wengen two times. I like its warm pine furniture and cozy fabrics, and I like its high standards of service. I've also stayed at the 4-star Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof in Grindelwald two times and also liked it a lot (though I prefer the village of Wengen).

Montreux -- imo the best hotel there is the Eden Palace au Lac, a 4-star. I like its location (right on the lakeside promenade right in the center of town) and its decor, though its service is only marginal. My very favorite hotel is actually in the village of Glion above Montreux, a 4-star called the Victoria. Another option is the 3-star Hotel Masson that is in the suburb of Territet.

Hope this gets you started!

s

Thank you!!

And suze--we are flying both in and out of Zurich. I wish we would have thought to fly out of Geneva instead, that would have been nice. There's always next time, right?!

You and your kids may also enjoy boat trips on Lake Geneva from Montreux and those in Lucerne if you go there. some are oldtime paddlewheel steamers - 100% covered by the pass but only first class pass or ticket holders allowed on the preferable open-air top deck. If you have a 2nd class pass you can pay the difference between the 1st and 2nd class boat fares if you want to go up top.
But just noticed your going in winter and not sure of boats running - could be a few i guess.

Here are some thoughts from the mother of 13 and 16 -year-old girls who moved to Zurich a year ago...

The trains are easy and convenient and no worries with luggage but don't pack a lot - much of Switzerland is very casual - black jeans and a few sweaters will work just about everywhere.

My daughter loved the Matterhorn....we went for a quick overnight. Stayed in a pretty suite at the Hotel Julen with direct views and then took the Gornergrat train up. We skipped the lookout at the very top but I heard later we shouldn't have...

We loved the St. Moritz area too... We stayed in Pontresina and took sleigh rides and hikes and sledded and skied and shopped...I would choose this over Zermatt if you don't ski, but the Matterhorn is worth seeing up close and personal IMO... esp. for a 9-year-old. You will love the train ride there... beautiful... but I confess my daughter slept through it I haven't yet been to BO, so I can't compare, but I love, love, love the Engadine area...(Pontresina, St. Moritz, Sils Maria, Samedan...)

My girls were not that keen on Lausanne in the winter, but go figure with teens...another old city and church tower. There is the Olympic museum there but we never got to it. I hear it is good.

Zurich is a great little city to explore, pre-teens love the old town and Bahnhofstrasse areas, don't be sorry you are coming here instead of Geneva...

I live next to Kusnacht and while the Hotel Sonne is nice, I'd prefer to be right in Zurich esp. since you will be training about.

Zurich is a pretty mellow city and the lake is very accessible. There are a number of threads on this site addressing hotels in Zurich in various price ranges. We have stayed at the Hotel Opera and the Schweizerhof. I recommend both for location depending on your budget. A less expensive alternative is the St. Josef but I've not stayed there, although other Fodorites recommend it.

In Zurich, take your daughter to Sprungli on Bahnhofstrasse. Also, you can lunch on a giant pretzel or Bratwurst at the Bellvue station area. My girls love the restaurant Terasse there esp. the ravioli. The Hotel Adler in the old town has a charming fondue restaurant that my girls (who don't like fondue) also love. There is a fondue tram that runs in Zurich through March - you can google it for reservation information. Also, there are fondue boats as well.

Climb the Grossmunster Church tower on a clear day - spectacular view - costs just a couple of francs to do it.

My daughter also loved Luzern. There is a lot to do there. If your daughter will at all look at art, there are some great art museums (the Rosengart Collection is not too big and really lovely, and the new Contemporary Art Museum is pretty cool and has a viewing platform over the lake) as well as what was mentioned above. Go see the monument with the crying lion...and walk the covered bridges.

A great boat trip from Luzern is Glasi Hergiswil a really neat glass factory with a very clever museum and the opportunity to blow glass for your daughter. You can boat there from Luzern and it's a good trip if it's too cloudy to head up the mountains. Also, you can boat to the Chillon Castle from Montreaux if you are into castles. Check if it is open in March as it is not heated. Hergiswil and Chillon are also accessible by train if the boats are not running.

You will love Switzerland - so scenic and clean - and really easy to get everywhere. Do bring your umbrellas and warm, waterproof shoes or hiking boots. The weather can be wet, although for the most part not as cold as what we had back in CT except when you get up into the mountains.

gruezi