Is St. Moritz worth it? vs. Grindelwald area?
 

I have one week in Switzerland, and my dream is to stay at lovely mountain resorts with quaint (but not boring) villages, and great panoramic mountain views. It sounds like Zermatt is in. But what about St. Moritz? <BR>If you had one week and only two cities to see, what would they be?<BR>St. Moritz or Grindelwald area?<BR>Also, how do I travel around to these cities in the easiest manner (from Zurich or Geneva)? <BR>Please help!! I'm trying to surprise my husband on our 10th anniversary! Ingo or Ursula are you out there&gt;?<BR><BR>Thanks so much all!!!!<BR>

I would take Grindelwald anyday over the pseudo-glitzy-wannabee of St. Moritz. On the other hand, I would take the St. Mortiz area over Grindelwald. I like Davos, Flims, Pontresinna, Arosa type places which may or may not be your definition of not boring. I also like the Wengen/Muerren area of the Jungfrau than Grindelwald.<BR><BR>For Grindelwald, trains will do fine. For St. Moritz trains/busses do go everywhere in Switzerland (one of the best systems in the world) but you might want to rent a car a day or two for St. Moritz and the areas I described. But still, any distance would be a train for sure, it's too easy and cheap for anything else.

Only passed throught St Moritz and though it was nice, it would not be somewhere I woulds stay for a week. There are better locations in Switzerland and Austria. How about breaking your trip up into 2 locations. This would be a great way to experience a couple of the beautiful towns in the country.

LOL, just read your message again. Great idea on hitting two towns.....

Hello,<BR><BR>First I have to say my favourite place is St. Moritz area (Engadine, not the town itself).<BR><BR>Do quaint villages mean to you wooden houses (chalets)? So go to the Jungfrau region! The Engadine houses are beautiful, unique – but built of stone, kind of “Italian style”.<BR><BR>The Engadine offers (in my opinion) the best hiking/walking and the most scenic train journey (Bernina-Express) in the Alps. The Bernina-Express takes you from the glaciers to the palm trees and vineyards in Italy – you can enjoy the ride in an open panoramic wagon.<BR><BR>The valleys in the Jungfrau region are narrow (Lauterbrunnen more, Grindelwald less) at an altitude of 800 – 1000 . The peaks (Jungfrau) are reaching up to 4178 m. What a difference! The villages Wengen and Muerren are located on plateaux 400 – 800 m above the valley.<BR><BR>The Engadine is a wide open valley at an altitude of 1800 m. It is surrounded by high mountains (average alt. 3200 m, Piz Bernina 4049 m). In the valley you find large lakes, picturesque villages (Sils, Zuoz!), large forests. The best place to stay for you to be not bored is probably Pontresina.<BR><BR>I prefer the Engadine, because there are so many different views and places to visit in this region.<BR><BR>You should also read the thread “Support Group for those who love Switzerland”. There are some posts about the Engadine and surrounding areas in it.<BR><BR>Don't travel by car. Zermatt is car-free and the public transport system is perfect. If you can have an open jaw flight fly into Geneva, train to Zermatt, train (Glacier Express) to St. Moritz) or other train to Grindelwald/Jungfrau area and train to Zurich. If not, for Zermatt/Grindelwald is Geneva the closest airport and for Zermatt/St. Moritz Zurich.<BR><BR>You should definitely buy a Swiss Card, Swiss Pass or any other Rail Pass. To tell you the best choice we have to know your detailed itinerary.<BR><BR>Feel free to email me.<BR><BR>Ingo<BR>