Hi there,

I have very much enjoyed using these forums to help plan our europe trip, which is from 29/9 to 25/10. I will be travelling with my husband and our 15 month old baby. We are Australians living in South East Asia, and have travelled quite a bit with our son (he has been to six different countries so far) - and he sleeps with us so he is very portable, but obviously still a toddler etc. Our main priorities are food and scenery which is why we have decided on paris, bernese overland, tuscany.

Our basic itinerary is:
Paris: 29/9 to 6/10
Switzerland/ Italy: 6/10 to 13/10 -not yet decided where
Tuscany: 13/10 to 20/10 (staying at La Foce, Chuisi)
Rome: 20/10 to 25/10

I am seeking some ideas and suggestions about the Switzerland/ Italy part of our trip. We were originally going to go to Provence but we decided we really want to experience the beautiful swiss scenery. My husband is keen on Gimmelwald or Murren as well - but I am wondering whether it will be tiresome to try and do day trips from these places (but can't be certain we will even do day trips given we have a toddler in tow who will probably just want to look at goats and hens all day anyway). The accommodation does look limited though and seems to have 3 night minimum stay. Have considered Lauterbrunnen but we really want the spectacular alpine views. However, it could be rainy when we are there - so perhaps silly to bank on having a view? We had looked at Zermatt but Gimmelwald/ Murren just look so picture perfect.

We keep going around in circles. Obviously all the places look amazing. Any ideas/ comments/ suggestions?

Also, we were thinking of going from Switzerland to Venice and then onto Tuscany - or will this be too tight given we only have 6/10 to 13/10? Annoyingly, the accommodation in Tuscany is booked weekly so we can't change those dates. Perhaps we could go from Tuscany to Venice then to Rome?

Thanks for reading my post and taking the time to offer suggestions/ critiques.

Cheers,

Kate

Sorry, autocorect! *oberland

Hi hegsy,

You don't mention Wengen, which might be the perfect compromise for you. Wengen is smaller than Grindelwald but larger than Mürren; is a bit more remote than Grindelwald but less remote than Mürren. It is a nice little car-free village perched up in the mountains.

To take a look at accommodation, see

www.mywengen.ch

Have fun as you plan!

s

Hi Hegsy,

You will get many suggestions from partisans for various mountain towns in Switzerland. I have stayed in Murren and Interlaken, but not Gimmelwald. Murren is smaller than Gimmelwald, tough there was plenty of options for us there. We love Murren and would (and maybe will next summer) stay there again.

You cannot bank on the views, but if they happen you will be happy with the result.

In terms of travel, no matter where you stay it will take some time to get from place to place. But the scenery is great, that is why you are there, and so you will enjoy it. I would just pick the town that is closest to most of the things you think you want to do. Traveling around to see sights and hike trails was never a complaint anyone in my family had. Too much to see...

Oh, so sorry! I see that I mis-read your Gimmelwald for Grindelwald! My apologies.

In that case, even Wengen will probably be too large and commercialized than you want. I guess Mürren may be the compromise in order to have some facilities for you and your family.

But you may want to consider Wengen anyway -- ??

s

Thanks swandav! I get them confused as well and in fact did not even notice you had written grindelwald. I had considered Wengen but also read on the TA forum that last year in early October lots of places there were closed. But it does indeed look lovely, so thanks for suggesting it. Do you recommend a particular place to stay?

Thanks tn for your comments. I thought Gimmelwald was smaller than Murren. You are totally right about the scenery and the travel. I think we need to decide whether we just want to do little walks around or if we want to do the larger trips out. Anyway, do you recommend where you stayed in Murren?

Hi again,

Yes, I've stayed at the Hotel Alpenrose two times and enjoyed it!

(I think tn is also confusing Grindelwald and Gimmelwald -- Gimmelwald is smaller than Mürren, but of course Grindelwald is larger).

s

Yes, we enjoyed where we stayed. It is called the Eiger Guesthouse. It is a small hotel run by a very nice couple. It is right across from the train station. There isn't much noise from that, but FYI. We would definitely stay there again.

Hi Hegsy,

I second Swandav suggestion of staying in Wengen. I spent 7 delightful days there and enjoyed it very much. I also enjoyed Murren, but felt it would have been to remote for me to stay. I found Grindelwald to very touristy, but the views are fabulous. I also enjoyed Gimmelwald, but as with Murren, a bit remote for me, but I did especially enjoyed the hike down to Stechelberg.

From Wengen I was able to do many day trips in and around the Bernese Oberland area. I stayed at Hotel Baren, which is a family owned/run hotel/restaurant. I very much enjoyed my stay there.

Which ever of the beautiful villages you choose, I'm sure you and your family will enjoy your time in the area with some of the most fantastic scenery.

Happy Travels!
jdc

I think we are going to stay in Murren. The Hotel Eiger is closed for renovations but I will update here with where we stay though for future goooglers.

Thanks for your help!

Hegsy...you will have a great time in Mürren...enjoy.

Currently snowing in Mürren so far 30cms. It will only last a couple of days before the freezing level rises but until then...its lovely to see.

Check it out on Twitter : @murrenlover

Amazing views from the new HD Roundshot 360° Webcam in Mürren (positioned above the Edelweiss Hotel)

http://hoteledelweiss.roundshot.ch/