Need help planning a Swiss tour!
 

In September we will fly to Venice and then take the train to Florence and then up towards Switzerland. <BR>I am trying to map out a train route to see the best parts of Switzerland in about 3 days. We will be leaving Switerland at Basel to pick up a rental car for a couple of weeks in Germany. I would like to see the best parts of Switzerland. Any ideas? What about a rail pass? Would it be better than individual tickets? Please help!

Try Rick Steves for advice. His website is www.ricksteves.com. He also has a whole series of travel guides and a TV program called Travels in Europe which is on PBS. He reccommends Gimmelwald and Appenzell in Switzerland in particular.

Lynda, You seem to be busy planning a nice trip. The <BR>route from Florence will take you thru Milan.From <BR>there go up to Lugano and spend the nite in this <BR>unique lakefront city. Then train to Interlaken for <BR>the next 2 nites, using that as your base to see the <BR>best of the Alps. Take the local train up to Wengen, <BR>Kleine Scheidig, Grindelwald et al. If time permits, also see Luzern on your route to Basel. <BR>The trip from Florence to Lugano will take about <BR>5 hours, plus connection in Milan so get a good <BR>start to get into Lugano in time to boat the Lake. <BR>The Rick Steves version is for back packers.

Lynda, <BR>Once you've picked up your car in Basel and are on the way to Germany, make a detour to Schaffhausen to see one of the natural wonders of Northern Switzerland - the Rhine Falls. While not tall, the falls offer a thundering mass of water and spray that crashes over 500 foot wide cliffs. Most impressive!

<BR>You've got to go to Zermatt. It's beautiful, peaceful, easy to walk around in (no cars up there, you park in Tasch and take train up). We just came back and my favorite hotel and city this time was the <BR>Alex Schlosshotel Tenne in Zermatt, tel# 0ll-4l-27-967-l80l Fax # 0ll-4l-27-967-l803

Unless your plans are already cast in stone, consider renting your car in Germany vs. CH. <BR>My last trip (January) to CH found me saving 50% from Avis if I rented in Germany.

<BR>Get a SwissPass for rail travel. We took the Glacier Express from St. Moritz ( which is fabulous - Hotel Languard offers beautiful rooms and great views) to Zermatt. I second the suggestion of Wengen, Wildersvil , Grendiwald, Kleine SChidegge. Bern is also interesting. You will love Switzerland. Very clean, friendly and on time.