We will be in Switzerland later this year. We plan to spend time in Geneva, Luzern, and the Interlaken area. We have time in our schedule to sneak off to another area for a couple days. Which of these are the best, and would you recommend others?
- Austria/Salzburg (we've heard great things about teh area)
- French wine region (we are "intermediate" wine enthusiasts)
- Venice (we've been to the rest of Italy, but a train strike prevented us from going to Venice)
- Others?

p.s.

By "later this year" I mean summer of '06. I guess that later this year is technically this coming week, but I misspoke.

What about Tessin? Lugano? Locarno? Ascona (my favorite)? From Lucerne, you can be in another in 3 hours. Spend the night in the Tessin, enjoy a ferry ride on one of the lakes, have a coretto grappa and some local cuisine.

I personally don't think you will have enough time for Venice, Salzburg or a French wine region in two days time.

Thanks. I figured the the wine region of France would be more suitable to a dedicated trip sometime. Any other thoughts?

Hi Hazelmn,

I'm such a dedicated fan of Switzerland that I would put those "extra" days into the stops already planned (unless you're already spending two weeks in EACH place!).

How many days are you planning for your stops now?

s

Sure, from Geneva you can go to places like Beaune in France for serious wine exploration in the Burgundy region, but to me that should be a part of an entirely different trip.

There's plenty of wine being grown in Switzerland, you'll see it everywhere, so ask and you will be shown and served...

Your tiny list of planned places to visit in Switzerland is sooo incomplete for a well-rounded Swiss experience that I suggest not going "abroad" - enrich your Swiss experience by taking note of the language borders.

Geneve is in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, at the very periphery of it, a government- and business-centered city sitting on the French border. It's an okay town to visit, not the greatest, and there is much more to be seen and experienced in the French-speaking part, from visiting clock- and watchmaking factories in Le Locle in the very hikable Jura regions behind Neuchatel to the picturesque historic towns like Romont, Morat (Murten in German), and to Montreux on the lake Geneva near the very worthwhile Castle of Chillon that's open to the public. And that's only scratching the surface. Different cuisine from that in Zurich or Bern, colorful French accents, a different temperament...

Then there's the Italian-speaking Switzerland: The above suggestion about the Ticino is a good one - Lugano, Locarno, Brissago, Bellinzona, Ascona, lake cruises on the Lago Maggiore and the Lago di Lugano, you feel like you're in Italy (which is just next-door, of course). Palm trees, different cuisine again...

Now the topper: Research taking the Palm Express coach from Lugano through a short stretch of Italy up into the most picturesque region of them all, the Engadin, where ritzy St. Moritz sits on the same lake as lovely Sils etc. The bus is run by the Swiss Postal Authorities (they run a fleet of efficient yellow coaches that go everywhere trains can't go):

www.swisspost.ch/en/pag_rf_palm_express.htm

You can come back into the Luzern or Berner Oberland regions north of the alps by going over the top, either with scenic trains or by driving through unforgettable scenery etc.

Switzerland is tiny, but there is so much variety packed within its borders that it would be a shame to "sneak away" to far-flung targets like Venice (8 hours by train from Zurich, each way), Salzburg (six hours by train from Zurich, each way) or Burgundy (four hours from Geneve to Beaune by train, each way).

With two days for such a "sneak" - you'll just be getting there to check into a hotel and have dinner, and leave after breakfast the next day. Sounds more like the business trip from hell rather than a vacation, so why not spend your time in Switzerland where nothing is far from anything else, and where languages, food, cultures, architecture, customs all change every hundred miles or so.

Another day, another trip, another country.

WK

Just brought up the wonderful website posted by WK on swisspost. As a matter of interest, (and hopefully to use in the future) could you suggest a town/larger village to benefit from many of the Swiss bus trips operating throughout the country. I appreciate the Palm Express ex Lugano would be first choice. Libraries closed until Wed but will check a detailed Swiss map when next visiting my library re the post bus routes listed.

http://www.post.ch/en/index/uk_priva...g_postauto.htm -

the network is extensive and not just for the alps, also prevalent "on the flat" wherever there is insufficient train service. Hence not every Postbus route is necessarily scenic. But the good ones can be spectacular.

WK

t