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-   -   9 days in switzerland (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/9-days-in-switzerland-1042034/)

PalenQ Apr 18th, 2015 06:11 AM

http://www.goldenpass.ch/en - supposedly can book VIP seats here even without a ticket or pass yet.

spassky71 Apr 18th, 2015 07:11 AM

Dear Swiss Fan, what I can recommend you is absolutely not to go to the most famous cities, as Luzern, Zurich , Bern. Do not worth - simple, nice places, but without heart. What is really fantastic are the countries and the mountains - furthermore I can recommend the part - hidden - close to Bodensee - which confines with Austria and Germany. This is Swiss. Unknown small tonws (Dorf) where you breath Swiss atmosphere. Ok, I admit that also mountains are something breathless but...only postcards! Bye bye

neckervd Apr 18th, 2015 07:44 AM

Spassky:
I no more or less all 2000 Swiss towns and villages. But I can really not agree with you.

PalenQ Apr 18th, 2015 02:38 PM

Bern to me is one of the most underrated pleasant nice cities in Europe and Lucerne is exceptional in its setting on to me Switzerland's loveliest lake - I too desagree with spassky in his/he disdain on Lucerne and Bern and even Zurich, which if you get under the glitzy modern veneer is a downright capitvating place - especially the hill-climbing trams leading to as nice a forest walking paths as Switzerland has outside of its Alps.

neckervd Apr 18th, 2015 11:45 PM

Good point, Palen:
Only few foreign people know that most Swiss towns have their "house mountain" with can be reached by tram or cablecar (funicular railway), often directly from the city center:

Zurich: Uetliberg (tram)
Biel/Bienne: Macolin/Magglingen (cablecar)
Berne: Gurten (cablecar)
Solothurn: Weissenstein (gondola)
Neuchâtel: Chaumont (cablecar)
Vevey: Mont Pélerin (cablecar)
Geneva: Salève (city bus plus gondola)
Sierre/Siders: Montana (cablecar)
Locarno: Cardada (cablecar plus gondola)
Lugano: Monte San Salvatore (cablecar)
Varese: Sacro Monte (cablecar)
Como: Brunate (cablecar)
Stresa: Mottarone (gondola)
Chur: Dreibündenstein (gondola)
Zug: Zugerberg (cablecar)
Thun: Heiligenschwendi (citybus)
Lucerne: Pilatus (gondola)
Interlaken: Harder (cablecar)
Brig: Riederalp (train and gondola)
Spiez: Niesen (train and cablecar)
Meiringen: Alpen tower (gondola)
Lausanne: Sauvabelin (citybus)
Montreux-Territet: Glion (cablecar)
Yverdon: Ste-Croix (small train)
etc. etc.

china_cat Apr 19th, 2015 01:50 AM

I think the key point for the golden pass train is that the panorama cars are first class, so you need a first class pass or an upgrade to sit there. Also there are very few trains with the special cars and VIP seats, maybe 2 per day in each direction. When we did the trip in early June last year, we booked the VIP seats. The 4 people sitting in those seats were the ONLY people in the whole car that day. So yes book the VIP seats if you want them, otherwise I wouldn't worry about it too much.

neckervd Apr 19th, 2015 02:10 AM

All trains called Golden Pass have panoramic cars in both classes. 2 trains have some first class VIP seats

PalenQ Apr 19th, 2015 07:07 AM

a unique thing at least in first class on the Montreux-Zweisimmen portion at least IME are the unique swivel chairs that you can turn as the scenery dictates - not sure these are in 2nd class - panoramic cars to me are a bit of a hype - you can see the scenery perfectly well out the normall large windows.

PalenQ Apr 19th, 2015 01:23 PM

VIP seats on Golden Pass Montreux-Zweisimmen trains. Sweet!

https://www.google.com/search?q=gold...ml%3B800%3B534

xaara Apr 20th, 2015 08:45 AM

in your opinion if i had to choose one more place to stop for 2 nights after wengen ....what would the best / your favourite choice be ( we would have seen geneva , montreux , gruyeure and wengen ) .... keeping in mind that we fly out of milan .

neckervd Apr 21st, 2015 01:40 AM

"if i had to choose one more place to stop for 2 nights ....what would the best / your favourite choice "
You find my suggestions in my posts above (may be you re-read my first post).

PalenQ Apr 21st, 2015 05:38 AM

flying out of Milan I'd consider Lake Stresa and sweet Stresa, a lovely lakeside town smack on main rail route between Interlaken/spiez and Milan - just off shore are the three fmaous Borromen Islands, each with a different delight on it - frequent boats from Stresa - in evening the Stresa municipal band was playing lakeside when I was there.

Lovely and puts you right near Milan Airport which is about as close to Stresa as it is to Milan.

Italy is also a lot cheaper than Switzerland!


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