kja - thanks vfor thanks and resurrecting my apparently long lost Scenic Swiss trains thread!

Moooooo!

Stumbled across this long thread today and thought I would add my two bits worth.
In the Lausanne area you might want to consider staying in one spot and going out from there since Vevey and Montreux are so close. You look at staying in Ouchy which is down the hill from Lausanne on the lake. Very nice. One of my favorite museums is actually the L'Art Brut in Lausanne. An excellent and average priced restaurant downtown Lausanne is Le Raisin http://www.leraisin-lausanne.ch/ (Also a hotel).

Gruyere is a very nice town that I always take my visitors to, but it is very small and it won't take much time to see unless you decide to go to the Chateau Gruyere, which is one of my favorite castles. Eat at Le Chalet just at the base of the short road to the castle, as they have the best fondue in Gruyere. Gstaad is also not big and may be rather quiet in Spring. You may only want to stay an hour or so.

When in Fribourg make sure you go down the steep hill to the lower town (basse-ville) along the river Sarine as it is the original part and is very well preserved. A yummy restaurant and hotel down there is Le Sauvage http://www.hotel-sauvage.ch/html/fr/ but it is a bit pricier. For some of the best priced and delicious food in CH I recommend L'Ancienne Gare http://www.cafeanciennegare.ch/. Not your traditional CH dishes but it is an artsy sort of a hang out. Fribourg is a young University town.

Between Fribourg and Neuchatel is fabulous little town mentioned by a previous Fodorite, called Murten or Morat (in French). It is right beside a lake of the same name and is another stop on my places to take visitors to. You can leave your luggage at the train station for chf5 (I stopped in today to ask them). You can walk along the ramparts in this town and then walk outside the walls and down to the lake. If you have enought time I would suggest taking a passenger boat from Morat/Murten across the lake to Motier or Praz then following the path around the eastern end of the lake, through forest and back to Morat. With the boat ride this would take about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

In Brienz you mention an outdoor museum. If you mean Ballenberg, then you MUST go. It's fantastic, but huge. You could easily spend one whole day here. If you take a picnic lunch you can eat in one of several picnic areas in the grounds. For an architectural buff this is a not to be missed museum.

Thun is worth a stop as it is really nice with the canals running through it and the mountains just right there at the end of the lake. You could consider catching a boat in the direction of Interlaken if the day is nice and the Alps are clear.

Have fun.

Hi, I may be a bit late with comments but I have one suggestion. I would consider staying a couple of nights in Wengen instead of 4 nights in Lauterbrunnen. It is just a short rail trip up the mountain from Lauterbrunnen and Wengen is a beautiful charming village with spectacular views. From there you can visit Klein Scheidegg and Top of Europe as well as hike and simply relax.

In June 2011 we stayed at the Edelweiss Inn - a simple but wonderful hotel with speculation views. We had an upper room, south facing with an incredible view of the mountains. The staff were gracious and very helpful with suggestions for the area. See my blog from the trip roadstosomewhere.com for more information and photos of Wengen and Top of Europe.

Have a great trip!

Fodor’s is a seriously awesome place -- thank you all! :-)


➢ Swisster

Thanks so much for sharing your insights!

I’m glad you mentioned the Ouchy area of Lausanne – that’s where I plan to stay! I think it should meet my needs well. Le Raisin looks great – thanks for bringing it to my attention.

I am definitely planning to visit Chateau Gruyere. And again, thanks for the restaurant recommendation -- I had narrowed my choices to le Chalet and the Auberge de la Halle; your comment tips the scales.

I currently believe that if I stop in Gstaad at all, it will probably be for only ½ hour or so just to get a peek of the Promenade. I’m only going to Gstaad to see the scenery on the way from Montreux and then on to Gruyeres. If I have time to get a few glimpses of flower-bedecked chalets, great; if not, I know I’ll see other picturesque streets elsewhere.

While in Fribourg, there is no way I’m going to miss the Pont de Berne or Pont de Mileau or the old streets of basse-ville! And again, thanks so much for the restaurant recommendations – both restaurants sound well worth considering.

Murten was on my initial wish-list for this trip. As lovely as it sounds, I ended up dropping it from my plans so I could make space for other priorities. But nothing is written in stone except my flights, so feel free to suggest what I might cut to make time for it. (You, too, Greg, if you are still paying attention!) As I’ve said to others, I don’t promise to follow your advice, but I will definitely give your ideas serious consideration. And thank you so much for checking the station about luggage storage options – what an incredible and generous kindness! :-)

Yes, the museum I plan to visit in Brienz is Ballenberg, and I am looking forward to spending the better part of a day there. If the weather cooperates, I hope to take a boat on Lake Brienz on my way there or back. And Thun remains firmly on my list of priorities. I’ll let the weather dictate whether I spend any time on Lake Thun. I definitely hope to have some time on at least one of these two lakes (Brienz or Thun), if not both.

I know I am going to have a lot of fun on this trip – there is so much I look forward to seeing and experiencing, and the more research I do, the more thrilled I am! Your comments are much appreciated, Swisster!


➢ robindon

You are not too late and I thank you for your comments!

I had initially considered staying in Wengen instead of Lauterbrunnen, but responses to my initial planning post made be believe it would be a little too quiet during my time there. But I rearranged my plans a bit since then, so maybe the original advice isn’t really applicable. Thanks for making sure I consider my options and for recommending a hotel that you enjoyed. I'll look into it!

And thank you very much for sharing your spectacular photographs: Awesome! I definitely plan on visiting Wengen (even if I don’t stay there) and going to Kleine Scheidegg. I haven’t yet decided about Jungfraujoch (“Top of Europe”), but had been leaning toward not going. Your pictures provide a compelling argument in favor of the experience if the weather cooperates -- stunning!

No question about it – I will have a great trip! Thanks so much for contributing to it!

I'm back home, happily exhausted after a wonderful time in Switzerland. It might take me a while, but I will post some observations when I can. Until then, my sincere thanks to all of you who contributed to my memorable and rewarding journey.

For my final itinerary and trip report, see http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...any-thanks.cfm