French, German and Italian
Dec 30th, 2005, 01:35 PM
#1
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French, German and Italian
My husband and I are planning a trip to Switzerland in June 2006. I have been told to try and experience the French, Italian and German speaking provinces. We fly in and out of Zurich. We plan to rent a car (or should we use the trains?) We were thinking of a night in Zurich, driving to Laussane for 2 nights, Lugano for 2 nights and Luzerne for 2 nights. This will be our first visit to Switzerland so I want to get a feel for the whole country without going crazy. Your critique of our draft itinerary is welcomed. Please let me know. Thanks!
Dec 30th, 2005, 02:23 PM
#3
There's no right or wrong but I adore the trains in Switzerland so that would be my pick instead of car rental. They are so easy and stress free (which I would not feel about driving in europe myself). Also I'd choose Montreux or Vevey over Lausanne for the 2-days in the french-speaking part of the country.
Dec 31st, 2005, 12:20 PM
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Good idea! The first day and night in Zuerich lets you decompress! Take a hotel right in the city - the www.bauraulac.ch or the www.doldergrand.com are the best, and you'll walk along the lake and through the old town "Altstadt" where you can find many a nice place for lunch. Best shopping is along the Bahnhofstrasse, of course - as famous as the Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
You might want to take public transport a few minutes along the lake to nearby Kuesnacht (a town of its own but these days pretty much a suburb of sprawling Zuerich), where master chef Horst Petermann has the exquisite Petermann's Kunststuben restaurant (call ahead! +41-1-910-0715, closed Sunday and Monday)
http://www.grandestables.ch/pages/co...amp;MenuNumb=2
Don't rent a car - you can get anywhere with trains and other such means of public transport. Parking as a non-resident is no fun, most streets require a sticker. If you like your glass of wine with lunch and dinner, forget the car, they are awfully strict, also with speed limits - down to a tolerance of 1.6 miles (3 kilometers) above the limit and they nab you.
Lausanne is fairly boring, quite frankly. It sits elevated from the lake, in some places you have a view, but you get that from many more lovely and interesting places. Down below is Ouchy, the "port" city of Lausanne, often engulfed in fog...
But even if you go on to, say, Glion above Montreux, or some such much nicer place to stay in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, the train will stop in Lausanne. So here's what I propose for a splendid occasion.
Take a taxi from Lausanne to nearby Crissier (4 miles) and eat at the Restaurant de l'Hotel de Ville (that's not a hotel, it's the old city hall), on 1 rue Yverdon. Call +41-21-634-0505 (closed Sunday and Monday). First ask it they're open for lunch - they may not be in summer.
Montreux itself has gotten to be a bit ritzy and soulless, with huge expensive hotels and casinos and such, so it's not a fun place to live there so much as to visit. But it's still a great place to stroll along the lake, and just fine for a brief stay where you move about during the day.
If you stay in or near Montreux, on the "Swiss Riviera", you'll look up at Mont Blanc and Dents-du-Midi and other fabulous mountains, and across the lake. You can go for boat rides on the lake, for example from Montreux to nearby Chillon where you'll want to visit the castle, and come back with the trolleybus up on the main road. Or stroll from Montreux along the lake to Clarens and take the bus back, or the train for a few minutes' ride.
From Montreux you can also make a day excursion up to Zermatt to say Hi to the Matterhorn. Or to Chateau-d'Oeux to see a plush former farming community sitting in picturesque surroundings, with good eating and nice strolling paths everywhere.
To get to the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, called the Ticino, it'll take about 4 hours or less by train to, say, Locarno on the "major" lake Lago Maggiore. Nice place, stroll by the lake, take boats up and down the lake, to Ascona, across to Vira Gambarogno, or trains to Lugano.
From Locarno to Luzern it's just under 3 hours, and from Luzern to Zuerich airport it's a bit over an hour.
Enjoy!
WK
You might want to take public transport a few minutes along the lake to nearby Kuesnacht (a town of its own but these days pretty much a suburb of sprawling Zuerich), where master chef Horst Petermann has the exquisite Petermann's Kunststuben restaurant (call ahead! +41-1-910-0715, closed Sunday and Monday)
http://www.grandestables.ch/pages/co...amp;MenuNumb=2
Don't rent a car - you can get anywhere with trains and other such means of public transport. Parking as a non-resident is no fun, most streets require a sticker. If you like your glass of wine with lunch and dinner, forget the car, they are awfully strict, also with speed limits - down to a tolerance of 1.6 miles (3 kilometers) above the limit and they nab you.
Lausanne is fairly boring, quite frankly. It sits elevated from the lake, in some places you have a view, but you get that from many more lovely and interesting places. Down below is Ouchy, the "port" city of Lausanne, often engulfed in fog...
But even if you go on to, say, Glion above Montreux, or some such much nicer place to stay in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, the train will stop in Lausanne. So here's what I propose for a splendid occasion.
Take a taxi from Lausanne to nearby Crissier (4 miles) and eat at the Restaurant de l'Hotel de Ville (that's not a hotel, it's the old city hall), on 1 rue Yverdon. Call +41-21-634-0505 (closed Sunday and Monday). First ask it they're open for lunch - they may not be in summer.
Montreux itself has gotten to be a bit ritzy and soulless, with huge expensive hotels and casinos and such, so it's not a fun place to live there so much as to visit. But it's still a great place to stroll along the lake, and just fine for a brief stay where you move about during the day.
If you stay in or near Montreux, on the "Swiss Riviera", you'll look up at Mont Blanc and Dents-du-Midi and other fabulous mountains, and across the lake. You can go for boat rides on the lake, for example from Montreux to nearby Chillon where you'll want to visit the castle, and come back with the trolleybus up on the main road. Or stroll from Montreux along the lake to Clarens and take the bus back, or the train for a few minutes' ride.
From Montreux you can also make a day excursion up to Zermatt to say Hi to the Matterhorn. Or to Chateau-d'Oeux to see a plush former farming community sitting in picturesque surroundings, with good eating and nice strolling paths everywhere.
To get to the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, called the Ticino, it'll take about 4 hours or less by train to, say, Locarno on the "major" lake Lago Maggiore. Nice place, stroll by the lake, take boats up and down the lake, to Ascona, across to Vira Gambarogno, or trains to Lugano.
From Locarno to Luzern it's just under 3 hours, and from Luzern to Zuerich airport it's a bit over an hour.
Enjoy!
WK
Dec 31st, 2005, 03:05 PM
#7
I can understand the suggestion on visiting French/German/Italian speaking provinces of Switzerland, but with only a week I'd choose your destinations based on your interests and not the predominant local language.
I second the recommendation of trains over a rented car.
I also am not crazy about Lausanne (Vevey or Glion are very nice alternatives). I haven't spent enough time in Locarno to have a strong opinion. I wasn't particularly impressed with Lugano although the smaller villages in the area were charming. Lugano does have the advantage of being close enough to Bellagio for a day trip.
I second the recommendation of trains over a rented car.
I also am not crazy about Lausanne (Vevey or Glion are very nice alternatives). I haven't spent enough time in Locarno to have a strong opinion. I wasn't particularly impressed with Lugano although the smaller villages in the area were charming. Lugano does have the advantage of being close enough to Bellagio for a day trip.
Jan 2nd, 2006, 08:11 AM
#8
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From what I am hearing, we should stay in Montreux, Vevey or Glion instead of Laussane. What about Geneva - should we stay there for a night or just do a day trip?
Wally - thanks for detailed hotel and restaurant information - I am going to check them all out today!
I am also going to re-post with Switerland in the title. Kara
Wally - thanks for detailed hotel and restaurant information - I am going to check them all out today!
I am also going to re-post with Switerland in the title. Kara
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