JuicyLucy

My husband and I are travelling to Switzerland in June/July with our 12-year old son. We are flying in/out of Zurich and are staying for 19 days. We are planning on doing only rail travel.
So far I have booked...
4 days in Lucerne at Des Alpes
6 days in Wengen at Alpenrose
And am not sure what to do after this. Maybe Lausanne/Vevey/Montreux for a couple of days? but that still leaves us with 5 days.
Any suggestions? Thanks!

enzian

What kinds of things do you like to do? Any hiking?

Lausanne/Vevey/Montreux (and Chateau de Chillon) is a good choice. On the way there, you could stop for a night in Kandersteg and take a chairlift up to Oeschinensee, where there is a Rodelbahn (summer luge), which kids seem to love:

www.oeschinensee.ch

(click on "sommer" to get photos and activieies for summer).

And or you could spend a couple of nights at Bettmeralp, a car-free village above the Rhone Valley, reached by a 15-minute train ride from Brig, plus a 4,000 foot ascent by gondola.

http://www.bettmeralp.ch/e/sommer/

Our kids love this town. There is a miniature golf course, a sports center (pool, etc.), a lake for boating, and incredible scenery, including Europe's largest glacier, which lies just behind a ridge. You can get up to views of the glacier by hiking, or by any of several lifts.

From either Bettmeralp or Kandersteg, you just head west on the main train line to Martigny, and then on to Montreux (or Vevey, etc.).

pja1

Hi,
Just a suggestion, if your not tired of dramatic mountain scenery after Wengen and the Berner Oberland. Maybe Zermatt and the Matterhorn for 2 or 3 nights. We stayed at the Hotel Butterfly (a Best Western) and we took the Gornergrat rail trip.
www.hotelbutterflyzermatt.com
www.gornergrat.ch
We took the Gornergrat to the top terminal and leisurely walked about halfway back to Zermatt, amidst gourgeous mountain scenery, including the Matterhorn, before boarding the train back to Zermatt. I think there were 2 intermediate stops between Zermatt and the top.
We also liked Appenzell and the area around it very much. While not as mountainous as much of Switzerland, the rolling hills and pastures, and countryside in general were beautiful.
www.appenzell.ch
I can't recommend a place to stay, as we stayed in Treisenberg, Leichtenstein when we visited Appenzell.

Paul

Mimar

For something a little different, you could spend part of your time in the Ticino, the Italian-speaking canton of Switzerland. It's located where the Alps meet the Italian lakes. The towns of Locarno and Lugano, on Lakes Lugano and Maggiore respectively, are interesting stops.

However from Ticino to Zurich is a bit of a trek so you'd have to plan accordingly.

Also, since you're using public transportation, look into the postal buses. They are the descendants of stage coaches; the horn sounds like the horn blown by the stage coach driver. The buses are very comfortable and travel back into the mountains and hills where trains don't go. Some people spend their vacations checking out the different routes.

JuicyLucy

Thanks, all, for your great suggestions! Us 'oldies' love to hike, but our son not as much. But outdoor activities are great such as the luge you mentioned, and the trottis, as well as castles, caves, fishing, probably the Swiss Chocolate train, etc.
I thought about going to Zermatt but figured it would be more of the same offerings as Wengen (great for us...not so great for Ray).
One other idea I had was a farmstay, as he loves animals. Has anyone done this?
The other area I considered was Gruyeres. But nothing I've read suggests there is enough to fill a week with an almost-teenager. Any thoughts?
Thanks so much for all your help!

swandav2000

Hi JuicyLucy,

How about the rolling hills in the area of the very western edge of the BO & the eastern edge of Vaud? The towns of Gstaad, Saanen, & Chateau d'Oex sit at this border; Gstaad & Saanen are German-speaking while Chateau d'Oex is French. This area is between the BO & Montreux, very close to Gruyeres and with the same type of landscape.

The attractions here are fine dining and upscale shopping (a lot of "beautiful people" live at or visit Gstaad), hot-air ballooning(Chateau d'Oex), and bike riding (gorgeous ride from Bulle to Gstaad). There are also a few mountains like the glacier at Les Diablerets and the peak of Eggli.

Here are some sites to explore:

www.gstaad.ch
www.chateau-doex.ch

Let me know and I'll send you a link to my photos of the area. In the meantime, take a look at:

Gruyeres
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Fribourg.html

Saanen
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...wiss_Alps.html

Gstaad
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...wiss_Alps.html

Also, are you timing your visit to Montreux to avoid or to hit the Jazz Fest on 6-21 July?

Have fun!

s

JuicyLucy

Yikes! Thanks, swandav, for the heads up on Jazz Fest. We leave Wengen July 2 so we could include Jazz Fest, or not. I also would love to see your photos of the area, so bring on the link!

If we take Enzians suggestions and go to Kandersteg or Bettmeralp, are we being crazy by going to Montreux/Vevey during Jazz Fest?

One other question....is there a place that would be conducive to basing ourselves for that last week where we could see the Lausanne area, Kandersteg, Bettmeralp, and others instead of moving a couple of times?

Thanks, all for your help!.....
Sue (aka Juicy Lucy)

fmpden

a

enzian

If you wish to stay in one place that week, then Swandav's suggestions in Saanenland (the area around Gstaad) are best. That area is very centrally located. From Chateau d'Oex, for example, it is less then an hour by train to Montreux. (And from there, an hour to Neuchatel). Kandersteg is just over 2 hours away, but still a nice day trip.

I think there are some nice accomodations in that area---haven't been there yet, but I looked into it as a possible base area on our next trip. (We will be in Switzerland about the same time as you). We ended up with just one night in Gstaad, so we can see some of the opening rounds of the Swiss Open (tennis), which starts July 6 or 7.

It looks like a beautiful area, with lots to do.

swandav2000

Hi again,

Here are the links to my photo albums at yahoo. They all have more than one destination in them -- These are public, so you shouldn't have to register.

Gstaad, 2004
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/swandav2...60762379806987

Montreux, Saanen, & Zurich
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/swandav2...79807465#page1

Villeneuve in 2005 (few of Gstaad)
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/swandav2...60762379808002

Also look for photos on the town's homepage.

Have fun!

s

JuicyLucy

Thank you, swandav, for the marvelous pictures! A picture really does say a 1000 words.....
sue

skatedancer

some activities that might be of interest to your son where you are going.... on Pilatus there is an amazing ropes course and also an alpine slide.... In Grindelwald, there is a "trotti-bike" which we didn't have time to do, but wanted to; it's sort of a downhill scooter type of thing. Also, a few of the cities have river floating (I know at least Zurich and Bern do; both not far from where you will be). People float with the current down the river, very fun! There is also a waterpark somewhere in the Zurich /Lucerne vicinity.

Just trying to help you find some non-hiking adventures for your son! My children aren't big hikers, either, so I was always on the lookout for other stuff to balance the hiking time.

We loved the Alpenrose!

jumper22

BTW, one of the best pieces of advice I got on this board when I went to Wengen was on when to do the Jungfrau. Take the early train (6AMish I believe) - that way you can see everything before the clouds roll in, and there are also not droves of tourists yet. It was great.

JuicyLucy

Skatedancer - thank you. The trotti-bikes sound great and I wasn't aware there was one in Grindelwald so that should work out well.

Jumper22 - I saw that comment as well. Thanks for your input!

odyssey4

bookmarking

kenav

If you stay in the Lausanne area, it might be possible to do a day trip to Fribourg. This is a university town that has a large medieval core. Really wonderful, and it might be nice to see something medieval on your journey in Switzerland.

The Chateau de Chillon (12th century) is on Lake Geneva near Vevey and Montreaux, and you could see that as well when in that area (we loved it). But, Fribourg is a whole town.

bob_brown

These are all great suggestions. I think it boils down to what you want to see and do.