nerolac

Hi

I am going with my wife to switzerland. The itinerary is as follows
1. land in basel in the afternoon and spend two nights in Basel
2. then leave for interlarken where we will be based for the next six nights while exploring the region as much as we can. I do not knwo that best places to fit in during these five days. I will appreciate any suggestion on the places to visit in this region.

Betsy

Type Interlachen (note spelling) into the search box at the top of the page. Many previous posts from the archives will appear on the left-hand side of your screen. Next, go to www.google.com and type in Interlachen and prepare to surf for a while.

cambe

Betsy,

In Switzerland I think you will find it spelt Interlaken!

Isn't Interlachen in the US?

suze

Interlaken (no second r, no ch either).

Try this website and go to the tourist office icon:
www.interlaken.ch

looks beautiful BTW!

Betsy

Uh-oh! "I stand corrected," she says as she searches for the blushing smiley. quot;>

kleeblatt

I would definately stay in a hotel with a spa...whirlpool, sauna, massage, etc. You might have great weather but you also might have lousy weather. A spa will make up for any rotten weather.

Luisah

Take the train up to Kleine Scheidegg (sp)have a great lunch then go on to the Jungfrau.

isabel

We spent 5 nights in Interlaken in July - at the Hotel Lotschberg, which I highly recommend. We spent two days in the mountains - one day we hiked from above Lauterbrunnen through Murren to Gimelwald, cabel car down to valley and hiked backed to Lauterbrunnen. The other day we did Wengen and hiked in that area. One day we took the train to Speiz and Thun and the boat back to Interlaken (might not be so nice in November, but Thun would still be interesting). Another day we day tripped to Bern and Murten.

We also spent two nights in Lucerne. If you aren't planning to overnight there you could do it as a (longish) day trip from Interlaken. But especially at that time of year you might want to consider shortening the number of nights in Interlaken and adding in Lucerne. It's a beautiful city and enjoying it would be less weather dependent than most of the activities in Interlaken.

Melnq8

Nerolac -

We've visited the Berner Oberland in November twice. Many attractions, restaurants and hotels are closed this time of year as it's very much the low season. It's also a popular time for maintenance, leading to even more closures.

I believe the Jungfrau is open year round, but you'll find many other closures, so I'd suggest you do some research before you go, so you're not disappointed.

Interlaken will definitely have more places open than the villages above it(Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald and Murren), but much of what tourists go to Switerland to see lies aboves Interlaken.

Personally, I like visiting Switzerland in November BECAUSE it's the low season, but a first time visitor might be disappointed.

Melnq8

Nerolac -

I just looked at my reports from those two November trips to Switzerland - here's what we encountered from the middle of November through the first week of December 2003 and 2004:

Grindelwald - very few open restaurants (we found two)- most hotels closed as well - we stayed in an apartment. All hiking trails closed - we would have hiked anyway as there wasn't any snow, but the gondolas and cable cars up to the hiking trails were closed.

The cable car from Murren to Gimmelwald - closed for maintenance. We were able to take the freight cable car from Murren to Stechelberg though.

Wengen - Mannlichen Luftsielbahn - closed until Dec 3 (2004), then the opening was postponed another week. Most hotels closed - we stayed in an apartment.

Walk from Mannlichen to Keline Scheidegg and back also closed. This walk is usually closed in the winter due to avalanche danger, but we saw very little snow.

Allmendhubel funicular in Murren - closed until Dec 3, 2004.

Schilthornbahn in Murren - closed until Dec 4, 2004.

Murren - Only one year round hotel, only one open restaurant.

Schingeplatte - strictly seasonal - closed until mid June.

I don't want to discourage you, as you can still have a good time off season. To avoid disappointment though, you'll want to determine what's open at the time of your visit.

isabel

We were there in July so of course nothing was closed. Melnq8's info should be helpful to you, but just so you know, there is plenty of hiking you can do without going up to the higher areas. If the funicular from Lauterbrunnen is running you could do the hike we did without any other public transportation. Just a big loop back to Lauterbrunnen. It would take quite a few hours, but most of it is downhill or flat. I think a lot of people feel they need to go up high to get great scenery, but I actually kind of liked the mid/lower level trails. You're still IN the mountains, just most of the views are up.

Melnq8

Isabel makes a good point - the funicular from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp and the connecting train to Murren operate all year (not sure when they do maintenance).

There's plenty of hiking at lower elevations, and even more hiking trails accessible by trains that run year round.

Have fun.

nerolac

Thank you for the replies. I did realise that it was off season however I misinterpreted it as a season of low overseas tourists rather than closed restaraunts. That solves the mystery of repeatedly futile attempts to book hotels in Murren. Luisah, Isabel, and Melnq8 - I have printed your suggestions. I much appreciate the effort you have put in to provide me with the details as you discovered them. Thank you. i will now search for the places you hvae outlined and try to build a reasonable itinerary.

Melnq8

Nerolac -

Some apartments in Murren and Wengen will be available. A perk of traveling out of season is not only the lower rates, but the fact that apartments can often be let for only a few days. During the season, most apartments rent by the week - usually from Saturday to Saturday.

This site might help you locate something in Wengen:

http://www.wengen.com/hotapa.html

You might also want to check with the tourist offices in each location - they can usually provide a long list of available apartments.

Have a great trip!