Base for 4 days in Switzerland
 

I have booked a hotel outside Bern for 4 nights late Sept but am having second thoughts. My husband and I will be driving around, never been to Switzerland before. The hotel in Stettlen is not in a very picturesque area and I would like other suggestions please? We are more interested in the scenery and short walks than seeing the cities.
After these four days we have booked two nights in Muerren (I know we will have to park in Lauterbrunnen) and then one night in Zurich before driving to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

My wife and I had a wonderful 5 nights/4 days in late May based in Lauterbrunnen. With the cog railway and the walks possible in this incredibly beautiful Jungfrau region we still recall this as the highlight of our 7 week travels through Europe.

Tarra, where will you be arriving from? Perhaps you should split up the 4 days, staying 2 days in Stein am Rhein and 2 days in Thun or Brienz before going on to Murren.

Stein am Rhein is such a lovely little town right on the river. And you could take a day to visit the nearby Rhein Falls.

The twin lakes of Thun and Brienz would provide you with plenty of gorgeous scenery and places to walk.

I don’t see the reason to stay outside the Bern area and then move essentially 35 miles down the valley to Murren. There is not a lot to do in the Bern area besides seeing Berne and you are in a relatively flat valley so the walking is kind of dull. You can see the mountains but won’t be up in them. No big lakes in the area either (they are about 20 miles away), and you are not on the river as far as I know at Stettlen. You don’t need to spend more than a day in Berne if that (half day works if you want to spend time at all), so again no real reason to stay in that area for 4 days. Taking day trips from there by car which just mean more driving than you want, IMO. And you are going to be seeing much of the same area when you are in Murren anyway.

My suggestion is that you go to the Lake Geneva area instead. Vevey, Morges, Lausanne, Montreux, towns like that along the northeast shore. Not Geneva itself. Lots of good walks there in the vineyards or along the lakes, ferry rides, fantastic scenery of the lake and the snowy Alps in the distance. It’s the French side so different from the German side you will get in Murren and Zurich and Strasburg (that’s more German than French). Great restaurants (better than the German side, although it is hard to get a bad meal in Switzerland). There is the Castle at Chillon and Gruyere to visit. There is a very nice drive from here over to the Jungfrau Valley via the very scenic Jaun Pass with a stop in Chateau d’oex, or you go down via Gstaad on the way in.

I know from your other posts that you will be coming from Strasbourg and so going to Lake Geneva would be an easy drive, about 2.5-3 hours. You could stop in Basel on the way and have lunch, see the old town, and maybe go to the wonderful Beyler Museum there (go to beyeler.com/foundation; I would actually park at the museum which is outside of town and take the tram into town if you want to see the old town which is small but quite nice and a nice cathedral in a dramatic spot above the river). You could also stop on Colmar, a really charming little town with great antique shops and a very nice old town along a tiny river and have lunch there. Basel is a bit more of a halfway stop, however. You could also stop in Berne on the way down and see their very nice old town.

I think I would say 3 nights in the Lake Geneva area and 3 in Murren to split it up a bit more evenly and give you time to drive some of the mountain passes in the Jungfrau area which I know may be of interest to you. Then from Murren drive to Zurich (easy just over 2 hours) for the one night before moving on to Garmish.

Thank you for all replies. I never felt happy with Bern choice and these replies confirm this. I am going back to the drawing board, looking at Lake Geneva area for some accommodation.

If it were me, I'd stay 2-3 days in Luzern and 3-4 days in Muerren/BO mountains. Luzern is lovely--lake, river, mountains, shopping, good food. I enjoyed it much more than the lake Leman/Geneva area. Spending one or two more nights in the BO would allow you to do day trips to Brienz or Thun, too, to get the lake experience.

Tarra,

Finding a base in Switzerland is difficult because it's just so spectacular.

This year, I've had the pleasure of visiting Tessin, Engadine, Lac LeMan and Lake Vierwaldstättersee (near where I live). It's all a toss up.

Since you'll be driving, I'd like to suggest Weggis and somewhere in BO as your base. Weggis for its mediterranean feel (although Lac LeMan has more of it), ferry rides that reminds one of Norway and, of course, Lucerne. BO for the sheer beauty of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau and its alpine charm.

Thanks everyone. It is a pity we are in Switzerland such a short time. We have rebooked accommodation in a b&b in Montreux. It looks great, with views over the lake. We don't get any lake views anywhere near where we live,so I think this will be quite lovely. Also looking forward to a short stop in Basel to check out that museum, Cicerone!

I second BettyK's suggestion to go to Stein Am Rhein, just an hour north of Zurich. I'm STILL thinking about its beauty, and I saw many beautiful areas in the alpine region last month. Betty encouraged me to get up there, and I'm so glad I did!

I think you will really love the Lake Geneva area. I can only say that I lived in Zurich for 4 years, and really all of Switzerland is beautiful but IMO the most beautiful area is the Lake Geneva area, that is where I would have preferred to live had I been able to. I still dream of the views from the high vineyards looking over the huge lake to the snowy Alps rising in the distance. I have the apartment I want to retire into for 3 months a year all picked out along the waterfront in Vevey….just need to get a wad of cash together to be able to afford it!!

Also late September is harvest time in the vineyards there, and many villages have harvest festivals which are great fun to attend and observe (and drink wine -- from last year). You should check for these. The town of Lutry generally holds theirs the last weekend in September, go to http://www.fetedesvendanges.ch (it’s in French but you may be able to translate). Also go to http://www.lavaux.ch/ for info on this wine area generally, called the Lavaux (the website is in French and German only but if you go to http://www.lavaux.ch/fr/default.htm there is a map you can understand), or to www.lake-geneva-region.ch for info on the region generally.

Also, the cows generally come down from the mountain pastures to their lower winter pastures in mid to late September on the French and German side, so you should ask about this too. It’s often quite a festival with the huge cow bells and the cows wear flowers, etc. It is generally early to mid-September for the German side and late September for the French side, so you may be in or driving through the mountain areas when the is happening.

Stein am Rhein is certainly a charming village, but you are going to be in Strasburg, which is not dissimilar in style and feel although a larger town, with a course a very famous cathedral. Also a trip to Colmar which I have previously mentioned, is quite possible from Strasburg as a day trip or on the way down to Switzerland. Colmar, like Stein am Rhein, has an utterly charming fairy-tale like old town.

Stein Am Rhein is an easy train trip form Zurich and can be done as a half day trip from Zurich (although Zurich has a very lovely old town too). It is not really on the way down to Lake Geneva as it is east and south and toward Zurich, so can’t really be done on the way to Lake Geneva.

If you are interested in the Lake Geneva area (Lac Leman) you might look at Lausanne, Vevey, or Montreux... outside Geneva, along the lake on the train route.

There has been some very useful looking information on this site recently about things to do in and around Montreux, including local ferry/ bus/ walk combos - in particular, you might check out advice by swandav2000 and others.

Wow! I can't believe how much effort that you are putting into the replies with some fantastic recommendations. I have been singing the praises of this forum to my colleagues at work, especially those who are travellers. None of them have heard of these travel forums.
We won't see much of Strasbourg. We are really only going there to pick up the Peugeot lease car. Our full itinerary (if anyone is interested) is Frankfurt - Heidelberg (2nts) - Strasbourg (1nt) - Montreux (4nts) - Muerren (2nts) - Zurich (1nt) - Garmisch-Partenkirchen (4nts) - Vienna (2nts) - Schoenau am Koenigsee (4nts) - Munich (3nts) - (7 nights flexible, maybe Rothenburg ob der Tauber - Regensburg - Prague - Dresden) - Berlin (5nts) - somewhere in Harz mountain region (1nt) - Koeln (3 nights) - Frankfurt airport hotel 1 night - back to Brisbane. Whew!

Looks good TarraTourist, but I have some reservations, being Australian myself and knowing how easy it is to get around in Europe compared with the massive distances we routinely have to travel here, whether most of the 4 and 5 and poss even 3 nighters couldn't be reduced and more time (incl overnighters) spent elsewhere, esp as you have a car. Mind you, I would have been inclined to travel by train from Frankfurt to and then in Switzerland and pick up the car later, but that's another story. I agree that comfortable bases would provide a welcome break from unpacking and constant driving (on the 'wrong side'!) and am sure you'll have a great time whatever you decide.

This will sound weird, but I can't imagine a trip to Switzerland without seeing Luzern. I see you're planning a one night stay in Zurich. For my money, that stop would be better if in Luzern.

The reason for picking up car in Strasbourg is that the lease cars are much less expensive if picked up in France. Zurich is the only place where we actually have a contact and will be staying with an Aussie couple overnight.
Planning the itinerary and doing the research is almost half the fun of the trip imo. My husband is a fan of google earth and has checked out all the places we are visiting. You are bound to make some mistakes (like our 7days in Port Barcares in October on our last trip). We love driving and will be doing day trips from the places we are staying more than two nights.
I have posted a question about itinerary after Munich if anyone would like to respond?

With a 'search' you'll find lots of good Montreux and Vevey information. There's a couple of us here who LOVE the area and visit frequently.

Yup, Fodor's is an excellent forum!

I was aware of the advantages of lease v hire if travelling for 17 days or more (or whatever), but it is good to know you consider the benefits of the French deal also outweigh the diversion required in this case. As you obviously don't have any trouble getting around, I would suggest you might also consider the Bodensee (esp Lindau), the Salzkammergut(esp Hallstatt)- but check the parking arrangements for both - and, for a change in pace, perhaps the Appenzell region of eastern Switzerland. Gute Reise!

Any reason why you want to spend 3 nights in Koeln? I think one night is enough and you can even take the one hour ICE train into the Frankfurt airport without ever staying in Frankfurt.