Hi - My husband and I will be in Geneva for approximately 9 days at the end of August. This is our first trip to Switzerland. We are both in our 40's and we are pretty active. The purpose of the trip is a business trip for my husband and I'm tagging along so we can add a few days to do some sightseeing. Here's the itinerary I have planned so far but I am looking for suggestions on ways to improve it:

Day 1 Arrive and sleep in Geneva (from the US)
Day 2 Sight seeing in Geneva - sleep in Geneva
Days 3 and 4 Montreux (and vicinity including the Choc Train to Gruyeres, Chateau de Chillon and Vevey) Sleep in Vevey?
Days 5, 6, 7 Bernard Overland area (Wengen, Interlaken, etc...hiking and such) Sleep in Wengen?
Day 8 Lucerne - sleep here
Day 9 Geneva - sleep here
Day 10 Depart Geneva for US

Questions:

1.Understanding that we have a limited amount of time, do i have the right "must see" locations? We obviously want to see the highlights but don't really care for big touristy sites/areas so I was trying to find a balance in what we see and where we stay. I'm THINK we'll want to see the places I have listed in Days 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 but am not sure if Lucerne is a must see or if something else should replace it?
2. Our hotels in Geneva will be part of a business trip so we won't need any help there but I would like suggestions in the other areas. We like a mixture of lodging that ranges from 3 - 4 star boutique-style smaller hotels/inns - I've been told and read alot that Switzerland is expensive so I don't know if a budget $200 - $300 CHF will get us in that category or not. While we like to have the "local charm" we also like to have some luxury and romance, if possible. If we need to modify our budget or preferences, let me know.
3. We are open minded to adding or taking away anything that makes sense. We THINK we want to mostly enjoy the great scenery of the mountains and the small villages, but if there are other things that we shouldn't miss, please let me know.
4. The exact days of the business meetings aren't flushed out yet so we may have to modify the agenda based on that - ie: I may be taking a day trip or 2 solo while my husband is in meetings
5. We plan to use trains for travel - I've seen alot of postings about Half Fare Card and Swiss Pass - what is best given our itinerary?


Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hi swanner,

Vevey and Geneva are only about an hour apart by train, so you'll lose more time if you switch hotels (because of the chores of packing up & checking out, then checking in and unpacking/getting settled again). Though I prefer the ambiance of Vevey over Geneva, in the interests of being outside rather than inside doing chores, I would just stay in
Geneva for those nights.

While in Montreux, don't miss walking the flowerd lakeside promenade -- it takes about 45 minutes to walk to Chillon. You may also want to take the lake ferry to Vevey, lovely experience.

Yes, I would recommend you use Wengen for your base!

More information:

www.montreux-vevey.com

www.myjungfrau.ch

Have fun as you plan!

s

I agree with swandav that you should NOT change bases at Lake Geneva. If you are happy with your (business) hotel just stay there and do excursions to Vevey/Montreux. And Geneva is not *that* bad a city ... it has nice parks, lakeside promenades, a quite charming old town, interesting museums and churches to see.

For Vevey and Montreux I second the suggestions of castle Chillon, the walk along the lakeside promenade and a ferry ride. I'd like to add that I'm not sure the Choco train is worth the time and money - I'd rather take a cog-train up to Rochers-de-Naye or Les Pleiades and enjoy the views from there (weather permitting, of course). Or visit a wine village ... Lutry, St. Saphorin e.g., do a wine tasting there in a caveau.

I would skip Lucerne. Too much hassle for just one day/night. Add the day to Wengen, if you're keen on a Swiss-German town go to Thun, it is somewhat similar, less touristy, maybe cannot absolutely keep up with the charm of the old town but has a lovely castle which Lucerne does NOT have.

This leaves just one other hotel than in Geneva - in Wengen try Hotel Alpenrose http://www.alpenrose.ch/ Book a room to the south (with balcony and gorgeous views). Breakfast and dinner included in the rates, so it should meet your budget (or get CHF 25 back per person if opting out of dinner).

Hi Swanda and Ingo - Thanks so much for the reply back.

I love all the ideas - especially that of the Wine Tasting. That's something I had considered but wasn't sure if it was do-able. We love good red wine - are there any vineyards worthwhile and close enough that we could incorporate into our itinerary?

I also appreciate the tip on the Choc Train. We will modify to take your suggestions.

Wine tasting: The Lake Geneva wine region is known for their excellent whites - not many red wines there, sorry. Almost the only place where red wine is cultivated is Lutry - that is where I had the wine tasting in the caveau. Best idea is probably to contact the caveau in advance. We tasted a couple of whites and two red wines - all of them very good. We also had some cheese (of course, LOL) and saucisson vaudois (sort of salami) and bread. Yum.

http://www.lake-geneva-region.ch/en/...uvigneronlutry

Ingo - thank you. So it seems like Caveau is still in Switzerland, correct? I went out to the link you sent. Would it be possible to find a good wine region in France and make an overnight trip of it? In other words, could we keep our itinerary as is and replace Lucerne w a French vineyard visit? I know we couldn't get to Burgundy or Champagne, but perhaps there are some other worthy regions closer to Switzerland and do-able as an overnighter? Perhaps not, just figured it doesn't hurt to ask

Also, we'll be staying in the Marriott Geneva on the front end of our trip. But on the back-end we can choose whatever hotel we want. What do you recommend?

One other thought: I prefer only staying in Geneva on the nights we have to (the days of the business meetings) ...if we were to add lodging outside of Geneva, given the itinerary we are discussing, what would you recommend? So far we have Wengen, but is there something in between Geneva and Wengen we should be considering?

Ingo - just finished reviewing Hotel Alpenrose - that is perfect for us. Thank you for the great recommendation!

Hi swanner --

"Caveau" is French for a wine celler, so it's not a geographical place. You will be fine discovering and enjoying the wines right there in the Lake Geneva region, no need to go to France.

For a place between Lake Geneva and Wengen, you couldn't do any better than the Gstaad area. If you want a more built-up town, you can stay in Gstaad -- but if you want something small and intimate, you could stay in Saanen or Rougemont. More information:

www.gstaad.ch

These towns like along the Golden Pass route, not far from Gruyere and Broc, which are what you would see with the Chocolate Train. Or, you could also stay in Gruyeres itself for a few nights.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Great - thanks for all the information. I'm going to dive into it now and try to decide on the different towns you mentioned. My first inclination is that we prefer small villages/towns over something larger - but I am trying to stay open minded and consider all possibilities. My husband reminds me of a trip to Italy we took years ago - where I was very skeptical of Rome in lieu of the smaller towns...well, it turned out I loved Rome so now when I'm making our travel plans, I try to consider all possibilities.

I was coming to suggest skipping Geneva and just going out to Vevey/Montreux directly from the airport/train station (because I *adore* those two towns and thought Geneva was just like any other big international city). But it sounds like you need to be in Geneva for work?

Unfortunately yes we have to be in Geneva for work. I thought about ditching my husband in Geneva and just heading right over to Vevey/Montreux, but he wasn't too keen on being left out

So - all kidding aside, I'm actually just trying to lob onto his business trip so I need to be grateful that we can do this at all. This business trip just cropped up so we are adjusting our other vacation plans in order to make this work. Here's what I'm thinking so far (some adjustments made from great input provided by swandav200 and Ingo) but again, we are open to suggestions:

Day 1, 2, and 3: We will likely be in Geneva. My husband will be in meetings during the day and we will stay at the Marriott (Boo but it's non-negotiable). While he's in meetings, I can do some sight seeing in Geneva and probably Montreux/Vivey - Lutry wine tasting, Chillon castle, walk around the lake, ferry etc.... I can probably even drag him over to Montreux/Vivey area for dinner one night - seems close enough to do that and even though he'd miss the daytime sites, he'd at least get to "see" something of the area if we went there for dinner one night - was thinking maybe we could squeeze in a walk around the promenade and dinner? Any recommendations for dining? We eat pretty healthy - fish and chicken and steamed veggies are our staples - boring I know but that's how we like it.

Day 4 and 5 - Was considering Gstaad/Gruyeres - Still working this out but was thinking of staying at Hotel Olden and doing some hiking, cheese factory, etc...looking for ideas here on things to do and lodging ideas. Hotel Olden looks like our kind of place but if i could find something abit less expensive, that'd be even better.

Day 6, 7, 8 - BO with lodging in Wengren at Hotel Aspenrose - hiking and sightseeing in the surrounding vicinity.

Day 9 - Geneva - need lodging suggestion - something boutique and small and affordable.

Any input would be helpful. Thanks in advance for your help

Casual lakeside dining in Vevey and a local favorite:

http://www.cafeduport.ch/

Eat on the terrace, order the filet de perche (small lake fish).

That's perfect - thank you

Did you click on the photos for the terrace?

I have friends who live in Vevey and Montreux so I've been there many times. This is one of their "neighborhood" restaurants.

You're going to have a bit of a challenge finding truly plain grilled fish/chicken and steamed vegetables though, Swiss (french influenced) local cooking is typically a little bit heavier than that.

Another trick is in the central part of Vevey, especially on the pedestrian-only streets watch for local cafes with a chalkboard out front. There will be a daily lunch special at a reasonable price. It's a standing tradition from feeding 'workmen'. You can find some great Ma & Pa type cafes that way.

If you happen to be able to be in Vevey on a Tuesday or a Saturday morning, or Montreux on Friday morning, don't miss the open air farmers market. It's truly my favorite thing to do there. It's the real deal (locals shop there it's not a show for tourists).

We did a very similar trip last summer. My husband had a business trip to Lausanne, and we turned it into a Swiss vacation. Our very favorite part of the trip was Wengen. There are so many wonderful hikes in the area, each more spectacular than the next. I suggest you maximize your time there, perhaps stealing a day or two from your other locations. Ler's face it, Switzerland is about mountains, and there is nothing like being nestled right in among them.

Also, the Swiss Pass worked very well for us, so do consider purchasing. Sounds lile you'll be doing quite a bit of train travel, so it will save you both money and time. (And it's also good on many boats.)

Thanks Msteacher. I think your suggestions are good. Being outdoorsy sort of people, I think the Wengen area is going to suit us well. Did you happen to stay at Alpenrose? Seems to be a popular hotel in the area.

Also, did you make it to Montreux/Vivey? Gruyeres/Gstaad?