My wife and I and our daughter and her friend (both in their forties) are planning to visit Switzerland for 7 to 10 days in early December 2006. We would like to stay in a quaint and interesting small to medium size town from which we can take day trips by rail. Also, we would like to be in a town that has an active Christmas market, good restaurants, and a comfortable but not too expensive small hotel (a vacation apartment might be a possibility).
Bremgarten and Montreux have been suggested to us. Comments and opinions about these two places would be appreciated. Also, suggestions regarding other towns would be welcomed, as would suggestions regarding apartments or small hotels.
In addition, we would like to be able to go dog sledding, if a place can be found to do that.
Thanks.
Lee

My friend just told me about the Bremgarten Christmas market. She loved it and intends on going again next year. The town fits your every need. Go to Muotathal (a valley and town in Canton Schwyz) for dog sledding. It's a great area and they even have a husky camp.

However, I just can't imagine staying in Bremgarten 7-10 days. Would you like to split up your trip and go half to Bremgarten and half to Montreux? You'll have the best of both worlds. I'd do five and five.

Thanks, Schuler, for your rapid response. Really helpful. The idea of splitting between Bremgarten and Montreux is quite worth considering.

Hi LeeC,

I love Lake Geneva and am a frequent visitor to Montreux.

However, I really can't recommend it as a "Christmas spirit" destination. I visited Montreux one day in Dec 2004 and was really disappointed: the market stalls were made of plastic to resemble wooden chalets, and the goods were clothing, food, & drink rather than ornaments or handcrafts.

I would recommend Basel. It has a thriving Christmas market (look for some reviews here), it has enough to do to keep you busy, and it's nicely located to see a lot of Swiss Romande.

I would also take a look at Brig. Though I don't know if they have a Christmas market, the town itself is just very cute & cosy. It's also nicely located to reach either the Valais or many spots in Vaud.

Good luck!

s

Thanks swandav,

for the comments about Montreux and the recommendation for Basel. I hadn't heard about the Christmas market there.

Also, thanks for the info about Brig. I had thought of it but didn't know anything about the town. We were there a number of years ago to take a train to Milan, but we couldn't go into the town because it had been inundated by a mud slide just a week earlier.

Regards,
Lee

My take on Christmas markets is that they are a Germanic custom. So, I wouldn't think Montreux would be the place. In addition, I may be in the minority on this, but I did not find Montreux or Vevey area to be nearly as interesting as, say, Luzern (which has multiple markets across the town) or Locarno in the italian part (which has a market for only a couple of days).

So, you might wish to consider Luzern as well. Confused with all the options/differing advice? You can comfort yourself in the knowledge that you can't really go wrong in beautiful Switzerland. Enjoy

Hi LeeC,

Well, just to help you visualize Brig, here's a link to my photo album from my Sep 05 trip -- Brig photos are in there somewhere!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/swanda...ebd1&.tok=

I did a quick check online, and apparently Brig doesn't have a Christmas market but Sion, nearby, does.

Here's a link to my photos of
Montreux's Christmas Market when I visited in Dec 2004:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/swanda.../ph//my_photos

so you can see for yourself what I'm saying about the market.

And you probably know that Basel isn't a mountain-type destination, but a really great city right on the Rhine.

And of course JN is absolutely right: it's all good; you can't go wrong! I think you know that already, eh?

s

I was in Montreux just prior to Christmas in 04. Since I had never been to Switzerland before and had no Christmas markets to compare it to, I was still a little dissappointed. It did have interesting food and drink but I was looking for textiles and crafts and didn't see much of that.

Try Neuachatel. It is a beautiful city and is located nicely so that Zurich, Geneva, Lausanna, Bern are within a 1 to 2 hr trip by Train. Don't miss Bern.
Have Fun
Fudgie