Just returned from Switzerland (Zurich, Grindelwald & Montreux) and Northern Italy (Bellagio and Milan) Any questions?
 

Just returned from 16 wonderful days in Switzerland and Northern Italy. (Trip Report will be fortcoming in a few days) I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone might have!!

Our itinerary was as follows:

Zurich - 2 nights - Marriot (booked thru Priceline)

Grindelwald - 4 nights - Hotel Belvedere

Montreux - 2 Nights - Hotel Suisse Majestic

Bellagio - 4 nights - Hotel Belvedere

Milan - 2 Nights - Golden Tulip Hotel Executive (booked thru Priceline)

We rented a car our last day in Zurich and turned it in before we arrived in Milan. That seemed to work out really well, we had a car when we needed it, but didn't have the parking/driving problems in the cities.

I'm traveling to the northern lakes Como/Garda with 2 18-yr. old boys; am looking for adventure/sport activities for them, i.e. mountain biking, wind surfing etc. Please help! We'll see cathedrals, ancient architecture, etc. but they have to DO something too.

We leave soon for the Montreux Jazz Festival. Curious what you thought of the Hotel Suisse Majestic. We picked it because of it's location and medium price range, since we'll be there a full week. Would love to hear your impressions.

We'll be catching the train from Florence to Paris and want to stop for a day or two along the way to break up the journey. One candidate for the stopover is Zurich. Would you recommend it?

FWIW, the other candidates are Munich, Salzburg and Geneva.

Pumblechook I'd choose either Munich or Salzburg instead of Zurich-my opinion only.

A question:
Can you elaborate about driving in Swland? About how long would it take to drive from the Interlaken area to Milan?
Are there extra fees (parking, tolls, etc.) when driving there?

Joe

Sorry to be so long to get back to the questions...my computer was on the fritz!

Nightreader: As for adventure sports, you can rent boats, jet skis and hire someone to take you waterskiing if you want. We didn't see many people participating in these activities, but we were there early in the season. I'm sure your hotel has info on these activities. As for windsurfing, it's my understanding that to the north end of Lake Como ( near Colico I think) you can take windsurfing lessons. I believe I read an article in Conde Naste Traveler a while back about that. I'll see if I can find it and get more specifics on windsurfing.
There are lots of hiking opportunities in the area. Saw lots of mountain bikers. Perhaps there is somewhere you can rent mountain bikes. You might check the train stations. We were able to rent bikes at the train station in Montreux.

kkwsf: We liked our room at the Suisse Majestic. We had a balcony overlooking the lake. The odd thing about the hotel was that they had a beautiful large terrace overlooking the lake and they never set up the tables and chairs on this terrace the whole time we were there. It would have been a great place for a meal or drink. You didn't get the feeling that that was even an option. The restaurant that was open is on the back side of the hotel and looks out at the train station. BTW, you might consider renting bikes as we did at the train station (very convienient) and take a ride on the promenade. We rode to Vevey and then the other way down to Villeneuve. The bikes were very nice bikes, and this made for a great day!!

Zurich was great even though it rained. Enought to do to fill the two days we were there. We took a trolley tour to acquaint ourselves with the city on the first day. The second day we spent strolling around in the rain, shopping and getting a feel for the city. It's a beautiful city, and I'm glad we spent two days there.

Jfilla:

As for driving, we had no problems driving in Switzerland. Roads are well marked, and very easy to drive. Our rental car was picked up in downtown Zurich, so it had the proper sticker in the window which is required to drive on the Swiss roads. We never had trouble parking, but we picked up as we were leaving Zurich and dropped off at Malpensa before we went into Milan. The only city we had the car in was Montreux. There our hotel didn't have parking, but there was a 24 hr lot across the street at the train station. One nice thing that happened is that when we picked up the car the rental agent gave us a car that was originally from one of their Italian locations so the drop off charge of $100 thet we had booked was waived.
Once we entered Italy we found that the drivers were much more aggressive and the roads were less plainly marked and in lesser condition than the Swiss roads. The roads around Lake Como were certainly a little scary. Narrow and curvy with speedy Italians coming in the opposite direction!! (sometimes in large trucks or busses) Slightly nervewracking, but you get used to it! Our drive from Montreux to Bellagio took about 5 hours. I would estimate that from Interlaken to Milan might be 4 hours or so, but that is a complete guess. You might try checking it on mappy.com. Overall I was glad we had the car. It gave us the opportunity to see some things we wouldn't have seen had we been on the trains

My wife and I have two nights in Montreux and two nights in Grindelwald in September. Any restaurant recommendations in either would be appreciated. Also, did you do any hiking near Grindelwald? I'm looking forward to that. Sounds like you had a great trip. Thanks. ((H))

Hi. Going to GEneva, Montreux and Northern Italy next week. Any restaurant ideas in any of those areas would be appreciated!

Hello dkw,

I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip, and I'm really looking forward to your trip report (especially for Montreux!).


For maitaitom and urmiek,

I've been to Montreux a few times, so I'm offering my restaurant picks for you.

My favorite café is the Terraces du Pavillon, right on the flowered promenade across from the little dock in Territet, just about 1/4 mile before the Chateau de Chillon.

A great restaurant if you're in the mood for a full meal is the Taverne de Chateau de Chillon about a block before the Chateau on Avenue de Chillon.

A great place in Montreux's old town is the Hotel/Restaurant du Pont at 12 rue du Pont -- I had a ravioli in cream sauce with shaved truffles that was out of this world!

For pizza or Italian food, try the Hostellerie de Geneve on the Pl. Marche in Vevey or La Rouvenaz on rue du Marche in Montreux (just downhill from the train station, across the street from the lakeside promenade).

For country-type aumbiance, try the Auberge du Rivaz in the town of Rivaz, in the Lavaux vineyards between Lausanne and Vevey. Be sure to sit outside on their terrace to enjoy the lake view. In season, their white asparagus is incredible!

If you get to Glion above Montreux, try a meal at the Hotel Victoria (member of Relais & Chateaux) with its panoramic views of the lake.

Best of luck!

s