We're an American family( 3 adults and 3 children)living in England. I thought we could run over to the Alps then down to Florence after Christmas but am about to pull my hair out---mea culpa--too last minute. We would like some snow for the kids, and cultural stuff for us, perhaps in two places.
ANYWAY--we were planning to fly in to Zurich, train to Lucerne, stay one or two nights, then to Interlaken and stay either in Lauterbrunnen or ?? to discover the area for three nights or so. Then, is there a train to get to Florence without going back to Zurich?? (and how long would it take and is it worth it cuz we only have 2-3 more days).
AND finding a hotel is near impossible. When I do a search, I will get a list, then I call, and no rooms are aavailable. How can I search for hotels that have rooms that are available during my stay (12/27-12/31)?
OR--where in Eastern Europe would be nice (and not very expensive or rather cheaper than Switzerland) to go as an alternative?
ANY ideas, suggestions, different itinerary would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!! I am standing by...

we did rome last christmas and had a blast. maybe some time there with skiing in the italian alps?

You might have a bit of luck if you access "laterooms.com"...

Happy Christmas!

I was also going to suggest laterooms, http://www.telme.com/ or lastminute.com

Hi spanishfly,

To start with, the train trip from Interlaken to Florence will be about eight hours (goes via Spiez & Milan). You can check the schedules at www.rail.ch.

To find hotel rooms by date, the fastest way is to go through the town's tourist office. For Luzern (www.luzern.org), you can do a hotel search by date and then by category. For the Berneroberland area, go to the tourist website (www.wengen.ch), then send select your village, and/or just send a "Reservation Inquiry" where you can specify the date, the number of rooms, and the category of hotel. They'll email you with some possibilities.

Best of luck!

s

Hi again,

Sorry, you don't have to send email to Wengen area tourist office. Just go to www.wengen.ch, then (after selecting English language) select "Accommodation" at the TOP of the page. You'll be able to search hotels by village (or all), category, and arrival date. I just input a date of 19 Dec and saw a few dozen hotels with availability.

Best --
s

Hi - hope you're having some luck . . .

BTW you've noticed that the Swiss franc is stupidly high against the pound right now? I would keep in the Eurozone, fly into Chambery or Lyon (or Geneva but get out fast) ; ) have some time in the French alps - then head across via Torino to Firenze.

It's going to be a great winter with lots of snow! Many of the French 'stations de ski' have tons to do besides downhill, e.g., ice skating outdoors, sleigh rides, snow park with toboggans.

Let us know how your planning's going (or not)
Happy holidays & HTH

This site is pretty good www.hrs.com It's the one used by the German rail website. If there isn't anything in the town you select, it allows you to search within "x" km of your destination.

Thanks everyone for your help. I am finding it too hard to organize Switzerland. I have decided to go to Vienna and Prague and find some snow hopefully for the kids somewhere south of Vienna. If any one has further tips, I;ll take 'em. Thanks again.