i am taking my wife to switzerland for 8 days in june. our main goal is to see the beautiful scenery, visit/stay in quaint villages, maybe do a little hiking (not strenuous), and get up in the mountains. we are flying into zurich. here are my questions:
1)can we do what we want without renting a car and just go by train?
2)looking for help on creating an itinery.
3)which towns should we stay, for how long in each?
4)looking to create a great train schedule route with a return to zurich
5)we love b&b's as opposed to hotels. any cozy b&b suggestions would be very welcome.

thank you in advance for any answers to the above.

Hi xman,

No need to rent a car at all. Some of the best Alpine villages do not allow cars, and none of the mountaintops do. Swiss trains are convenient, efficient, and a lot of FUN. You can get all the schedules and fares at the Swiss rail site

www.rail.ch

You may want to look for discount passes or cards; I usually get the Half Fare Card when I go. Here's a site for that information

www.swisstravelsystem.com

A good, tried-and-true itinerary would be to go first to Luzern, then on the Golden Pass route to one of the villages of the Berner Oberland, then continue on the GP route to Montreux on Lake Geneva. You can then return to Zürich by fast train. With only eight days, I would spend one day (not an overnight) in Luzern, four nights in the Oberland, two nights at Montreux, and the final night in Zürich. My favorite destination in the Oberland is the car-free village of Wengen.

Here are some links to research my suggestions:

www.goldenpass.ch
www.myjungfrau.ch
www.luzern.org
www.lakelucerne.ch
www.montreux.ch
www.montreuxtourism.ch
www.zuerich.com

Have fun with the research!

s

Hi xman,

I agree with not renting a car. Trains are the only way to go.

The Swiss Pass has an 8 day pass for travel. This includes unlimited travel by rail, bus and lake ships (We took a cruise on Lake Lucerne) plus free entrance for museums and discounts on mt. trips.

Our favorite place in Switzerland is the Berner Oberland. We stayed 4 nights in Wengen and it was, in our opinion, "Heaven on Earth".

I would allow 2 nights for Lucerne. We enjoyed the old town, the lake cruise and the nearby Swiss Transportation Museum. Depending on the time of your departure flight from Zurich, you could make Lucerne your "last stop in Switzerland" and go directly to the airport from here.

Whatever your intinerary finally turns out to be, allow at least 4 nights somewhere in the BO.


Paul

hi pja1
any specific recommendations on lodging you would recommend in these areas?

Sorry xman,

The place we stayed in Wengen (Hotel Eiger) was converted into condo's or something. Hopefully someone else can help out.

Paul

Hi xman,

Sorry, I've only stayed in hotels, no B&Bs. You can take a look at B&Bs at this central site,

www.bnb.ch

The hotels I've enjoyed are:

Wengen -- Hotel Alpenrose (www.alpenrose.ch) a 3-star

Montreux -- Hotel Eden Palace au Lac (www.edenpalace.ch), a 4-star

Luzern -- Hotel des Balances (www.balances.ch), a 4-star.

Hope you're finding all that you need!

s

Hi xman,

You can also look here for accomodations:

www.wengen.com

www.myjungfrau.ch/en/welcome.cfm?

Paul

ttt

I stayed at a small family-owned hotel-Hotel Baeren in Wengen. Very clean, good breakfast, nice people. I took the half pension which was also good. They were kind enough to prepare special food for me since I do not eat red meat or any kind of fish. I will be back there in September, can't wait!
www.baeren-wengen.ch

As a Swiss Pass covers passage to Wengen 100% it is easy to take the train down to Interlaken for an evening without having to judge 'do i want to spend $20 or so return to do that'?

And on a nice day say around 4pm i love hopping on the steamers on Lake Thun that leave from right behind the Interlaken-West train station and just doing a float - if the sun is out the whole ice-girdled Jungfrau Massif is unbelievably awesome.

And with a first-class pass you can sit on the open-air upper deck - 2nd class passes can only sit on the lower level.

Or you just want to tap Interlaken's huge number of restaurants for a change of pace from Wengen - or even to replenish dwindling trip funds at Interlaken's Casino - or take in a show there, etc.

You may use your pass more than envisioned.

I agree with not spending the night in Luzern, lovely city, but to me persoally the more time in the mountains the better. Wengen is great, but I prefer Murren across the valley. Smaller less to do, but much quieter and less crowded then Wengen. If you decide on Murren let me know and I can suggest places to stay. Murren gets the morning sun and Wengen in the afternoon. Besides all the mountain funniculars etc. walk up the valley and pay to go into Trummelbach Falls. Tons of water gushing thru a cave created by the falls. You can walk there from Lauterbrunnen or take a bus from Laut. Lauterbrunnen is also not a bad place to stay. I have stayed there a few times. You are in the valley floor with acess to Murren and Wengen 5000 feet above.

One reason IMO and IME to spend a night and two days in Lucerne is to take a ride on the steamers that ply this fjord-like lake, to me Switzerland's most awesome. Boats run about hourly or so in season and take you to such places as Weggis - jumping off point for a lift to Mt Rigi, which though at only several thousand feet up nevertheless is said to have one of the most boffo vistas in all of Switzerland - a lateral view to the west over the spine of Switzerland, with so many famous peaks in view. Mark Twain wrote of his trek up Mt Rigi in one of his books. You can also get off the boat in Vitznau and take a mountain train up to the Rigi summit from there - perhaps take the aerial cableway up from Weggis and the mountain train down ti Vitznau

Anyway the boats go south to Fluelen, where there is a train station opposite the dock to whisk you back to Lucerne. Just before Fluelen is Brunnen, a really sweet lake-side resort town - great lunch place and you can also hop a train here to go back to Lucerne.

Other places of interest on the lake include the Rutli Meadow, in a meadow high above the lake, where the Swiss Confederation i guess was formed centuries ago.

So yes Lucerne as a city is a few-hours of interest but its lake makes a lovely lovely day out.

Railpasses are valid on the boats - first class pass holders can sit on the open-air upper decks - 2nd class on the lower level.

The William Tell Express is one boat, of many, that includes a full onboard meal in its fare - it takes you to Fluelen.

some boats may even have oompah bands on board and all have restaurants/cafes/pubs - and you can bring your own food and drink aboard and have a picnic as you move along.

some boats are vintage paddlewheel-steamers

ok, we are going to spend 2 days in lucerne, then go down and spend 3 days in wengen. so now we are considering the last 3 days around montreux. can any of you recommend which towns we could stay in around this area, and the benefits of each town. also, any hotel or b&b suggestions in this area woudl be appreciated. also, any interesting things to do or visit would also be appreciated.

Hi again,

I just love Montreux and have visited about 11 times (including twice for one week, once for three weeks). Montreux is a resort town with lots of hotels and restaurants, and for me its biggest draw is the 11 km flowered lakeside promenade, which will be just spectacular in June. You're most likely to see the whole world along the promenade, all visitors.

Vevey is hard to beat too. Its old town is right next to the lake, and it is filled with antiques shops, boutiques, dairies, restaurants, etc. You're most likely to meet residents just doing their daily shopping or chores here. It's a real treat to be here on Saturday mornings to enjoy the market.

Not sure how many towns you'd like info on. I haven't stayed at Lausanne just because I don't like cities, but I can tell you a bit about Nyon, Morges, or Lutry if you wish.

As for things to do there, here is my standard list of my "reviews" (w/photos) to get you started:

Montreux old town
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...reux_Vaud.html

Lavaux
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...reux_Vaud.html

Promenade Fleuri
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...reux_Vaud.html

Morges
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...rges_Vaud.html

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

I hope you'll consider getting from Wengen to Lake Geneva on the Golden Pass route; if you'd like to stop off along the way, here are some places I love:

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

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

Unfortunaely, I've only stayed at 4-star hotels there or in apartments, so I won't be a great resource for you for hotels. I've heard lots of folks like the Hotel Masson in the suburb of Territet. If you'd like to splurge, you could head up to the Hotel Victoria in Glion, nestled on a hill above town. It's a 4-star, but you can often get great rates because it's not right in town.

Hope this helps!

s

the thing i love to do when in the Montreux-Vevey area (many prefer dreamier by a bit Vevey it seems) is to hop the lake steamers over to Evian-les-Bains, France, a thermal resort and of course home to Evian bottled waters. Nice strolling area along the lake - spiffy town center - casino, etc. And even though in France you Swiss Railpass covers this boat in full. A 8-consecutive-day pass is perfect for your plans and covers virtually everything that moves - for lots of Swiss trains and passes i always highlight ww.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com. And try to take the Golden Pass specialty scenic train between Interlakne and Montreux - not the quickest route perhaps but much more scenic than the main route via Bern/Lausanne to Montreux - and perhaps not really that much longer either. Check www.swisstravelsystem.com for a link to the Golden Pass train (railpasses valid in full)

thanks palenque. your reply is timely as i was just going to post a question for you. right now we have 3 nights in wengen, with 3 days left open. my question was should we go to the montreux/vevey area for the remainder of our trip, or should we consider another area for those 3 days. again, our main objective is sightseeing the mountains and villages, and the spectacular scenery. looking forward to your thoughts.

You've received great suggestions above IMO. Another POSSIBLE source for accommodations (budget) is at www.rooms.ch
Be aware that (in my own experience anyway) even the most "budget" or hotels/establishments seems to be uniformly neat, immaculately housekept, etc. The furnishings may not be luxurious or "hip" (such a 1950's term, really) but good value.

We have stayed in the cheapest and also some of the most expensive places in Switzerland and enjoyed them all...but cheaper means you've got more money to spend on other stuff and these days with the Franc about par with the US Dollar get ready to spend..but the scenery, etc., are definitely WORTH IT.

As to Luzern/Lucerne...pretty city with interesting "old town" section but there are plenty of close-by (by rail) destinations you can also do from there...I think there was a recent thread about day trips from Lucern here...the trip up to Engleberg and Mt. Titlis is great, for example.

The transport museum in Luzern is interesting and with a pass I think you get a discount.

Berner Oberland...I would skip Interlaken and go straight up above...the Trummelfallbach with its spectacular interior waterfalls is wonderful.

Montreux..Chillon, if you are interested in barely-furnished "fortresses"..the trip down to Montreux on the GoldenPass Route as mentioned above is VERY scenic as is the trip up to Rochers de Naye from Montreux...so much to see...

The transport museum in Luzern is interesting and with a pass I think you get a discount.>

well it's free with a pass but only on days of 100% coverage - so with Flexipasses - say good for 100% travel on 3 days out of a month period - the 400+museums and sites are free only if uisng one of your 100% covered 3 flexible days

Now with flexipasses in between the first and last day of unlimited 100% covered travel then you get 50% off practically everything that moves in Switzerland -aerial gondolas, buses, boats, trains, etc but you do not get 50% off museums - only transportation - so if arriving in Lucerne one day by train and planning to stay then hit the Transport Museum the day you arrive and are presumably using a 100% covered day.

xman should IMO get the 8-straight day pass because he sounds like he will be moving about a lot, even from a base and then it's just flash the pass - no thinking about is 50% off this worth it, etc. Plus consecutive-day passes are a lot cheaper per day of 100% travel than flexipasses.

Xman - even if you base in Monreux there are lots of mountainous excursions to do from that base, as i did once - so Montreux (or Vevey) are a wondrous mix of lake and mountains.

Another place you might consider for those 3 days would be Kandersteg, a mountain village still in the Berner Oberland, but quite different from Wengen. We stay at a rustic mountian inn on a beautiful glacial lake above town---you rreach it by riding a chairlift up, and then take a horse carriage or walk 20 minutes. The hotel is right on the lakeshore. The are can be busy with visitors during the day, but it is lovely and peaceful in the evening.

www.oeschinensee.ch

It is 2 hours back to Zürich by train from Kandersteg.

Another possibility would be Luzern, but stay in a lakeside village or up on Rigi:

www.rigi.ch

Montreux has always felt too "big city" to us. Nice for visiting Chateau de Chillon, but then we like to get back to the less-crowded mountain area.

Thanks for all of the options. If we had a choice between Montreux or Vevey, would appreciate anyone's input of the positives and negatives of each town.