iregeo2

91 y.o. Dad and I will be driving to Switzerland for 3 short days (including drive time) from Semur-en-Auxois, our base in France. I am looking for a Swiss base from which to do a bit of low key exploration, before we fly out of Zurich. On our middle evening, we will be meeting friends for a hot air balloon ride over the three lakes (Biel-Bienne, Neuchatel, Morat). I am also dying to see something in the Jungfrau, though NO hiking will be involved! Should we base in Bern? Thun? Somewhere else? Staying near a lake in a typically Swiss village seems very appealing. I am so open to your suggestions for this very brief stay.

On our 4th day in Switzerland, we must make our way to the airport in Zurich. Do you suggest dropping the car near our base and taking the train, or driving ourselves to the airport? Our flights depart at 1:00 p.m. on a Tuesday in early August.

Many thanks.

Finsteraarhorn

Hello!

Bern would be logistically ideal to go to Morat, the Jungfrau area and Zurich. But it's not a village. However, the medieval city center is gorgeous. Not car friendly, but gorgeous.

Morat is a very nice medieval village on its lake. Brilliant! Not car friendly, too, but smaller than Bern and easy walkable.

Thun is midway between Bern and the Jungfrau area, nor a city, nor a village. A town? Nice castle, on the tip on a lake, not really in the mountains but close by. Looks like a viable compromise, but imo "not meat nor fish" (in Italian it sounds good).

The Jungfrau area is a bit excentrated from the rest, but has a mighty mountain group and some nice mountain villages, as Grindelwald, Wengen and Murren. Of the three, only Grindelwald is car accessible, and that's one reason why many prefer the two others.

Speaking car, inform yourself about the huge drop off fees if you rent a car in France and you drop it off in Switzerland, or a different country. It could well be around 1000$. Maybe consider to drop the car in France and travel in Switzerland by public transportation only?

iregeo2

Finsteraarhorn, wow! Thank you for bringing that little detail to my attention! I had not yet booked my car and was not aware of that fee! Back to the drawingboard...

kimbedly

I would suggest that you consider staying in Interlaken or Grindelwald, both of which are located in the Jungfrau region and offer stunning views of the Swiss Alps. These towns are easily accessible by car from Semur-en-Auxois and are situated near several lakes, including Lake Brienz and Lake Thun.

From Interlaken or Grindelwald, you can take a scenic train ride up to Jungfraujoch, which is known as the "Top of Europe" and offers breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. You can also take a cable car or cogwheel train to the top of Schilthorn, which provides panoramic views of the Alps and was made famous by the James Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."

As for your transportation to the airport, it may be more convenient to drop off your car near your base and take the train to Zurich. This will allow you to avoid any potential traffic or parking issues in the city. You can check train schedules and prices on the Swiss Federal Railways website.

neckervd

Where will you start your hot balloon adventure? If it's a place in the graeater 3lakes area (Bienne-Ntel-Morat), it might be a good base for day trips by car into the Swiss Alps.
Check whether it's possible to drop off you car at Basel airport French side (aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse côte francais). My daughter always rent her car there when she comes to visit us in Switzerland.
From there, you can just walk to the Swiss side (100 metres or so), take a Basel bound airport bus (every 10 minutes or so) and go on by direct train to Zurich airport.
If that works, you could keep your car until Monday night (Bienne - Basel is just 1 hr by car), sleep at Basel and go by train to Zurich airport the following morning.

BTW: if you are looking for a scenic approach to Switzerland, check
A39 - A391 - N5 up to the Swiss border at La Cure, enter Switzerland and go down via St-Cergue (stunning views to Mont Blanc and whole Lake Geneva) to the Swiss motorway A1.;
A 36 up to Besancon - N57/D461 up to Le Locle (Swiss border) - La Chaux-de-Fonds - Vue des Alpes Pass (not tunnel!) - Neuchatel; you may include a boat cruise on Lake Brenets (up to the Saut-du-Doubs waterfalls and back), either from Villers-le-Lac (France) of from Les Brenets.(Switzerland).

iregeo2

Thank you kimbedly. Both Interlaken and Grindelwald look like good options. Perhaps I'll look for accommodations and that might help me choose. Any modest choices you would recommend?

I also like the idea of dropping the car and taking an early train to the airport.

iregeo2

neckervd, we are now looking at taking the train, either from the Dijon area or somewhere near the border., renting a car for a bit of exploration in Switzerland, and dropping it to get a train to the Zurich airport on the day we leave. As for where we meet our friends for the balloon ride, it will be either near Worben or Ligerz.