My son and I will be doing a short trip to Switzerland, after our three day stay in Cote d'Azur, before we head down to Italian Riviera. We will be driving from Antibes and my thought was to stay in a small Swiss village, but I have been reading about Interlaken and it sounds good. Does anyone know how long it will take us to drive there from, say, Nice. Also, I understand that the most interesting places to stay in the Alps are a gondola ride away from Interlaken. My son has special needs and is nervous riding lifts. I don't mind us doing it, unless it is really a harrowing experience. Does anyone know if we can take train to say Gimmelwald from Interlaken? Otherwise, how scary are the lifts?

Any other suggestions instead of going to Interlaken? The train ride around the lake region is also very appealing but I thought the Oberland is unique and is a good compliment to the rest of our trip ( we are heading down to Italian Riviera, staying in Portofino, and then down to Tuscany (probably in Siena or Volterra - suggestions are appreciated), and finally dropping the car there and flying to Sicily.

Thanks much folks.

S

Hi Safa1,

There is no train to Gimmelwald, but the cable car shouldn't feel scary---it's as large as a small room and very solid. But if it is looking down that bothers him, the stability won't help. The cable car does go straight up the side of a cliff, and it's a long way down.

You can get to Wengen, a high village on a bench across the valley from Gimmelwald, by train. Maybe that would be a better option?

Thanks Enzian. I think my son can take it, I am hoping it only takes about 10 minutes or so and it's not too wobbly! The train ride sounds very interesting and we may try that too.

I really don't know why you want to go to Gimmelwald. There is not much of anything there. I have walked through it perhaps 5 times and never saw anything to attract me.

You can take a train to Wengen, but Mürren requires a cable car ride either from Stechelberg or Lauterbrunnen.

I have been in that area 8 times now. The cable cars do not bother me. I feel safer in those than I do on a US highway with heavy traffic! The accident rate is much higher on our roads!!

I cannot help you on the driving times.

But in terms of views, Wengen offers some good ones. You can go higher by train to Kleine Scheidegg which is the departure point for the Jungfraujoch.

Let me revise that, Wengen offers some stupendous views, the kind that bring me back.

Interlaken is beautiful, but it is more a tourist-filled city than a "small Swiss village". You can try Thun, which is along the same lake, a short distance drive from Interlaken.

As for driving, try maporama.com or www.theaa.com (Route Planner, do advanced search)

you also can take a walk in Lauterbrunnen that is beautiful and requires no lifts to take it. It is a flat walk along the valley floor with the cliffs and waterfalls alongside and views of the majestic Alpine peaks in front of you.

the Trummelbach falls is also an amazing place to visit in Lauterbrunnen. Just a lot of stairs to climb to see the waterfalls that tumble down inside the rocks.

Folks - These are awesome suggestions. Brookwood, you ask a good question on why I want to go to Gimmelwald - I have to admit that it is mainly based on what I have read in Rick Steve's book, which described it as a very "out of the beaten path village that few people find interesting, but has great views and is very Swiss. I was assuming that we will be spending the day going around to different areas, including many that have been suggested in these posts. Having said that, my son really likes trains so perhaps we should look into staying at Wengen. If you or anyone on this forum has suggestions of any good hotels in Wengen, Thun, Lauterbrunnen or similar villages, please let me know. I would much appreciate it.

If he likes trains, Wengen is a good choice. For a daytrip, you can continue on by train up to Kleine Scheidegg, or even to the Jungfraujoch if it is a nice day. This involves a fairly long time in a tunnel (inside the Eiger), however, and not everyone likes that.

Here is a list of hotels in Wengen:

http://www.wengen.com/hotels.html

And somewhere here is a thread discussing them. You might consider in particular the Bellevue, because they have a model railway in the garden! The link to photos of the model railway is in the upper right in their website.

You will pass through Lauterbrunnen to get to Wengen (actually you will change trains there). There is a cablecar going up to Mürren from there, across the street from the train station (the opposite direction from the Wengen train platform). But you could go take a look at it and see if it looks like something your son would be OK with. From the top of that cablecar, you catch a short train to Mürren (or walk, a 1.5 hour glorious walk). From Mürren, it is an easy walk downhill to Gimmelwald, generally past some cows in a few of the yards. And from Gimmelwald, you can take another cablecar either back up to Mürren, or down to Stechelberg, where you can ride a bus back to Lauterbrunnem.

The only hotels I know of from personal experience are in Lauterbrunnen.
The Silberhorn and the Oberlander are average, good Swiss hotels.

Lauterbrunnen has some advantages: It is a transportation center.

From the rail station you can go to Wengen and Interlaken.

Across the street is the valley station for the new cable lift to the little train that shuttles passengers to Mürren.

Near the train station is the Post Bus stop for transportation to the valley station of the Schilthornbahn near Stechelberg. This cable line goes to Gimmelwald, Mürren, and the Schilthorn summit.

Gimmelwald is a barely a hamlet.

You can stop there on the way up, spend 5 minutes, see it, and go on up.

From Lauterbrunnen the train to Wengen also continues to Kleine Scheidegg where you can change trains for the Jungfraujoch or for the descent to Grindelwald.

Also from Wengen, you can walk a short distance to the cable lift that takes passengers to the crest of the Männlichen, that ridge that towers over the valley.

I usually stay in Lauterbrunnen because it is central to roads, buses, trains, and cable lifts.

Wengen has great views and Mürren has great views.

The advice above for walking along the floor of the Lauterbrunnen Valley is excellent. We have done it several times. The falls are pretty and the walk is flat.

For an easy walk that provides awesome views, I suggest going from the Grutschalp station at the upper end of the new cable lift to Mürren.

Walking in that direction means you are facing the Jungfrau and the Breithorn.
The views are wonderful.

If you walk it the other way, you will be constantly turning and looking back!!

Grindelwald is also reached from the train station known as Interlaken Ost, as destinct from Interlaken West.

Grindelwald is much, much larger than Lauterbrunnen. It offers many more hotels, some of which are quite large.

My personal choice has been an apartment in Lauterbrunnen because I can park there easily, go anywhere in the area by car and/or public transportation.

If I want variety, Grindelwald is a short drive away as is Interlaken.

Some people for short trips prefer Mürren or Wengen for the views. I agree fully with ALL choices. No, I am not being ambiguous. None of the choices is a loser; each one has strong points and weak points.

Do I prefer Wengen over Mürren? Hard to say. They are about equal and the preferences become personal choices.