switzerland

Old Mar 27th, 2012, 04:04 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
switzerland

HI,
We are planning to take a 7 days holiday to switzwerland.We will be travelling with our two kids sometime in June.We want a totally relaxing,full of nature and beauty kind of a holiday.We dont want to see shopping areas etc..we would be landing at Zurich airport.Can someone please suggest a good plan for us.
Regards,
seema
seemawahi29 is offline  
Old Mar 27th, 2012, 04:39 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
to me the highlight of Switzerland is the Jungfrau Region around Interlaken - the dreamy glacier-strewn majestic snow-capped peaks of the picture of Switzerland etched in our minds' eyes - a panopy of toy-like trains, aerial cable ways and foot paths for all energies lace the this gorgeous area - stay up in the hills in a place like Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen and just get have the view of the rugged Jungfrau Massif from your hotel balcony.

There are lots of varied things to do in this region - a waterfall inside a mountain (Trummelbach) - train to the Jungfraujoch where you kids will go wild with walking to a glacier, the ice caves and sled dogs - and boat rides on the lakes that bookend Interlaken and on and on - the Ballenberg Open-Air museum is one of the finest in Europe - showcasing Swiss life from times long ago.

anyway it is easy to get there from Zurich airport by train to Interlaken and then trains up into the hills - and investigate the Swiss Pass, valid on trains, lake boats, city buses, trams and free entry to over 400 Swiss museums like the Ballenberg one - about $20 a shot value for adults - and if you kids are under 16 then they get a free Family Pass where they never pay a dime to travel on any train, cable car, etc. Great sties for learning about the Swiss railways, lake boats, passes, etc - www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

En route back to Zurich you could hop on the scenic Brunig Pass railway from Interlaken to Lucerne and stay there until your flight as Luceerne is less than an hour from Zurich airport by train. Lucerne is a lovely city on a lovely lake - hop the popular lake steamers to tour the lake.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Mar 27th, 2012, 10:17 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We want a totally relaxing,full of nature and beauty kind of a holiday.We dont want to see shopping areas etc>

Well that sums up a place like Wengen or Grindelwald to a tea! Only surrounding by some of the planet's loveliest nature! Use Wengen as a base and hop to the Jungfraujoch - summit or down to Interlaken to ride boats that your kids will absolutely adore...over by boat on Lake Brienz perhaps to the Ballenberg Open-Air museum - or down to Lauterbrunnen to see the water cascade inside the cliffs...and on and on and on...
PalenQ is offline  
Old Mar 27th, 2012, 12:57 PM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Zermatt and the Matterhorn is the other really awesome area along with the Interlaken-Jungfrau Region that matches the picture of an Alpine wonderland of our minds with reality - but IMO the Jungfrau Region offers much more varied actvities than the Matterhorn area - but this would be another area to consider for peace and quiet up in the Alps - about 3 hours or so from Zurich by train - perhaps 4 I would guess.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Mar 27th, 2012, 03:24 PM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,198
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I agree with PalenQ about the Jungfrau region. I've taken all 4 of my kids there different years, when they were different ages, and they always loved it. As a matter of fact, when my third son was 12, he was asked what the one thing was that he would want to do on a trip to Europe, and his answer was to go to the ice caves on top of the Jungfrau. (He had seen the pictures of his 2 brothers there). We added Switzerland to that trip because of that wish.

Here are 2 trip reports that might help you. We stayed in Lauterbrunnen the first time when the 2 kids with us were 12:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...burg-paris.cfm

Last summer we went again with the same 2 kids (at 17 years old) and stayed in Grindelwald:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-pompeii.cfm

We did not repeat activities other than a hike from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg so each trip report will discuss different activities that our kids (and the adults) loved. There is so much to do, but my biggest recommendation is to have a balcony facing a valley or the Alps, depending on where you stay. There's the beauty and you might not even want to leave your hotel!
kwren is offline  
Old Mar 27th, 2012, 03:57 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 265
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Great advice. Lauterbrunnen valley is an incredibly beautiful place. A nearby aleternate day trip would be the mountain area south of Lucern, around Engelberg down to Trift (suspension bridge). Gondola's funiculars, lifts, walking paths and all kinds of ways to see this area, but with less fellow tourists.
Toucan is offline  
Old Mar 28th, 2012, 07:42 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
One could split the time between Jungfrau and Titlis areas - say 4 days in Interlaken area and 3 days in Lucerne - from which it is an easy day trip to the Mt Titlis/Engelberg area which I agree is also an awesome Alpine wonderland.
PalenQ is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Loacker
Europe
38
Sep 24th, 2016 12:14 PM
Nine29
Europe
27
Jun 10th, 2015 03:03 PM
nandita
Europe
16
Jan 6th, 2014 11:39 AM
jitendravg
Europe
9
Jul 24th, 2012 09:26 AM
kellieR
Europe
29
Mar 15th, 2012 11:28 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -