A week in Europe (Switzerland area)
 

Hi! A colleague and I have the honor of presenting at a conference in Geneva, Switzerland. We are going a week early and want to travel around Europe. We thought we might pick two places to go and split the time before we head to Geneva. I was hoping I could get some suggestions of areas/things to explore. We are going in October, both love food, beautiful geography, and are pretty able-bodied. I appreciate any suggestions!

Thanks,

Amanda

Annecy, France, is quite close to Geneva. Beautiful, although October will be cool. You could explore the lake towns, which includes a few castles. Lots of alp hiking opportunities.

A leisurely swing through nearby Burgundy, doing as much or as little as the jetlag and the weather allows. At a minimum: Beaune (the hospice), Vézelay (hilltop abbey), Dijon (art museum and more) and any or all of the names you know from good wine labels: Dôle, Chalon-sur-Saône, Mâcon, Autun, and on and on.
See www.burgundy-tourism.com

And within nearby Switzerland, if the weather is fine, train to Montreux, visit nearby Château de Chillon and go up on the Rochers de Naye with the cute little train that goes by Glion and Caux, up and up until you're face-to-face with Mont Blanc on the other side of the lake. On a good day this is stupendous. Ask down below before you go up - in October the weather could be any which way.

Where are youse landing?

You could fly into a warmer clime than the Geneva area - like southern France - Riviera and or Provence - base some days in each - blast up to Paris for a few days and then over to Geneva by high-speed TGV train.

Take trains Nice to Avignon (heart of tourists Provence), Paris and Geneva - booking early can get deep discounted tickets - www.voyages-sncf.com is the official site to book your own tickets. For lots on trains check www.seat61.com (expert on discounted tickets); www.budgeteuropetravel.com (check this one's free online Euroepan Planning & Rail Guide for lots on places to get in various countries by train) and www.ricksteves.com.

Fly open jaw into say Nice (or Rome if doing Italy perhaps) and out of Geneva. Rome would be nice for 4 days or so and go via Florence to Switzerland.

We have our ticket to fly into Geneva, but we get in at about 7 am that day and thought about just grabbing a flight from there. We were thinking about dividing the trip up in three day chunks and since flights are cheep, we will do that or rail, then come back for the conference Thursday or Friday.

You said "...since flights are cheap..." and you're right.

Easyjet flies on the cheap to lots and lots of destinations from Geneva, but there are the BUTS: You'll have bags, and they cost more than humans. "Cheap" goes away quickly.
Many flights are not daily so look into that.
And do you really want to catch another flight coming off the transatlantic, when you can take a train to many nearby places and make the most of the fact that you are on the border of Switzerland and France? It doesn't get any more picturesque than that!

I'd stay within French Switzerland to maximize your enjoyment. Fribourg, Gruyeres, Neuchatel, Murten and maybe even Bern, for a great variety of cultures and countrysides.

October is the time to head for the mountains. Zermatt or Berner Oberland are ideal at that time of year.

October ideal for Alps? Not sure about that - OK time perhaps but "ideal"?

If you want to save some money, you will get the hell out of Switzerland except for the time that you need to be there. Of course, if you are on an expense account, you can ignore what I wrote.

I doubt you'll end up flying anywhere but like Southwest Airlines in the US, Eastjet flights ARE cheap even with those add-ons IF you book them as far in advance as possible which I suspect you won't be doing.

October can be a wonderful time to be in Switzerland even in the Berner Oberland; the crowds are gone; ski season hasn't really started up yet, etc., etc.

I'd stay/visit somewhere alone LacLeman if nothing else and yes, the country can be expensive, especially given the exchange rate but I wouldn't head into another country because of that.

You don't need to go far. Lac Leman outside Geneva is an incredibly beautiful region! I could easily spend a week just with: Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux. You'd do this on the train and with only an hour or so of travel time. Gruyere and Annecy could be included.

And you could easily from a Lake Geneva base take a day trip via train or bus to Chamonix - to see the awesome high Alps.

Is the exchange rate bad? It's very nearly 1chf=1usd. But the cost of everything seems 40% higher than France. When we were in Basel a couple weeks ago, it made more sense to go to Mulhouse for lunch or dinner than to eat in Basel (and I'm not just talking about old town).

It's not that the exchange rate is bad, it's just that their standard of living is higher. They make more, they spend more, and their baseline of quality is about where - in the US - you find the midline. You don't find much crap there, no cars that fall apart, not a beggar at every intersection - and that sort of thing costs a bunch for those who come from places with lower expectations.

If you want the dollar to go a long way, go to places like Poland where I just paid the equivalent of USD 5.50 for a large beer, a huge sausage, salad and fries, served nicely at a table. No tip, no tax - not even six bucks. Amazing.

Everything with few exceptions in stores IME is much more expensive than say France or Italy or Germany and certainly the U.S.

Wine and cheese and chocolate in stores seems cheap enough but bring in anything you may need -like toiletries, etc.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful responses!!!

Curious as to what are you plans now?

Cheers!

Don't be scared away from Switzerland because of high prices - in many ways it is the most awesomely scenic place in Europe.