We plan to fly to Zurich spend 5 days in Switzerland and then fly Zurich - Rome.

I would love any and all suggestions as to what to do in Switzerland. No museums or city tours.

Basically my in-laws want to see the Alps and country/mountainsides. They they would like to ride at least one or 2 scenic trains. Does anyone have suggestions of a loop we could do? Starting and ending in Zurich/Lucerne? Maybe a bit of train then a stop for the night etc...

Thanking you in advance for your kind advice.

What time of the year will you be arriving?

Hi LilyLace,

Just want to caution you against spending too much time on the trains. I love using Swiss trains, but they are no substitute for spending time outside, on the mountains.

Usually, for most folks, almost any train ride in Switzerland will be incredibly scenic -- bucolic, green countryside, massive peaks all around, wooden chalets dotting the countryside. Some of these trains are marketed to tourists as "scenic," but all these touristy trains offer is somewhat larger windows.

To my mind, it's a lot better to find a comfortable spot in the Alps and then spend your days taking cable cars up to the mountain peaks or a mountain village. No serious hiking needed -- just wander around, stroll the village streets or a make quick tour of a mountaintop, then take the cable car down. That's a lot more memorable than sitting inside a stuffy car for 5-6 hours at a time, watching the mountains pass by your window as if it were a tv screen.

With five days, I would pick one or at the most two spots in the Alps -- maybe Luzern and the Berner Oberland or Luzern and the Engadin or Luzern and Zermatt.

Good luck!

s

Early September 2008.

Thank you for the advice Swandav2000 - that is exactly what I've been worried about! Would you stay in Lucerne and just do a day trip or an overnight?

Hi LilyLace,

No, I wouldn't spend five days of a first visit in a city. Even though there are some mountains near Luzern, I would definitely head to a mountain village in the very high Alps instead. Luzern is about two-three hours from the high Alps, so again you would be spending too many hours per day in the train.

Many first-timers enjoy the mountains of the Berner Oberland in the center of the country. They are easy to get to and very easy to get around using public transport. There are two car-free villages that will give you that blissful, charming, perfectly Alpine feeling: Wengen and Mürren. I would go directly from Zürich to one of those, spend three days exploring the villages and the peaks, and then spend the last two days in Luzern before flying out. Luzern is only an hour from the airport by direct (0 changes) train, so it's a good spot for your last place.

If you don't want to go to the Berner Oberland, the same plan will work with any of the high Alpine areas. For instance, you can head immediately to Zermatt for three days, then end with two days in Luzern. Or, head immediately to the Engadin Valley (Scuol, Pontresina, Sils, St. Moritz) for three days, and then spend two days in Luzern.

You might want to spend some time looking for photos of the towns & villages I've mentioned so that you can get an idea of which one appeals to you the most. You can find photos either at a bookstore or library, or online at google images or at www.webshots.com.

Best of luck!

s

Why don't you spend 5 days in Berner Oberland? It's a nice train ride to Wengen and there's lots to do.

Besides hiking and the Jungfraujoch, you can also visit Ballenberg, home of the open air museum of Swiss old houses.

There's lots of information on the European Board. Use the "search" function and type Berner Oberland.

Two mountain areas in Switzerland are full of the best views in Europe of that type. They are: The Berner Oberland south of Interlaken, and the Pennine Alps around Zermatt and Saas X where X is any one of Fee, Grund, Balen, Almagell, Tamatten and probaly a couple more.

For my money (and where I have spent it), the best views are from these six places:

Hochsaas in the Saas Valley. This location is easily reached by cable car from Saas Grund and it offers views of the Dom and the Lenspitze. The Dom is a beautiful, snow covered mountain with the peak formed by two or three almost perfectly formed glacial cirques.

Klein Matterhorn reached from Zermatt by cable car. It affords the most awesome view I can think of.

In fact when I look at my slides (not digitized) of the views from the top, the Matterhorn itself blends into a dramatic background of spectacular peaks.

The Gornergrat, reached by cog train from Zermatt. From the view station at the end of the rail line, dramatic views of the glaciers and the north faces of Monte Rosa dominant the view south while the Matterhorn looms to the west - if the day is clear!

The Jungfraujoch. The ride up from Interlaken Ost is expensive, but the views from the top are like few others. Walking the groomed snow track to a hikers' facility on the flank of the adjoining peak is most interesting and leads to awesome panoramic views.

The restaurant terrace at First, a gondola station reached from Grindelwald. The view is of the eastern main range of the Berner Oberland with the north face of the Eiger looming to the south.

The crest of the ridge known as the Männlichen that looms over Wengen and Lauterbrunnen, both of which are south of Interlaken Ost.

Of the six, the view from First is perhaps the easiest to reach, and the trip up begins to reveal the awesome splendor of the high peaks of the Berner Oberland.

From First there are several hiking opportunities of various distances, ranging from an hour to all day.

The Männlichen is not a difficult trip either. Train to Wengen from Interlaken Ost, and then a short cable car ride to the crest. From the Männlichen an easy trail leads down to a pass called Kleine Scheidegg where rail lines from the Jungfrau, Grindelwald, and Wengen meet.

The trail descends gently and along the way the Eiger dominates the view to the south.

There are other places as well, but these six are my personal favorites, although a few more also rank in the top ten.

In the Berner Oberland these include the Schilthorn, Stieregg, Schynige Platte, and the Oeschinensee near Kandersteg.

A couple years ago, we took my parents to Grindelwald, where we spent a week in a chalet.

To this day, my father (always the serious one, would rather work in his garage than anything else) says that visiting Switzerland was the best time of his life (he was 80 at the time). The pictures I have of him smiling inside an ice cave up at the Jungfraujoch - well, they're priceless!

I would definitely recommend hightailing it to the Alps, rather than staying in Lucerne.

The Berner Oberland (Grindelwald, Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, etc.) has wonderful access by cablecar, train, walking paths, restaurants, etc. Views are drop-dead gorgeous.

Zermatt (with the absolutely amazing Gornergrat and the wow factor of Matterhorn Paradise) is a favorite as well.

Oh, to have to choose between the two with only 5 days. You'll just have to go back again and again!

Welcome to the beauty that is Switzerland!

I agree the Sasental valley just absolutely rocks! What a great place for beauty! Of course you can drive to a point, but then must park. Saas Fee is a car free village. You can also hook up on a post bust from the Brig train station to get you into Saas Fee, Saas Grund or Sas Almagel.

Most of the trains on the cable lifts and mountain rails systems offer great views. I always enjoyed training in to Murren. That view on the left side of the train is awesome!

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Lilylace, I'm with you on the stuffy museums. Not that that type of thing does have it's appeal and I certainly do not want to speak badly of that type of activity, but give me open air and views that rock!

That Gornergrat train thing in the Zermatt area is great. If you and your party are up to it, why not get off the train at Rotenboden and walk up to the Gornergrat. The view of the Glacier is one of the best in that area in my book. Of course this walk is not a Sunday stroll, not the toughest walk you would ever do either, but certainly not a Sunday stroll in the park either. Keep that in mind. The views of the Gornergacier are awesome.

Last year, some lady was asking in this very forum some activities that offered great views of the Glaciers around Zermatt without getting involved in a strenuous hike. I suggested that she take the Gornergrat train up to Rotenboden. From Rotenboden, walk down to Riffelsee where that little lake is.

I also enjoy taking the underground transportation in Zermatt to Sunnegga. On a clear day, there are plenty of fine views of the Materhorn. Just below is the little village or whatever of Findeln. Somone said that Findeln was a collection of a few sheds and what have you, but I enjoy walking down there. One day, there was a Swiss folklore group playing the Alpenhorn. That was a great day!

If I only had 5 days, I would go to the Jungfrau area ( Grindlewald, Wengen, Murren, Lauterbrunnen, Interlaken) or I would head over to the Zermatt area.

Please post what town or area you do want to visit and I'm sure there will be ideas suggested for your travel plans.

Good luck!!!

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Bookmarking for my next trip - thanks!

Wow, thank you all so much! I must admit that as much as I've trekked all over the world - Switzerland just perplexed me! I had no idea where to begin!

My friends at Fodors have come thru for me yet again. I really appreciate the advice and will get to work on train schedules and such direct from the airport in Zurich.

I will keep checking in the event someone adds even more advice.

I have only spent 4 days in Zermatt, but they are still archived as one of my best ever stays anywhere. So scenic, and the town is so cute. Visit the little graveyard,, many of the tombstones are shaped like climbing axes ( ice picks) and the like , in honor of those who died climbing the Matterhorn, or those who worked for years as guides on the Matterhorn.
We also took the train to Gornegrat, and got off at Rotenbuden and walked rest of way up, it is a lovely hike, easy enough if even remotely fit, my dad did it at 65, it is not a climb, just a hike and the views are incredible.
Once at the top you can see into Italy!!
Zermatt warning,, it is EXPENSIVE, but then so is most of Switzerland.

go to sbb.ch and check the schedules to Interlaken Ost from the airport.
The easiest connections require a change in Bern, but that involves walking across the platform. Although the time to make the change is only 7 minutes, that is sufficient.

Obviously you cannot dawdle or take time to buy something in Bern.

From Intelaken Ost, the BOB has a train that leaves as one, but divides to go to both Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. From Lauterbrunnen, other transportation goes to Wengen and Mürren.

If you want Zermatt, the journey is a little longer.

The time to Zermatt is aboout 3 hours, 35 minutes with a change in Visp. For Lauterbrunnen, the time required is 2 hours 42 minutes best time.

Also, from Zermatt you can hike to the hut on the Matterhorn, this is a bit stenuous, so wear proper footwear, no climbing, but some narrow passes and a few places you will hang onto some ropes that are permenently anchored. Again, I did it so did my dad, but it is a bit more then a walk, LOL

BUT, there are many little hikes you can take from town, all well marked with little signs that tell you how long they should take , but what ever they say add an extra 15-30 minutes, whoever timed them underestimated them. You will pass by adorable chalets and lovely streams, I LOVED Zermatt.

Hi LilyLace,
I'd suggest the first 3 (or 4) nights in the Berner Oberland. We particularly loved Wengen! I wrote it as 3 (or 4) because I'd bet you won't want to leave the area once you see it. Then spend your last 2 (or 1) day/night in Luzern. While we liked Zermatt and seeing the Matterhorn, we didn't really care for St. Moritz and we were just floored by the scenery in the B.O. In my opinion, there's nothing quite like it.

Paul

The hike that was mentioned up to the Hornhutte is a nice hike. This can be a bit strenuous and good boots or hiking shoes are a must. This hike is a popular hike.

Even if you do not want to do this hike,you can still have an excellent trip up to Schwarzsee. You can have lunch there at the restaurant and take in some fine fine views of the Materrhorn. You will see many hikers and mountain bikers up there. One of the more popular mountain bike trails runs from Schwarzsee area.

The trip to Schwarzsee can be accessed from the main street of Zermatt.

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Hi all, thanks again.

A question for Paul, where did you stay in Wengen? Actually I've found a few places of course, just looking for suggestions.

Hi,
We stayed at the Hotel Eiger in Wengen. It's just around the corner from the train station. No worry about train noise though. Very nice and awesome balcony views!

www.eiger-wengen.ch

Paul

I'm not Paul, but I can start helping you with Wengen. There are lots of nice hotels there; do have an idea of your budget and what is important to you (views, balcony, nice dinner, close to center or on the edge, etc.)?

Here are some nice family-run hotels that get great reviews here and on Tripadvisor: Alpenrose, Bellevue, Schoenegg, Eiger, Berghaus. A double room at any of these, with view and balcony, including half-board, would run around 250 CHF to 320 CHF in September. Berghaus is at the lower end of the price scale; Eiger and Bellevue at the upper.

If you don't take half-board the room is less, but the half-board dinner is a great value and the food is generally very good.

There are other, larger and fancier places if you prefer, as well as lower-priced, more rustic options.