My husband and I (seniors) will be traveling from Nice, France to Zurich 21 Oct. returning to Nice 25 Oct. for our trip back to the US, 26 Oct. Should we travel all day by train or fly to Zurich? Need hotel recommendations for Zurich or close by area. Will the special train trips, eg. Glacier Express still be on? If so, what is the best train trip to see the beautiful sights. Should we purchase Swiss Pass or Swiss Flexi Pass? Thanks in advance for any hints you can pass on.

Just curious... why Zurich? If I had only four days in Switzerland, I wouldn't pick Zurich.

Hi. That's three days apart from the big travel days. I checked trains to Lausanne and to Lugano, both beautiful small cities, and the train takes almost 7 hours to Lausanne (less to Geneve) and a bit less to Lugano. So if train travel is not your passion, I suppose you'd better look into flights to and fro.

I love trains, so I'd go with travel by rail and select routes with scenery. The Nice/Lausanne route includes Lyon; you could break your trip there for a night in that city. If you'll settle for Lausanne as your base, there are a lot of beautiful daytrips lakeside and into the mountains above Montreux.

Using the Lugano route, you could head for Lugano for one evening, maybe a boatride to Gandria or Morcote, and then on to Lucerne via a spectacular rail route.

Any way you look at it, there's a lot of train time, and one-night stays in hotels if you want to see several places. Too bad that you can't change your flights to allow you to depart from Zurich or Geneve. That would help a bit.

If you've selected Zurich on a whim, I'd certainly eliminate it as too far north. Lucerne is gorgeous, as are the villages above Montreux.

I hope you can figure this out, because Switzerland will certainly be a nice contrast to Nice. Good luck, and I'm sure you'll receive lots of input here regarding passes and such. J.

Hi sonnycher,

There are two budget airlines that fly from Nice to Switzerland: Easyjet flies to Geneva, and Helvetic flies to Zurich.

I join Jean & jw wondering why you picked Zurich? Zurich is a great city -- as cities go -- but Switzerland has some of the best countryside in the world. And many people agree that the best first-time introduction to Switzerland is found in the mountain villages of the Berner Oberland (Wengen, Grindelwald, & Muerren). You can reach them by train from either Zurich airport (3h30) or from Geneva airport (about 4 hours).

There's a scenic train called the Golden Panorama that goes from Montreux (on Lake Geneva) to Interlaken via Gstaad & Zweisimmen, but it takes more than five hours from Geneva airport. If you'd like to do the scenic route, you may want to spend one night enroute, either in Montreux at the lake or in Gstaad, Chateau d'oex, or Saanen in the "foothills" of the Alps.

I believe the Glacier Express is down for maintenance. That is an 8-hour train trip, anyway, which is far too long in my opinion. I'd rather be out ON the mountain rather than watching the mountains pass by the train window (as if watching tv!).

After you determine your destination & the day-trips you're likely to make, you can price them out (at the Swiss rail website, www.rail.ch) and then determine which pass, if any, will work for you.

Have fun planning!

s

I don't mean to 'pile on' here but I also am wondering why Zurich? And have you already purchased plane ticket in and out of Nice?

I would suggest instead Geneva, and the nearby towns of Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux along Lac Leman.

You need to have your itinerary more figured out before you can know which train pass, if any, will give you a savings.

I'm not going to question your choice of Zurich, as I happen to really enjoy this city. I like staying just off the Bahnhofstrasse, either at the Seidenhof or the Glockenhof hotels. We often fly through ZRH and I always look forward to me last couple of vacation days (window) shopping the Bahnhofstrasse and dining at familiar restaurants.

IMHO, I would suggest that you not visit a "French" part of Switzerland, such as the Geneva or Lausanne area, as you will have spent time in Nice so will already have gotten the French flavor. You should, instead, select a place that is either of German, true Swiss dialect, or Italian slant. Lucerne, St Gallen or Locarno are all nice options. My first pick would be Lucerne, or travel south to the Berner Oberland to Interlaken.

Enjoy your trip. Be prepared for some cloudy days, but Switzerland is always beautiful!!

Simpson510: My wife and I always look forward to some recuperation time in Zurich when traveling in Europe. We think Baur au Lac is the finest hotel in Europe for comfort and service, with many restaurants nearby that we go back to over and over, very nice city, we've been there in all seasons, and always enjoy it.