Interlaken or Montreux
 

I have 2 days to spend in Switzerland we then leave by car wetsard into France. We can either visto Montreux (Vevey, castle chillon, Lausanne, gruyere). Or Interlaken with Bern and a trip into the mountains.
We are interested in scenery, towns, good food, I guess a little of everything.

Thanks for the help
david

Since you are going to be driving into France, why not save the French part of Switzerland for another time. Why not do Interlaken. It's really hard to beat the scenery there!

Sorry, never been to Interlaken to make a comparison.

I love Vevey and Montreux but do not think you can do all those things with only 2 days (montreux, vevey, chillon, lausanne, and gruyeres). Certainly they have scenery and good food in those two towns.

I see your trip is in July so either are good then weather-wise. I would never stay in Interlaken, but if you choose the Bernese Oberland area I would recommend a mountain village town like Murren or Wengen. Interlaken is a charmless town that looks up at the mountains but is not in or near them. It has the dubious distinction of having the only Hooters restaurant in Europe. If you want to be on a lake in a nice town, consider Thun; but personally IMO you would want to be up in the mountains I would think as that would be the purpose of the trip. With a car, you could drive some of the great mountain passes like the Susten or the Grimsel which are a lot of fun and offer some great views. The only drawbacks to the BO for you would be that other than Thun which has a nice old town, there are no really charming villages in this area, which seems to be a criteria for you. There is so much scenic beauty and good walks and ferry rides, but no cobblestone streets, ancient churches, castles (Thun and Speiz have small ones) farmer's markets, museums, sidewalk cafes etc. However, you could stop for an afternoon in Berne, which does have an excellent old town area.

Charming villages are to be found galore in the Montruex area (although not, IMO, in Montreux itself.) Vevey, Cully and Morges, plus lots of little tiny hamlets in the vineyard areas. Excellent walking, wine tasting, biking, ferry rides. Lausanne has a lovely old town area and cathedral, Montreux has an old town area as well (I just don't like the rest of the town, too crowded, too much traffic). Chillon castle is the best in Switzerland, you can get to Gruyere easily which has a castle and tiny walled town. If you want Alpine beauty take a train in an hour to Chateau D'Oex to get your fix if the stunning Alp views from Lake Geneva arne't enough.

In terms of really excellent food, I have to say that the Lake Geneva area is superior, a better range of choice, more Michelin star restaurants, more variety. It is hard to get a bad meal in Switzerland, and you will not be eating McDonalds in the Bernese Oberland, but there is no where near the number of very good restaurants that you will find in the area around Vevey and Lausanne.

What about Lucerne, with its covered bridges, painted houses, very nice views of the river and mountains? From Lucerne you can go to Mt. Pilatus - it is easy to go there, by bus + cable car or by boat + cable car. I love this mountain, it has a special shape and beauty.

I would choose the Montreux region. Lots of possibilities around the lakeshore and in the nearby mountains. Better food in general. Watch out however is your trip is between june 30th and july 15th: Montreux Jazz festival!!! Hotels are normally fully booked.

Hi davidjac,

I think one way to make this decision is to decide what kind of ambiance you want to find --

In Montreux, you'll find French ambiance with French language, French food, and Edwardian arthitecture. You'll also find a developed city with traffic & stores & parking garages (not so much in Cully or Morges!).

In the Berner Oberland (please don't stay in Interlaken), you'll find villages of brown wood chalets and German language and food.

Good luck!

s

Again having only been to one of the options, I think Swandav's hit the nail on the head. Whether you are in the german-speaking part or the french-speaking part of Switzerland will affect your experience (and the food!), possibly more than the scenery.

I've also only been to Interlaken. I don't quite understand why people are saying don't stay in Interlaken? I did, and loved it! The town was really easy to get around and enough to keep you very busy for 2 days. I was there in winter so I did ski and many people I was with did sky dive (don't know if that's your thing!). The food was not excellent but I also didn't go to the nicest restaurants there, nor was I really there to experience the food. Though, the chocolate in Switzerland is really amazing!

If you have the money, Hotel Victoria Jungfrau (I think that's how you spell it) is a gorgeous hotel with an equally gorgeous spa! I think it is rated the #1 hotel in Switzerland.

Good luck planning, you can't go wrong in Europe!

Swandav, your remark reminds me of last year's visit to Lauterbrunnen.
We often go to an italian restaurant because the kids like pasta a lot... My son, 9 yrs old, is a spaghetti carbonara addict and has gained some notority in carbonara tasting. When his plate arrived in front of him, he looked at it and said "It doesn't look like a spaghetti carbonara". He put his nose over it and said "It certainly doesn't smell like spaghetti carbonara". With anticipation, he put his fork in his plate, picked up one spaghetti with some sauce and said "And it doesn't taste like spaghetti carbonara! Yuk" I tasted it and it was horrid.
Living in Switzerland, and after all these years, there is still no discussion about it: you eat in general a hell of a lot better in the french speaking part than in the german speaking part.

For Davidjac, if his choice falls on the french speaking part, he should go to the 'Pont de Brent' restaurant, not that far from Montreux or Vevey, for an everlasting experience.