keedm002

Hi guys,

I keep going around in circles! I make a decision on where to stay in Switzerland, and then change my mind!

We will have 5 nights, Monday-Saturday, in the first week of October 2013. It will be the start of our 4 week honeymoon and we are traveling from Australia so will be tired to start off with - looking at a pretty relaxed time.

We will be arriving into Zurich at 8am on the Monday morning, and need to be in Milan by mid-afternoon on the Saturday. We in our mid 20's, but not looking to party. We enjoy good food and wine, shopping (although I'm sure we can get our fix in Milan) and beautiful scenery. I don't imagine we will be back in Switzerland for a long time, if ever, so want to make the most of our short time, but don't want it to be full on - a bit of a contradiction, I know!

How would people suggest we spend our time if you were us? I have a few ideas and options, but I would love to hear what others think before I say. 5 star or equivalent accommodation is a must, which rules out some lovely little towns. We don't mind train travel but not have a special affection with it (eg. we aren't interested in one of the spectacular train rides, just want to use them as a means of getting around). We will be relying on public transport.

Thanks in advance for your assistance, I look forward to hearing your opinions!

swandav2000

Hi keedm002,

Did you go to the Montreux area already, or was that one of the (discarded) plans for your honeymoon?

Do you want to see/be in the mountains?

Unfortunately, many areas of Switzerland offer good food and wine, and almost *all* of them give you great scenery.

I would suggest Spiez on Lake Thun, Gstaad, or Montreux. Spiez will give you some mountain options as well as sight-seeing around the lakes and getting to Gstaad, Gruyeres, and Montreux if you want. Gstaad will give you (low-ish) mountains and day-trips to Montreux, Thun, Spiez, Gruyeres, Broc, Chateau d'Oex, Rougemont, and Saanen. Montreux, I think you already have a good idea about.

www.spiez.ch
www.gstaad.ch
www.montreux-vevey.com

Have fun as you plan!

s

keedm002

Hi Swandev,

Montreux is an earlier *possibly* discarded plan - I would love to go there however flights work better into Zurich so I was worrying it may be a bit out of our way? It looks like it is 3 hours from Zurich and then 3 hours to Milan... do you think it is still worth the trip, or is there somewhere more convenient you would recommend??

I will definitely look into your other suggestions.

I think I have looked into it and rethought it so many times I am just confusing myself now!!!

swandav2000

Hi again,

Yup, Montreux is 3h from Zurich airport; Spiez is 2h, and Gstaad is 3h.

If convenience to Zurich airport is a priority, then hands-down the destination should be Luzern, which is just an hour by direct train. Luzern has something of all of Switzerland -- history, mountains, and a lake system. Information at

www.luzern.com

Maybe you could stay in one of the towns or villages along the lakes so you would have more of a countryside visit -- Weggis, Vitznau, or Brunnen would work.

www.luzern.com
www.weggis.ch
www.vitznau.ch

s

Dukey1

Montreux is as good as anywhere else in terms of getting TO Milan by rail and so what if it's 3 hours from Zurich...Milan from Zurich airport is a minimum of FOUR hours so what's a couple more hours if you get to see a place which has a lot of scenery, is right on the lake, is close to other things such as the trip up to Rochers de Naye where you will get absolutely fabulous scenery, etc.

If you were so inclined you could easily take a day trip to Zermatt for Matterhorn peak viewing.

And if Lucern is where you end up that's certainly not bad either.

In terms of absolutely five star accomodation, that may be slightly more difficult to accomplish. You could go somewhere like Lausanne and stay in a hotel like the Beau Rivage Palace but I'm not sure that is worth the extra star or so.

swandav2000

Montreux area 5-star hotels would be (for me):

Hôtel des Trois Couronnes

Grand Hôtel Du Lac

Both in Vevey

There are two 5-stars in Montreux, but one (Palace) is across the busy main street from the lake, and the other (Royal Plaza) is rather businesslike in decor.

s

keedm002

Thanks so much for your help both of you!

Ok, so I am thinking either somewhere on Lake Geneva or somewhere on Lake Lucerne. What would be your preference if you were me, and why???

swandav2000

Have to ask -- what is important to you?

Mountains? Then Luzern

Cafe society? Then Montreux/Vevey

There are vineyards outside of Vevey, but they don't look great in the fall when they are just brown sticks in the mud. And, you can taste Swiss wine anywhere in the country.

I think they would be equal for good food; you'd just have to do some homework to find the best restaurants.

Shopping would probably be best in Luzern. There are some shops in the old town of Vevey, and I love spending hours there, but of course Luzern would offer more. Montreux doesn't have that many shops, just one street really.

Hope you find something to help you decide!

s

swandav2000

5-star hotel in Vitznau:
http://www.vitznauerhof.ch/

Weggis:
http://www.parkweggis.ch/en/park-weggis.html

s

HannelieB

Hi,
It all depends on what you want to do when not in the hotel. Do you want to stay the entire time in 1 place/town, or willing to pack up every 2 days to see as much as possible? Then I would recommend staying at least the first night in Zurich (wonderful hotels and restaurants) and take a day trip to Luzern (beautiful but in the wrong direction, which will only add to your travel time). We haven't been to Montreux, so that is where I would go, for 2 nights and to end off the week, 2 nights in Wengen or Mürren on the Jungfraujoch railway line between Lauterbrunnen and the Jungfrau. I haven't been everywhere in Switzerland (yet!), but I cannot imagine that you can beat the scenery in either of these towns.
But it is a beautiful country and you will have a great time.
Good luck and enjoy the planning!

Ingo

Looks like Luceren is your best bet. On the other hand, it's on pretty low elevation and in October the plains in Switzerland can be stuck under "high fog", which means clouds above the towns, sun up in the mountains.

May I come up with another idea? Upper Engadine. The larch trees should have turned yellow/golden by first week of October, very beautiful. There are plenty of 5star hotels in the area: Either Grand Hotel Kronenhof in Pontresina or Hotel Waldhaus in Sils-Maria would be my choice. Avoid St. Moritz itself, it's too overbuilt, ugly.

Getting from Pontresina or Sils to Milan is easy. Either scenic train over the Bernina Pass to Tirano, change to Italian train there, or Postal bus to Chiavenna, change to Italian train there. Or: Palm Express bus to Lugano, train to Milan.

LucyLemonade

<<There are vineyards outside of Vevey, but they don't look great in the fall when they are just brown sticks in the mud. And, you can taste Swiss wine anywhere in the country.>>

Sorry. I have to disagree with you on this. The vineyards in beautiful in the fall. They turn from reds, to oranges to a beautiful golden yellow. Only now in mid-November do they start looking like sticks in the mud.

Plus, in October you still have the grape harvest with a couple of harvest festivals going on.

Lucerne & Lausanne areas would be a great trip & you'll confuse your friends when you tell them where you went. "We spent 3 days Lucerne & 3 days in Lausanne"... "huh?".

Lausanne, you can stay at the Lausanne Palace or the BeauRivage.
Lucerne, you could stay at The Hotel. Not sure it's 5*, but its a wonderful deluxe boutique hotel and it will confuse your friends! Who says the Swiss don't have a sense of humor.

suze

I don't know the other areas to compare but I am absolutely crazy for Montreux/Vevey/Lausanne area of Switzerland. It is incredible. I'd live there if I could figure out how to do it. There is just a lovely atmosphere about that area, hard to describe, and the way it sits on the lake with the mountains as backdrop is certainly breathtaking by any standards.

http://www.ermitage-montreux.com/
If you can see your way down one star (lol) L'ermitage in Clarens is a very special place (but only four stars). Both a restaurant and guest rooms. Right on the lake.

marg

As a fellow Aussie, my choice would be to divide my time between Lucerne and Lauterbrunnen. In Lucerne, apart from wandering around the old town, you could take the boat across the lake to Mt Pilatus - great trip.
In Lauterbrunnen, take the cable car to Schilthorn or the train to Jungfrau.
Must admit we also loved Montreux and Vevey.
You'll find it super easy to connect from your plane to the trains in Zurich - all in one building.

swandav2000

LucyLemonade,

Agreed that the vineyards are splendid in the fall, but the trick is to time it just right -- as it so depends on the temps and amount of rainfall. I think it's just about perfect from mid-September to mid-October, but after that it's just too if-fy. I disagree that they look good up until mid-Nov!

s

keedm002

Thanks so much everyone for all your assistance! After reading through your thoughts, I think we will stay in Vitznau or Weggis on Lake Lucerne. We are hoping it will be relaxing in these towns whilst giving us easy access to lakes, mountains and walking trails. I also imagine there will be some nice restaurants around due to the number of 5 star hotels around the lake. I also like the idea of only a 1 hrs train trip after our 25 hour flight!

I still would really love to visit Lake Geneva, but after talking with my fiancee I think we are looking for a more stereotypical Swiss experience. We would both like to explore France (we have only been to Paris) so I think this could be incorporated in years to come

We are thinking of spending one night on top of Mt Pilatus in the Hotel Pilatus Kulm for the ultimate mountain top experience.

I really like the idea of visiting the Bernese Oberland, but given the time of year we are travelling I would be worried about the weather, and it seems quite out of the way for the amount of time we have. I think we would both be happy just vising Mt Rigi and Mt Pilatus, cruising on the lake and relaxing in comfort.

We are thinking of staying in the Park Weggis or the Vitznauerhof (I think the latter is my preference), any thoughts on these or other recommendations? I don't think we would like to stay right in Lucerne, but are happy to stay just out of it or in another town on the lake. I have looked into the Hotel Villa Honegg and we really like it, but it seems a bit inconvenient as we will not have a car, plus it is at the top of our budget (prefer to spend around 400chf but could go up to 500chf for something spectacular).

bumper

I would strongly recommend staying in Zurich your first night. This will allow you to have a relaxing day and get over any symptoms of jet lag. I love Luzern, so I would base myself there if I were you, but Weggis is also a good choice if you want something more remote.

maitaitom

Although it has been nine years since we went to Switzerland, the scenery hasn't changed. Here is our three days in Grindelwald with photos. Probably as beautiful an area as we have ever traveled to in our life. Great hiking, cool train trip and even had time for wine.


http://www.travelswithmaitaitom.com/...itzerland.html

PalenQ

If going by train as many do in Switzerland, especially if going to often car-free Alpine hot spots like Zermatt and the Jungfrau Region and if going in October strongly look at the Swiss Pass - a 4-consecutive-day pass if it fits or a 4-day Flexipass (Swaverpass on either - two to five names on one pass for about a 20% p p discount) - but the past few years in October there has been a 2 for 1 sale on only this length of Swiss Passes - so with the 2 for 1 you cannot go wrong IMO - will take you to the Italian border on your way out.

for loads of great stuff on Swiss trains and passes, etc I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sites - www.swisstravelsystem.com; http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html and www.ricksteves.com. And IME compare the cost of the pass in your home country, down under, to prices you would pay at stations in Switzerland - IME there has often been a discrepancy between pricing for the same exact pass and often it seems to be cheaper here (in U S) than in Switzerland - the same may be true of OZ?

PalenQ

Zurich to Milan then I would suggest the Interlaken/Jungfrau Region - smack on a main rail line (or a short train ride off it) to Milan - a great place for a few days - if not into Alpine Wonderland then day trip to places like Bern (one of the most underrated cities in Europe IMO - lovely old town with famous museums) or Lucerne - via the scenic Brunig Pass rail route - both Bern and Lucerne and of course Interlaken have great shopping but be prepared for sticker shock in what is one of the world's most expensive countries.