I will be arriving in Geneva and am travelling alone(51 yr. old woman).I have 4 days and would like to arrange some day trips(love to hike/bike/walk/tour). I have no idea what to do after I explore geneva. any suggestions? I also will be in the Neuchatel area and am looking for some day trips around there for a few days. Any suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks

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The towns like Lausanne, Vevey, and Montreux are absolutely wonderful. They are an easy ~1 hour train ride from Geneva. Simply catch a train and go exploring.

The train stations in Vevey and Montreux are very central and the towns not that large. You can explore the various shops, take a stroll along the quai (lakeside promonade), have some lunch, like that.

There are boats that run from Geneva out to these towns (they take a LOT longer than the train but you could go by boat one way and catch a train back).

Gruyeres is a beautiful town with a castle to visit. My friend drove us in her car, but I'm pretty sure you can get there by train or as part of a tour (people go to see cheese making or something, I think).

In Montreux there is Chateau de Chillon. It is an OLD amazing castle you do a self-guided tour thru. It's right on the lake.

Also from Montreux there is a scenic tram that goes up the mountain called Rocher de Nayes. You catch it at the regular train station but there is a separate place to purchase tickets from the regular train. Especially if there's clear weather you'll have a great view. But even if it's fogged in it is still a fun activity. There's a restaurant at the top.

If you happen to have a Saturday morning free, i *highly* recommend the Vevey outdoor farmers open air market. A true "locals" activity with great food, flowers, produce, etc.

Traveling solo should be absolutely no problem in this area. As their reputation is true, the Swiss keep things extremely clean, well organized, and safe.

To get between Montreux and Vevey you can take either bus or train, you could see both in the same day trip.

Also I forgot to mention above, Montreux's "Old Town" is very pretty. Walk up up up the cobblestone street from the main part of town.

Thanks for all of your help Suze.!

Re the Rochers de Naye trip which I wholeheartedly endorse. You catch that train at the separate (but connected to) MOB train station which is in the REAR of the main SBB station..don't get confused.

Also if you enjoy walking it is a nice walk along the lakefront from Montreux over to Chillon.

My pleasure to help, I have a dear friend living there and visit every-other summer. I'd live there if I could figure a way.

There's hiking alongside the tram-ride. We didn't, but it seemed people were getting on and off and walking trails part or all of the way.

There are wonderful bakeries in both towns including pre-made sandwiches. Lots of shops like antiques, lace, chocolate, etc. Migros is a large grocery store chain in both places, good stop to stock up on Swiss chocolate to take home as souveniers.

I turned 50 this summer and went to Switzerland for my present! I thought Geneva was tres disappointing. I liked it there about 30 yrs years ago, but it's loud, crowded and covered in graffiti. Couldn't wait to escape. My husband and I took a train ride to Bulle and hiked through a small forest and tiny towns to Gruyeres which was GREAT. Had a nice fondue at the Hotel de Ville and enjoyed a self tour of the castle. We also loved the Lavaux wine trail- a lovely walk through vineyards and tiny hamlets such as Rivaz, Riex, Epesses, etc. There's also a cute little wine train you can ride if your legs get tired- the views are exquisite. Lunch at the Auberge de Rivaz was incredible- one of the best meals I've had anywhere. The only thing I enjoyed in geneva was visiting the ruins under the church in old town- that was fascinating. Then, I was ready to LEAVE! have fun!

So glad to read that the food at Auberge du Rivaz is as good as I remember. On two of my trips to Switzerland, I stayed in one of their upstairs rooms, once with a back view of the vineyards and once with a front lakeview. Nothing fancy, but in a great location with wonderful transportation options and delicious food. My most memorable meal (sorry to be vague) was something like medallions of veal (or not) marsala. Ahhhhh. J.

de Rivaz, de Rivaz; I WILL remember that.

Suggest you skip Geneva. If your arrival is at GVA-Cointrin airport, there's a station right there, take a train to Montreux, take the boat to nearby Chillon (great views), visit the castle (www.chillon.ch/en), take the trolley-bus back to Montreux-Gare (gare=station), and take the scenic Montreux-Oberland-Bahn to Chateau d'Oeux (www.mob.ch) where you can reserve a room or take another short ride to lovely Gruyères (Greyerz in German), home of that fabulous cheese, and historic sites. It's a small town, no major hotels, more like "inns". There's a knock-out picture and all the information at www.gruyeres.ch/tourisme/default.htm

From Gruyères you can take the train to Bern, the train-only connection is via Palézieux, 1 transfer, just under two hours. Bern is great to visit, simply exit the station and turn left, the old town is vibrant and modern but the buildings are, well, historic. You'll love the arcades etc., and the views from outside the Bundeshaus (House of Parliament).

There's also a quicker connection (but more transfers) from Gruyères to Bern via Bulle and Fribourg, with a bus from Bulle to Fribourg, which is a nice old town worth a good stroll.

From Bern it's 40 minutes to Neuchatel/Neuenburg.

Neuchatel is at the foot of the first of the Jura mountain chains, there are many hiking paths (as there are all over Switzerland), they're marked in yellow - you'll find special maps and guides if you ask about the Wanderwege (wandern = to stroll, Weg = path).

WK

I will also mention that train and bus travel are unbelievably easy- everything is posted clearly and at no time will you feel unsafe or unwelcome. An almost perfect place.

remember Swiss Franc (CHF) not euro