Help with 10 days in Switzerland and Italian Lakes
 

I'm used to looooonnnnnnggggg trips, but I'm helping good friends put together a trip this summer -- probably July. They only have 10 days and although have been to Europe, particularly Italy several times have never done the lakes or been to Switzerland. They aren't big on staying put. He likes to drive. They're mainly into scenery for this trip.

I'm suggesting they fly into Geneva where they take the one hour train to Monteux for three nights. They'd like doing the chocolate train to Gruyeres, walking the promenade, and maybe going over to Yvoire or Evian by boat.

From there, the train to Zermatt for two nights. They like some hiking, and she'd like a spa -- our favorite the Hotel Julen seems perfect for them.

From there, I'd suggest they take a train to Stresa, maybe just spend one night or two if they can swing it. I'm suggesting they get a car in Stresa. One goal is to visit relatives in Brebbia, a tiny town east of Lake Maggiore.

From there they would drive to Bellagio for three nights. They do want to explore some of the area, and might drive off to Lugano (or perhaps do that on the way from Brebbia). Then they would drive to Milan to fly home. Since they'd have an early morning flight, I suspect they might want to spend a night near the airport (I need to search here, as I think I've seen that request a lot).

Any comments or suggestions for us? By the way, they originally wanted to include Barcelona or some of Spain in this trip, but I think I've talked them into narrowing it all down to this sort of itinerary.

Sorry. I edited my post and it reposted a second time.

Sounds good. Villa Malpensa at MXP is nice and has a great dining room, all right next to the airport.

The Montreux Jazz Festival is July 6 -21. Would they like or hate this? And I assume acommodations are harder to find.

They could fly into Zurich, train to Lucerne, and spend a couple days there. Or Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen et al for the hiking. Sounds like a good trip.

oh, the jazz festival. They might like it, except for the crowds and the difficulty of accomodations.

Hi NeoPatrick,

I know you've been to Montreux a few times so you're familiar with the basics.

Have you looked into Hotel Victoria in Glion for them? It might do to avoid the crowds while still being very close to the action. The Victoria is usually the last to fill up. It's very easy to take the funicular down to Territet or the train to Montreux. The Victoria is my favorite hotel in the area.

Otherwise, they could avoid the crowds by staying in Vevey -- or even Morges.

s

Tell me about the Victoria. How easy is it to get back and forth down to the promenade? Is the funicular right at the hotel? I'm not even sure where it comes down to in Montreux. Are the meals up there fantastic, or would they likely want to eat elsewhere in the evenings?

Hi again,

No, the funicular is about a block from the hotel; the train station is on the other side of the funicular.

As I said, the funicular takes you down to *Territet,* not Montreux (or about a 30 minute walk to Montreux along the promenade). Chillon is about 20 minutes from Territet. There is a dock right there across the street and down some steps from the funicular station. The train from Glion takes you right to the train station of Montreux (it's the Rochers-de-Naye line).

Personally, I prefer the promenade around Territet more than the throngs around the center of town.

Yes, I liked the food up there. Reasonable cost. For sure have a drink on the patio looking over the lake.

The website is at www.victoria-glion.ch. They used to post the menu online.

Let me know if you want more info.

s

ps,

Here's a link to a map. You can see the funicular from Glion to Territet toward the left of the page.

http://www.montreux.ch/sightseeing/carte.html

s

ps,

Here's a link to a map. You can see the funicular from Glion to Territet toward the right hand side of the page.

http://www.montreux.ch/sightseeing/carte.html

s

It is possible to take a scenic train trip right out of Montreux to Rochers de Naye. You have a beautiful view of mountains and Lake Geneva and can walk around the "summit" where there is an alpine garden. If I recall correctly, it can be a nice 1/2 day trip.