KK

My husband and I will be traveling to Switzerland in October and can't pick which city (or cities) to visit. Will someone please suggest a few of their favorites places? Thanks!!

j

In my very limited experience of Switzerland, I found Geneva a very interesting place. The city is in the Leman lake border, with the fountain, the Mont Blanc (France) clearly visible. It has a large marina (?) with thousands of recreational boats. <BR> <BR>

Ila

Geneva has everything, including an <BR>incredibly beautiful park with the <BR>'panoramic' views of Lake Geneva. <BR>(p.s., it's the place to get great deals on music boxes...) <BR> <BR>But Lausanne is really special. Museums, <BR>wonderful little streets to wander, <BR>great views (it's on north side of Lake G.) . Was there in '86 but will never forget The Beau Rivage Palace Hotel. Worth the splurge, even if for one nite, <BR>as I did. Ck out their internet site, <BR>as well as other info re: Lausanne. <BR>

scurry

<BR>I found Geneva kind of boring but liked Basel and LOVED Interlaken.

Maureen

My husband and I just returned from Switzerland. We visited Lucerne, Zurich, Interlaken (the Berner Oberland area), Lusanne, Montreaux, Bern and St. Gallen. Our hands-down favorite was the Berner Oberland area (Interlaken, Murren, Wengen, Gimmelwald, Grindelwald, etc.) Lucerne and its lakes were also beautiful as was the charming old town of Bern (easily seen in 1/2 day by foot). Those three spots were our favorites of the areas that we visited. Have fun and feel free to email any other questions. We loved Switzerland!

Jay

I've spent a fair time in the Western (French) part of Switzerland for my job and found Geneva to be a pretty town, but not particulary interesting. Nyon is a very small town just around the top of Lac Leman/Lake Geneva to the east which has some interesting Roman ruins and nice small museum - no tourists. Lausanne is further east along the lake and is lovely, but again, not a whole lot to see other than the beautiful views! Most of my working days were spent in the town of Montreaux and neighboring "villages" of Vevey and La-Tour-des-Peilz. The area is beautifully senic including the Chateau de Chillon on the lakefront. We could easily drive from Montreaux south into France to Evian, Thonon and nearby areas which again are senic but not too "historical" We really enjoyed driving to Grueyers which has a beautiful castle and village to explore. We've also travelled to Interlaken, Bern, and Lucerne and found them all to be beautiful cities as well.

richard j vicek

Good evening, KK <BR>My pick free would be Bern, Murren or <BR>Wengen and Einsiedeln.... <BR>Richard of LaGrange Park, Il...

Babs

We love Switzerland and have visited there several times! Lucerne is one of our favorite places(not too big, not too small). <BR>Our absolute favorite place is Zermatt. If you love mountains, this is the place. It takes a definite effort to get there, but the beauty and majesty of the Matterhorn and the charming town it well worth it. Also, the train ride from Visp to Zermatt is mountain scenery at its best!

Mika

HI - you didn't say, where you are flying to (Geneva or Zuerich) and how long you are staying in Switzerland. I am Swiss and my favourites are: Berne, Zermatt, Engadine (St. Moritz area), Jungfrau region and Lausanne with Lac Leman. Be careful, October weather varies,- september is more sure - and if it is raining you won't be able to enjoy the scenery. Then towns are better. Enjoy your stay.

Myer

For mountains, valleys, etc Oberland-Lauterbrunnen and up either side. <BR>Cities (large towns)- Berne, Lucerne, Lugano. <BR>Towns - Friburg, Spiez, Thun, Brig (not really Zermatt).

Ursula

Cities: <BR>Zurich, Basel, Lausanne, Lugano, Lucerne, Berne. <BR> <BR>Towns: <BR>Solothurn, Murten, Vevey, Yverdon-les-Bains, Rapperswil, Ascona, Thun. <BR> <BR>Villages: <BR>Just some: Gstaad, Morges, Pontresina, Flims, Arosa, Ascona, Adelboden.

Philip

My favorites were Bern (the bears are great entertainment), Lucerne, and Zermatt (but not on a Sunday when most things are closed). Also take a trip to the top of Mount Pilatus for breathtaking views.

KK

Hi Mika - actually we are not flying into Switzerland. We will be taking the train from Paris. You said that Berne was one of your favorites; can you suggest a nice hotel or restaurant? Also what are some highlights of the city? Thanks for your help! <BR> <BR>Also I would like to thank everyone for their help! It is much appreciated!

Ursula

KK: The most beautiful hotel in Berne is the "Belle Epoque" boutique hotel. Very small four-star, charming place, well located, intimate bar, but... not cheap and only some 17 rooms. Check it out: <BR>www.belle-epoque.ch <BR>There is not really a real great high light in my opinion, if not the town itself. Just wandering around and discover most probably the towns that pleases most to Americans and Japanese, next to Lucerne, of course. <BR>For Swiss, Berne (the capital) is first of all the town from where our country is governed (like Washington). <BR>It's not considered a real hip town where too much happens, but still, it's pleasant, from time to time.

Jane

For a big city (sort of) we loved Lucerne. We stayed in a hotel selected by the accomodation booth in the train station. It was moderately priced and quite nice - can't remember the name but if you are interested I can dig it up. <BR> <BR>Small town - Kandersteg wins by a mile: It is a lovely spot with many beautiful hikes nearby. Lift goes up to Oesheninsee (lake) wonderful views- we could have stayed for a month. Short train ride to several other nice valleys and villages.

jw

It may be too late to add my two cents, but I'd like to suggest settling in at one place for each area of Switzerland: A town on Lac Leman for the French-speaking part (We stayed in petite Rivaz, but that's just a two-star)between Lausanne and Montreaux; Bern and Lucerne are both beautiful cities in central Switzerland, but if you'd like to stay in a smaller place, try little Leissigen on Thunersee or Fluelen on Lake Lucerne; in the northeast, I'd surely recommend staying in Rapperswil on Lake Zurich; and in the southern Italian-speaking portion, consider Lago Maggiore (someone's already suggested Ascona). Lake Lugano is also beautiful -- pretty little towns like Garda and Morcote. I don't think you said if you would be driving or training. If you'll let us know something of your budget, I'd be happy to recommend my two-star favorites -- they are humble but such nice caring people. JW

jw

I misspoke. I should have said Gandria on Lake Lugano. Sorry.

Bob

I am staying in Zurich for a day and am looking for good places to see and good places to eat at. I am also looking to find cool swiss items to buy. Any suggestions? I already have a room so im ok in that regard.