Shan2014

Will be arriving in Switzerland from Italy (Florence). Would like to get some advice on planning my trip and good places to visit. We are a Family of 4. Need suggestions on hotels/apartments as well with budget pricing for family. Have purchased Global Eurail pass as we are also traveling in Europe after this.

As we will be carrying suitcases would like to avoid shifting hotel bases.

My Hotel bookings :- so far
Geneva - 2 days ( incl day of arrival)

Thank you

kenav

Shan - We will need an idea of your likes/dislikes and your budget.

dulciusexasperis

Not enough information on which to base relevant responses. What do you want to see/do? What are your interests? And yes, what is your budget, 'budget pricing' is meaningless.

I do wonder why you are going all the way to Geneva from Florence. I think most people would expect you to stop before Geneva. In the Jungfrau region for example.

I also wonder when you say 2 days. I never see any sense in stopping anywhere for less than 4 nights/3 full days. Otherwise you spend too much time moving and not enough time IN places, seeing/doing things.

One of the primary disadvantages to rail passes is that they tend to have people thinking in terms of 'how to get the most for my money' in using it. So they think of longer train rides and moving more often. Not best use of time.

PalenQ

I'd head to the fabulous Jungfrau Region around Interlaken - to too cute to be true mountain towns like Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, etc. -This is the glacier-girdled Alpine peaks wonderland you have been dreaming of and which you will find only in a few places - like the Jungfrau Region. You Eurailpass will take you to Interlaken 100% but from there only 25% off - Swiss Pass may actually be more beneficial for your stay in Switzerland as it covers many more mountain trains and lifts than the Eurail does.

Your Eurail is valid on many boats, however such as the ones on the two lakes bookending Interlaken - wonderful rides for a family!

anyway for lots of great stuff on Swiss trains and boats, etc I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sites: www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

The dreamy Jungfrau Region - spend at least half your time here IMO. Lake Geneva is a nice contrast - French instead of German, warmer, etc.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jung...=1600&bih=1075

PalenQ

Most folks find Geneva not that much to their liking - well they like it but find it modern and not nearly as dreamy as say Montreux or Vevey just a short train ride away on the same lake. You could base there for 3 days or so and do some really neat day trips - like boat rides on Lake Geneva - visiting the Castle of Chillon (Lord Byron made it famous) right on the lake, etc.

Shan2014

Thanks for the feedback.

Let me put more details. My last stop in Italy is Milan.

Would love to cover some of the below in Switzerland:-
- Montreux Area (chocolate/cheese factory)
- Interlaken/Jungfrau
- Scenic routes :- Golden Pass Line and Glacier express (Zermatt/Chur)

Totally flexible with itinerary in Switzerland (have 8 days) with places.

As we are 4 people, was thinking of staying in apartments if possible. Looking around 200$ a night if available.

Will be heading to Germany after my Switzerland visit. All suggestions are welcome.

swandav2000

Hi Shan2014,

The chocolate and cheese factory are not in the Montreux area; they are in Gruyeres, which is about 2h away. Instead of spending time going all the way to Gruyeres and back to Montreux/Geneva, I recommend that you stop to see those area while enroute.

Yes, it would be a good idea to spend some time in the Jungfrau area, which many consider the most dramatic mountain area in Switzerland; it also has one of the best-developed tourist infrastructures in the country (hotels and restaurants at all levels, excellent train connections in & around, and lots of folks who speak English). So, it is really easy for first-time visitors to see & enjoy the area.

You could take the Golden Pass route from Montreux to the Jungfrau area and stop off in Gruyeres, which is a short detour enroute. You can send your luggage using the SBB's Fast Baggage service (about 20 chf per bag), so you will be free for the day to enjoy touring.

You don't really have the time to take the Glacier Express and see Zermatt and Chur -- that takes at least three days because the GE is an 8-hour trip, and both Zermatt and Chur deserve a day of exploration. I would say that you should choose between GE/Zermatt/Chur and Golden Pass/Jungfrau.

Have fun as you plan!

s

PalenQ

If taking the GE go onto St Moritz and take the most scenic rail ride in Europe IMO - the Bernina Pass Railway over which the Bernina Express rolls - awesome top of the world scenery on the only north-south crossing of the high Alps by train not using tunnels 0 but going up to the summit and back down.

Shan2014

Thanks for the suggestion.

Have decided to stay in Montreux/lausanne area for 3 nights, then move to Lucerne for 2 or 3 nights.

Any suggestions on the itinerary when I stay in these places. After Lucerne I might still have 2 or 3 nights, where should I stay and which area is better? like Zermatt or Zurich?

swandav2000

Hi again,

Well going to Zermatt after Luzern would be zig-zagging around the country: from south to north to south again. I prefer to travel in a more linear route to keep the travel times more reasonable.

If you think you'd like to visit Zermatt, you should see it before Montreux, as it's between Milan and Montreux.

s

PalenQ

Any suggestions on the itinerary when I stay in these places>

Lucerne - several neat day trips on and around Lake Lucerne - take the famous iconic boats to places like Mt Rigi, Mt Pilatus or just take the classic boat ride to the end of the fjord-like arm of the lake to Fluelen and take the train back from there.

suze

2 days is WAY more than enough for Geneva. I would instead spend the time in nearby Lausanne, Vevey, and Montreux, smaller more scenic towns along the train route and Lac Leman approx. 1 hour outside Geneva.

suze

Itinerary for Vevey/Montreux.

If you happen to be there on a Tues or Sat morning go to the Vevey open air farmers market. It's on Friday morning in Montreux. These are wonderful to participate in and give you a nice slice of local life.

Chateau de Chillon is a huge old castle that is very fun to tour. Sits right on the lake outside Montreux.

Old Town Montreux to walk around.

Rocher de Naye is a tram up the mountain side in Montreux, that is fantastic if the weather is clear.

The 'quai' (lakeside promenade) in both towns is lovely.

dulciusexasperis

I find it hilarious when someone attempts to mind read what is enough or too much or too little time in a place for someone else.

I Have spent a week in Geneva several times as well as several shorter visits or 3 or 4 days and found more than enough of interest to see and do. But then, I like to get 'into' a place more than someone else might.

Some people actually believe that if they spend a day somewhere they have 'been there, done that'. The word is shallow.

Tripadvisor lists 53 things to see and do in Geneva and that is before any day trips someone might want to make. Nor does the Tripadvisor even mention some things I would list. But then they aren't claiming it is all encompassing or that they know how much is WAY more than enough time.

The choice of where to go is yours to make Shan2014, no one here knows what your interests are and that is why you need to do your own research, not listen to what anyone else says THEY woul do or not do.

I will tell you this. In travel as in many things, less is more. Move less, see and do more. You cannot visit everywhere of interest in Switzerland in 8 days. So to me it only makes sense to get the most out of your 8 days that you can. That means spending your time IN places, not BETWEEN places.

I would suggest not splitting your time at all or if you must, in not more than 2 places. But it is your dime and your time.

PalenQ

That means spending your time IN places, not BETWEEN places.>

Well in some countries that may be true but to me at least in Switzerland it is often what lies between bases that is the most awesome - like taking the special scenic trains like the Golden Pass between Montreux and Interlaken; the Glacier Express, the Bernina Express - to me the Switzerland outside of at times too modern and spiffy for me cities is the real beauty of the country.

Not to say that you could not spend several days in Geneva - as I too have - but for a first-time traveler there are things that will more fulfill the romantic notion of Switzerland etched in most peoples' minds than Geneva, as fascinating and interesting as it may be - save Geneva for the 2nd or 3rd trip IMO.

dulciusexasperis

No problem there PalenQ. I am not and did not suggest Geneva for the OP. I simply object to anyone suggesting that 2 days is 'WAY more than enough' for anywhere.

I think if someone is interested in a place then there is a minimum amount of time they should plan to spend in that place to make best use of available time. That minimum is 3 full days/4 nights. If it isn't worth that much time then don't go there. Go somewhere that is worth that much time to you and make best use of your time.

A scenic train ride is fine, IF you have time for it between places, then go ahead. But if you want to see and do things other than ride a train then spend your time IN places, not between them. They are not conflicting things at all.

I don't care where the OP decides to go. But if they want to go to Geneva, then go to Geneva and stay there long enough for it to make sense.

dulciusexasperis

On another post PalenQ, someone wrote that they did a 2 hour walking tour of Rome and it gave them a 'wonderful overview of the city'.

When people think they can get an 'overview' of Rome in 2 hours, it isn't hard I suppose to have someone else say, '2 days in Geneva is WAY to much time'.

That kind of thinking just blows my mind.

PalenQ

Well Geneva is not Rome though and most folks will be bored after two days there right in the city. Now using it as a base for the Lac Leman area yes but even then most would love Vevey or Montreux a whole lot better.

But I agree with you in general any place in Europe can be a nice base for 3-4 days - I hate to pack up and move so I love base cities.

suze

Shan already posted their decision a ways back up this thread <<Have decided to stay in Montreux/lausanne area for 3 nights, then move to Lucerne for 2 or 3 nights.>>

Peter_S_Aus

Dulcie wrote: << think if someone is interested in a place then there is a minimum amount of time they should plan to spend in that place to make best use of available time. That minimum is 3 full days/4 nights. If it isn't worth that much time then don't go there. >>

I'd have to disagre with the proscriptive four nights / three day thing. We have spent three night visits in Verona, Bolona, Assisi, Como, Firenze and a few other laces. Next week, we'll have a two night stay in Riomaggiore - hoping thhe weather is good for us.

Some places just don't have enough individual things to interest us for more than a couple of days. We are not interested in everything. In Verona, we've spent ages at the Castelvecchio museum, but Juliet's balcony is a bore. In Bologna, we liked the pundulum in the church, the meridien line on the floor, and the gallery with Morandi's paintings and etchings. A couple of ancient churches, and that was sufficient.

To say that four nights is a minimum is as unsound as my saying that unless you spend 150 nights in Venice, then it is not worth going there.

Horses for courses, and all that stuff ...