glaciermeadows

I personally would choose Wengen over Kandersteg. Wildflowers could be quite nice still!

Palenque

Both Montreux and Vevey IMO are sweet cute lakeside towns. I prefer Vevey by a bit - Vevey juts out into the lake and its old town center just seems a bit more romantic than Montreux - they are so close together so basing in one or the other, from a utilitarian view, is not a factor.

Most Fodorites in past posts seem to favor Vevey but also love Montreux

enzian

glaciermeadows---they are already going to Wengen, for 3 days. Now he is asking about where to go after that. I just suggested Kandersteg/Oeschinensee as a (very) different type of lakeside experience from Montreux if they are looking for peace and quiet.

xman

ok, our itinerary is set. fly into zurich, get train to lucerne, spend 2 days:
take train to wengen, spend 3 days:
take train to montreux, spend 2 days:
take train back to zurich.

looking for help in finding out which specific/scenic trains to take and from what cities.

enzian

Fron Luzern to Montreux you will be on the "Golden ass Route", one of the designated "scenic routes" in Switzerland.

http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/c...ldenpass-line/

You will break the journey at Interlaken Ost to detour up the valley for your stay in Wengen, then return to Interlaken Ost to finish the route on your way to Montreux.

You can reserve a spot in first class in one of the panoramic cars, if you like. Or you can ride one of the regular trains that uses the same tracks and passes the same scenery, for a lot less.

You'll have more flexibility (including the possibility of getting off for a lunch stop along the way) if you don't make reservations, but some people really like the panoramic cars.

You can check the schedules at www.rail.ch to see how often the various trains run and how long each journey takes. I suggest you break the journey from Interlaken to Montreux soewhere to get off and look around. Depending on what time you start, Gstaad, which has a nice pedestrian zone right from the train station, might make a good lunch stop. If it is a nice day, the Posthotel Rossli has a lovely garden attached to their restaurant, althou I'm not sure if it is open for lunch.

Or maybe one of the nearby villages, such as Saanen or Chateux d"oex, although I don't know how they are for walking convenience from the train station. With luggage, you won't want to walk far. (The Bahnhof at Gstaad has lockers, or did when we were there in '07).

Melnq8

I'm with enzian - Kandersteg is an excellent option. We spent three nights there last April and are already talking about our next visit.

Palenque

You can reserve a spot in first class in one of the panoramic cars>

and if you act far enough in advance and have a first-class pass or ticket (or pay an upgrade to first class if a 2nd class pass or ticket) then you can try to book one of the handfful of VIP seats on Golden Pass trains -these handful of seats in the front and rear of the train-in the front at least have you sitting right next to and even above the train driver, so you can simulate driving the train yourself. Book these seats thru the link to Golden Pass at swisstravelsystem.com - to my knowledge you can reserve one of these seats months in advance and not have to buy your pass or regular ticket at that time -just a plain seat reservation for i believe the normal 10 CH Swiss Franc or so seat reservation charge on the Golden Pass in general.

xman

when i look at the train schedule, how can you tell which are the special scenic trains like the GE? are there special scenic trains we will want to take when we go from lucerne to wengen, and also from wengen to montreux? or do you book reservations on these scenic trains on another site besides the swiss rail site.

enzian

As I explained above, from Luzern to Montreux is the "Golden Pass" route (sorry about the typo: I omitted the "P" so it looks pretty comical). But the link should have clarified that.

The GE is Glacier Express which is a completely different route, from Zermatt to St. Moritz,

The Swiss Rail site should indicate, in the "type of train" area, which trains along your route are official Golden Pass trains. But the route also has its own website:

http://www.goldenpass.ch/

This will show the layout of the seats in each car, etc.

You will break the journey at Interlaken Ost to go to Wengen. The Golden Pass line has you change trains there anyway--and also at Zweisimmen. You'll need to book seats on each separate leg if you want the VIP seats (which only exist on some trains).

xman

ok, we will be in wengen for 3 days. it is worth trying to get to say andermatt and take a portion of the Glacier Express down to Zermatt and back. I presume this would take an entire day. Is that portion of the Glacier Express worth doing? Or is our time better spent for the day exploring the area around Wengen?

Palenque

no IMO not with only 3 days -to go to Zermatt via GE via Andermatt means taking a postal bus there from Meiringen (train from Interlaken-Ost) then down to Brig and up to Zermatt and back to Wengen - you would be on the train all day and yes IMO the GE scenery Andermatt to Brig is ho-hum compared to the scenery around Wengen, Grindelwald, etc.

For 3 days in Wengen you have so so much to chose from - the loop up to Murren/Schilthorn/Gimmelwald- Jungfrau train - Mannlichen to Kleine Schiedgg hike- and don not neglect going down to Interlaken and hopping boats on either lake for a whole different but exhilarating experience

xman

thanks palenque. i would appreciate it if you could expand on the three things you mentioned above, the jungfrau train, the hike and hopping a boat. also any interesting restaurant suggestions in the area.

Palenque

Ok the boats first

Interlaken is bookended by two lakes - inter meaning between and laken meaning lakes

Lake Thun and Lake Brienz

and steamers run frequent service on each from Interlaken's two train stations - Lake Thun boats from the rear of Interlaken West station and Lake Brienz boats depart from behind Interlaken Ost (East) station, from where you would come down by train from Wengen.

Both lakes present very difference cruises and each IMO is a fun adventure - have to go now but will come back with a blurb on each lake as a day out.

Palenque

LAKE THUN STEAMERS

One option for a lake boat tour is Lake Thun, the lake hemming in Interlaken to the west. so from Wengen take the train to Interlaken-Ost and then hop the frequent trains to Interlaken-West (or walk the about one mile on the main shopping drag connecting the two stations) - then at the rear on Interlaken-West train station you find the boat dock - with a Swiss Pass you just walk on- someone will just check the pass later after the boat departs.

The boat goes along the north shore of this idllyic lake, above whose oft mirror-like placid waters is the whole of the ice-girdled Jungfrau Massif -if the skies are clear this is an awesome sight.

One place to get off is Oberhofen, a small town with a castle that sticks out into the lake - perfect lunch stop and then board another board (boats tend to run about every 1.5 hours IME) to Thun, where the boat docks just opposite the train station in case you want to return to Interlaken quickly by rail.

But Thun is a lovely enough city with a vibrant shopping zone beisected by a roaring river that drains Lake Thun and there are some old wooden bridges, etc.

Or stay on the boat as it heads to Spiez, another sweet lakeside town but one with a very very imposing old castle hovering high above the lake - the castle of your dreams.

But the walk from the Spiez boat dock to the train station is a steep uphill one

The boat will then from Spiez head back to Interlaken-West station.

xman

thanks palenque. can you tell me more about the Mannlichen to Kleine Schiedgg hike. where you go to to begin, how long is the hike, how strenuous will it be for my wife, etc. also, are there some cable cars around that you can take up into the moutains for fabulous views, and or high altitude hiking.

Palenque

Ok first the Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg stroll, not a hike really - From Wengen (or from Grindelwald) you can take an aerial cableway up to the Mannlichen, a famous outlook post from which you can see both the Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald Valleys and Interlaken, wedgied between its lakes, far below and for miles around - a 360 degrees of stupendous Alpine peaks, etc.

The walk to Kl Scheidegg strats at the Mannlichen and is no more than two miles i'd say of a fairly flat wide path that even baby strollers can navigate- you get great great views of the Grindelwald amphitheatre and the Jungfrau Massif in front of you.

I have also walked from Kl Scheidegg down to Wengen and this is also a stupendous hike - trails mountain bikes can go over (can rent bikes if you want that kind of thrill) and takes a few hours to Wengen -with the Lauterbrunnen Valley always in view.

If you wanted high altitude hiking then from Kl Scheidegg you could hike down to Grindelwald, descending maybe 3-4,000 ft and taking 3-4 hours - but as the path rather follows the Kl Scheidegg to Grindelwald train you can always hop on the train to go to Grindelwald or back to Kl Scheidegg/Wengen if you tire (or if the weather suddenly turns nasty, as IME it always can without much warning -always bring rain gear and a warm sweater, etc for such a change.

but for the low down on all possible hikes in the region when you get to the area pick up a copy of Jungfrau Magazine - in every train station, tourist office and surely in the racks at every hotel desk- this magazine has a relief map of the whole Grindelwald-Lauterbrunen-Interlaken area with all hiking trails on them - there are three colors to indicate degrees of difficulty -the highest degree demands special hiking shoes i think but the other two IME are fine with regular athletic shoes- but the map also have altitudes on it to see how high the hike is.

From Kl Scheidegg you can indeed start a hike that goes up and along the tracks on the Jungfraujoch Railway - to its first station -you can not get much more high altitude walk than that- the trail is rockyso you kind of hop from stones that serve as steps. If taking the Jungfraujoch train on the return you could get off at that next to last station and hike down to Kl Schiedegg and on to the Mannlichen or to Wengen, etc.

Keep in mind that hiking down IME is not always less strenuous than hiking up as when going down there can be constant braking required on the steeper trails.

Palenque

xman - here is one excursion that will provide thrilling cable car rides and opportunity for high altitude hiking

From Interlaken, Grindelwald or Wengen hop the train to Lauterbrunnen and from the train station there is a new aerial cableway (replacing an antique funicular) that swoops you up a few thousand feet to Grutschalp, a landing stage on top of the cliff of the Lauterbrunnen Valley - from there an electric train rolls along the cliff edge (at a safe distance) to Murren, a famous watering hole once for British, and now a pleasant Alpine resort.

From Murren you can then hop the longest aerial cable car ride in the Alps - several miles over a barren terrain up to the Schilthorn, a remote outpost on a spit of rock surrounded by snow and ice - fab views for miles around - the revolving restaurant is famous and was used as a set in a James Bond movie - On His (Her?) Majesty's Service i think.

Anyway take the cableway back down to Murren and then continue on the cable to Gimmelwald, a farming hamlet out in the middle of nothing but nearby glaciers and the peaks of the Jungfrau Massif just across a deep valley. There is a popular restaurant here serving traditional Swiss meals - racelette, etc.

Then hop the cableway back down to the Lauterbrunnen Valley floor - this cableway is like going down in a plane it seems, plunging to the valley floor thousands of feet below.

It goes to Stechelberg, from where postal buses wisk you back to Lauterbrunnen.

An outstanding Alpine excursion and my favorite in all of the Alps. And if you have a Swiss Pass all transportsare 100% covered except the Murren to Schilthorn cable, which the pass does however get you 50% off on. Without a pass you'd pay a lot of francs to cover all the lifts, trains and postal bus.

Palenque

xman -now for some high altitude hiking mixed in with the above excursion Lauterbrunnen-Murren-Schilthorn-Murren-Gimmelwald-Stechelberg-Lauterbrunnen Loop

The highest and one of the highest in the whole Jungfrau Region goes up or down from Murren to the Schilthorn - well above the tree line. I saw folks start trekking down from the Schilthorn and the initial path down however would have scared me a bit - so i think you'd want good boots, etc. for that.

But for some easier high alt hiking where athletic shoes are OK - you can do a wondrous walk from Grutschalp, where the cableway from Lauterbrunnent dumps you off and then walk along flat paths along the cliff to Murren, just a few miles - but a walk with ever ever so awesome views -down into the Lauterbrunnen Valley and up to the ice-girdled Jungfrau Massif.

And once back down in the valley at Stechelberg, instead of hopping the postal bus to Lauterbrunnen you can do like i did and follow footpaths paralleling a gurgling stream down the gently sloping valley- about two miles to Lauterbrunnen - passing Trummelbach Falls just before Lauterbrunnen and another real high waterfalls just before town (name escapes me) - a nice mellow walk to end a nice day excursions.

tex13

I read with great interest about your plans to travel in Switzerland in June. I am also thinking about this trip but at the end of August-beginning of September. Is this a time when shops & restaurants are open? Would love any input. Montreux sounds wonderful especially with the flowers in bloom but I guess I would miss that in August.

enzian

tex13---the end of August/early September is a great time to visit Switzerland. Everything is open---all shops, lifts, restaurants, hotels, etc. It is still practically the height of the tourist season in the mountains, but starting to quiet down a little. You will miss most (but not all) of the wildflowers, and you might hit a Dorffest (village celebration) or two.

You might want to start your own thread to get advice specifically directed to you and your interests.