ElanaTori

Hi! My husband and I are planning a trip to Switzerland for 8 nights in mid-late February. Mainly, we want a relaxing vacation in the alps (R&R with great views) coupled with some outdoor excursions (we aren't big skiers, but would love to do dog sledding, tobogganing, and hopefully paragliding). We are going to fly into and out of Zurich, so we figured we might as well check out the city sites on our way in and out too. Zurich will be one of the two cities- should Bern or Lucerne be the other? And, do you agree that we should spend 2 nights in Zurich and 1 in Bern/Lucerne, or should we spend the extra night in Bern/Liscerne? While in the cities we mostly want to see the sights, go to not more than 1-2 museums total. I've heard that February can be rainy and Bern has a lot of indoor arcades so it's easy to be out and about and still stay dry...

Our current (tentative!) itinerary is as follows: Arrive in Bern or Lucerne Saturday morning and stay for 1 night - arrive in the alps Sunday afternoon and stay for 5 nights - arrive in Zurich Friday afternoon and stay for 2 nights, fly home early Sunday morning.

Regarding the alps, we are deciding between Adelboden (The Cambrian) and Rougemont (Hotel de Rougemont). We want to stay at a Starwood property so these are the only two locations we are considering. Any insight into which location is better/has more to offer, or which hotel property is preferred, would be very helpful! For means of background, I've been to Geneva and Interlaken before but this is my husband's first trip to Switzerland. We're hoping to stay somewhere with beautiful views and easy access to authentic, delicious dining options (as well as the activities listed above, which I believe both locations offer - plus gondola rides to the top of the mountains, and great spa treatments!).

Any insight into Bern vs. Lucerne and/or Adelboden vs. Rougemont - any other other tips for the trip! - would be much appreciated!! And also any reassurance that February isn't a crazy time to travel to Switzerland, that we'll still be able to enjoy the cities, sights, and views despite the cold and possibly rainy weather Thank you!

swandav2000

Hi ElanaTori,

I don't know Adelboden at all. But I do know Rougemont a bit. I haven't ever stayed there, but I've cycled through it and spent a few hours there a few other times.

First of all, Rougemont is a very, very small place -- but it is one of the most beautiful villages I've ever seen in Switzerland. There are basically two streets in the village, and they intersect, and that's where the shops and restaurants are. Not many. It has a beautiful church from the 11th Cent. You can see the whole village and visit its shops in about 2h.

Rougemont is very close to Chateau d'Oex (a center of ballooning) and to Gstaad (a center for the Beautiful People of the 1950s and 1960s), and to Gruyeres (a center of cheese-making). Dining in the area is fabulous, as a result of its popularity with the rich/famous in the 1960s.

Here is a link to its tourist site:
http://www.chateau-doex.ch/en/Y144/rougemont

You can easily make an excursion to Montreux, about 90 minutes away, to see the town, the lake, and Chillon castle.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Surfergirl

I've been to both Bern and Luzern many times, but in February only to Bern. At that time, my recollection is that it's relatively cold and dry or snowy. Don't recall rainy . . . Think it's too cold for rain. I don't know. There's something I really like about Bern in winter. It reminds me of old friends and indoor warmth and fondue, but that's my personal experience.

Luzern I adore because it is so beautiful and so outdoorsy and walkable. But I'd think the downside to going in winter would be that there is so much to see outdoors that it wouldn't be appealing In Freezing weather!

kja

I don't think you'll go wrong with any pair selected from Zurich, Bern, and Lucerne, but it really depends on what you want to see and experience and what, exactly, you mean by "not more than 1-2 museums total."

Zurich has some excellent museums, glorious stained glass panels in two of its munsters, lots of wonderful town squares complete with fountains and oriels, etc. If the weather permits, you can also take a lovely boat ride along the river and into the lake.

Bern also has some excellent museums, most of which are a bit smaller than those that would be roughly similar in Zurich, and it, too, has lots of wonderful town squares, etc.

Lucerne feels smaller to me (maybe just because of the layout), but it can be absolutely inundated with tourists. Maybe not so much in Feb? IMO, it would, in some ways, provide a greater contrast to Zurich than Bern, as its architecture includes more sgrafitto and other forms of exterior painting and, of course, it has its iconic wooden bridges. (But there are noticeable differences between Zurich and Bern, including the covered arcades in Bern that you already mentioned.)

Barring special exhibits, if you are interested in Picasso, that would put a plus in the Lucerne column (for the Rosengart Collection); that same museum has an excellent collection of Klee, so Bern (with its Zentrum Paul Klee) doesn't necessarily "win" IMO for that artist.

And if you are interested in textiles, I'd give the nod to Bern over Lucerne -- the Bern Historical Museum has some incredible pieces.

If you haven't already seen it, you might find some useful information in my trip report -- to find it, just click on my screen name and then scroll down to the section on trip reports. It's long, but searchable.

Hope that helps!

Ingo

Adelboden is livelier than Rougemont, there's more to do there, especially in winter. Rougemont is more convenient for day trips, though, in case you're planning on doing those.

I've been to Adelboden in both summer and winter and found enough things to do there during both visits. I skied a bit, but also enjoyed winter walks, sledding, sleigh rides, cable car/gondola rides to the mountain huts and spending time on the terraces while sipping hot chocolate Excellent hotels and restaurants there, too.

I'd prefer Bern over Lucerne in winter. You mentioned the arcades - but they are not indoor, they are just roofs over your head. So it will be cold, although not wet Nice museums there in case you're interested, and try to catch a tour of the parliament house.

neckervd

Although part of the ski area of Gstaad, Rougemont is a quiet and very small, compact village (900 inhabitants) with some medieval buildings (castle from 1572, church from 1080).

Adelboden is a bigger place (around 4000 inhabitants), with tons of Bernese Oberland chalets. Together with Lenk (at the other side of the mountain) it forms the ski area of Adelboden - Lenk.

Both places are not really close to the big centers and best known mountains (journey times by public transport):
Adelboden is 1 1/2 hrs from Bern, 2 1/2 hrs from Lucerne and Zurich or 3 hrs from Schilthorn
Rougemont is 2 hrs from Berne and Fribourg, 1 hr 10 min from Montreux, 1 hr 40 min from Lausanne and Glacier3000

http://snow.myswitzerland.com/snow_r...ntainRides-221
http://snow.myswitzerland.com/snow_r.../Adelboden-102

ElanaTori

Thank you everyone! Based on the above comments, we're thinking of going to Bern (instead of Lucerne) and staying the 5 nights in Adelboden but possibly adding a day trip to Rougemont (still working on the logistics...)

Travel/transportation-wise:
- On 3 separate days we will need to get from Zurich airport to Bern, Bern to Adelboden, and Adelboden to Zurich - it seems like these are all short trips but require a few transfers (1-3 trains/buses). I've read elsewhere that train travel is highly recommended, over renting a car. Are there direct train trips that I just haven't found yet? With luggage, the transfers will be a pain! Also, cost-wise, would it make sense for us to get some sort of travel pass? Unless I am not looking in the right place, all of the passes I saw were more expensive than if we just paid for each ride independently.
- Once in Adelboden, it seems like the gondolas (and therefore mountain villages) are in walking distance. Other than the gondolas, will we need to take any public transportation while there- to get to restaurants, the fondue igloo, or to the cites for dog sledding or paragliding? And if so, is there a cost-effective local travel pass we should get? Are the gondolas included in that?
- What is the best way to get from Adelboden to Rougemont and back? The public transportation I saw would take ~3 hours each way and consisted of multiple transfers. Is there a quicker way? We would love to do a day trip but at 3 hours each way, that's not realistic.


Again, thank you to everyone who has responded. We greatly appreciate your feedback!!

PalenQ

Swiss transports are great - trains go everywhere and cable cars and thrilling mountain railways take you to the highest of the Alps.

For lots of great info on trains, etc check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Also look into an 8-day consecutive Swiss Pass that covers trains, city transports, postal buses and gives free entry to hundreds of Swiss museums and sights.

neckervd

"- What is the best way to get from Adelboden to Rougemont and back? The public transportation I saw would take ~3 hours each way and consisted of multiple transfers. Is there a quicker way?"
No!
You would have to go down the whole Kander Valley up to Lake Thun (Spiez, 30 min layover), then up the Simmen Valley up to Saanenmoeser Pass, then down the Saanen Valley up to Rougemont.
Local people usually want to go from the mountains to the next centres but not to the next but one (similar) valley where they can do nothing else than at home. And as there is no demand (you are the first to ask about this itinerary), there is of course no offer.
But it's feasible nevertheless, if you are willing to travel 3 hrs in order to get to a place at a air line distance of a bit less than 30 kms.

neckervd

Timetables Zurich airport - Adelboden:

there are
direct trains Zurich airport dp 7.40 (and then every hr until 19.40) - Berne - Spiez - Brig
direct trains Zurich airport dp 6.18 (and then every hr until 20.18) - Berne - Geneva, and connecting trains Bern dp 6.34 until 22.34 to Spiez - Frutigen from where a bus goes up to Adelboden.
Therefore you will always have to change at Berne and Frutigen.

Surfergirl

There are direct trains, about every 1/2 hour, from Zurich Airport station to Bern. You can either buy tickets at the ticket counter or from the machines (there's an English option). Super easy and the Bern train station is right in the middle of the city. It used to be close to the bear pits, but the bears were moved to a bear park about 5 years ago.

PalenQ

Any insight into Bern vs. Lucerne and/or Adelboden vs. Rougemont - any other other tips for the trip! ->

IMO no place in Switzerland's Alps can compare with the Jungfrau Region around Interlaken - staying in a neat car-less mountain village like Murren or Wengen where you will be eyeball to eyeball with soaring glacier-girdled Alps from your hotel balcony.

The Alps may be just as nice in other places but the infrastructure for getting around in IMO unparalled- thrilling mountain trains and awesome aerial cable ways lace the area and there is a host of non-Alpine things to do in case foul weather sets in - always possible at any time in the Alps -especially I think the northern side.

You also have lovely boat rides on the two lakes bookending Interlaken with each lake providing a different delight.

At least spend a few day there and not as day trips but staying in one of those neat isolated mountain villages - all easily accessible by train and or gondola.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jung...HZ6cD8gQsAQIGg

kja

As for your luggage -- you can store luggage at most Swiss train stations (manned desk within certain hours, lockers 24/7 at most stations), forward it for next day arrival from and to most Swiss stations, and -- with careful timing -- forward it for same day arrival from a select few Swiss train stations. Search the Swiss Rail (sbb) website for all the relevant details. Go to "station & services," select your station, look at the "Services" table for the left luggage office and "Equipment" tab for locker sizes and prices. For luggage forwarding options, go to the Station & Services tab on the sbb home page, select services, then luggage, then "Here you can find a comparison..." Click on "more information" under the left-most "luggage" column.

PalenQ

forwarding luggage is great but at about $15-20 a bag so send the heavy stuff along and carry the lighter stuff.

PalenQ

It used to be close to the bear pits, but the bears were moved to a bear park about 5 years ago.>

sweet- the old bear pits I saw by the river were tiny and the poor creatures always begging visitors for food treats many gave them.

sufergal-how far is the new bear park from the town center - walkable? Thanks.

tipsygus

PalenQ the Bear Garden in Berne is right by the old bearpits on the banks of the river.

kja

@ PalenQ: It depends on how you define walkable, but I'd certainly say that Bern's new Bear Garden is within walking distance of its Old Town -- It's just across the Aare at the eastern edge of the Nydeggbrucke, less than a kilometer from Munsterplatz. You can check it on googlemaps....

Surfergirl

What kja said.

http://www.bern.com/en/city-of-bern/...tions/bearpark