Swiss Village Itinerary help from Montreux
 

Hey folks,

We have a saver day pass on Sunday 7th May and we are looking to explore as many typical Swiss villages as possible. ( the dreamy ones with rolling hills and farmlands and along those lines )

Our hotel is in Montreux and is close to the train station and we will be starting from there and going back at the end of the day. We have shortlisted these towns / villages for the day:
Gruyeres
Saanen
Gstaad
Rougemont
Rossiniere

We would be very grateful if you kindly help us with the order of visiting these villages please. In what order does it most make sense ( so that we don't waste time) to visit these places from Montreux please? Thank you so much in advance!

I'll be curious to hear what the Switzerland experts think.

Have you checked the train timetables?

For me, if I'm understanding what you hope to do, this is a very long day. Four+ hours sitting on trains, and at least 30 minutes standing on train platforms (5 minutes x 6 rides)... Then four villages for about 1-2 hours each (somewhat determined by the time of the next train you want to catch), plus lunch plus dinner. I would want less time moving around and more time walking around (fewer) villages. Dropping Gruyeres would save time, but I don't know how you chose these particular towns. If you trained from Montreux to Gstaad and worked your way back (Saanen, Rougemont, Rossiniere), you could decide on your stops as the day goes. If you're really moving fast, you might have time for dinner in Gruyeres on the way back to Montreux.

Swiss experts??

Thanks jean. We are considering dropping Rossiniere now based on what you mentioned. We do also want to have a nice balance between relaxation and the fear of missing out!

The towns were shortlisted through research on various forums and articles etc. We wanted to experience typical Swiss villages that had chalets, rolling hills, and mountain backdrops and along those lines. Since we are based in Montreux - we are too far away from the likes of Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald. That's why we were looking to find similar picturesque villages within reasonable commute. As we have a Saver Day Pass - taking multiple trains, busses won't be an issue.

Feel free to suggest a different itinerary based on our preferences please. :)

Unless you move really fast, you'll be hard pressed to fit in more than a couple of villages. Gruyeres can fill the better part of a day, especially if you plan to visit the castle, the cheese factory and possibly the H.R. Giger Museum, which is very bizarre, but thoroughly enjoyable. Lunch in Gruyeres is a treat and a great spot to try out raclette (and double cream which I somehow missed previously, but plan to try when we revisit in the autumn).

Then there the Cailler chocolate factory in nearby Broc, which may or may not be of interest to you.

I don't remember there being much to Saanen and Rougemont (although it's been a few years since I last visited them), but Gstaad is a good place to poke around for a few hours.

You didn't mention walking, but it's possible to walk from Gstaad via Sannen to Rougemont alongside the river - takes about two hours.

I personally like Lenk im Simmental, but it's about 58 minutes by train from Gstaad.

We're returning to the Gstaad area (staying in Zweisimmen) for five nights in October to check out everything we missed during our last visit. Very much looking forward to another day in Gruyeres and Broc stuffing ourselves with cheese and chocolate.

Just googled Lenk im Simmental and it looks like a beautiful village! Thanks for the suggestion. So many places, such little time!

Btw we do absolutely love walking so the walk from Gstaad via Sannen to Rougemont alongside the river sounds very tempting indeed. It's such a shame that Gruyeres is sort of out of the way of the other towns. Sounds like it's either a day trip to Gruyeres or a combined trip around other towns/villages. We do have a Saver Day pass which was on the pricy side so we also do want to take the opportunity of unlimited travel whilst balancing that with having enough time to actually explore the towns/villages.

I once visited Gruyeres (castle + small old town, not the Giger museum and not the cheese factory) and Gstaad with a walk along the river to Saanen - from Montreux-Veytaux. With an early start this is absolutely doable and highly recommended.

that’s encouraging. Perhaps we’ll give it a go then. Really would love to cover Gruyères, Gstaad and Saanen at least in one day.

Last year we stayed in Saanen for two nights and visited Gstaad and Gruyeres while we were there. There's good advice here but I'll add my comments. The village of Saanen is typical but not special. Gstaad has a big name and can be worth a look. The hiking above the towns and the walk between them would be the most interesting thing to do.

I'm an outlier when it comes to Gruyeres, I didn't think it was worth the time it took. Getting there involved a train change with a wait, which you would have coming from Montreux. The old town and its castle is a stiff walk up a hill. You can't go through the cheese factory, you can only view a demonstration in a facility next to the train station (decent restaurant). To our disappointment the demonstration is only run in the morning.

If you want to see this part of Switzerland I would take the train from Montreux to Gstaad, explore Gstaad, walk down to Saanen and find the train station. (There is no staff at the Saanen station. If you don't have a ticket or pass you'll have to buy from the machine.) While you're in the Gstaad station ask about the connection to Gruyeres. Then when you're on your way back to Montreux from Saanen, you can decide if you want to take the side trip there. Have fun.

If you don't have a ticket or pass you'll have to buy from the machine.

Or better yet, purchase from the SBB app.

thank you. Really appreciate it. We were initially thinking of going to Gruyeres first but this makes a lot more sense. Is the walk from Gstaad to Saanen scenic? For example would we be going through villages, chalets in the middle of nowhere, cows with bellls etc ?

Hi Wanderlust23,

I like Ingo's ideas best (no surprise there!). Do Gruyeres first, then walk from Saanen to Gstaad. I like to end my walk in Gstaad because the restaurants are spectacular. I once got food poisoning from a sandwich at a bakery in Saanen .... so please don't get take-away from there.

I'll try to post a link to my photo album of this walk, from 2010. Will try.

http://link.shutterfly.com/qsaU4Qi9nzb

Have fun as you plan!

s

Thank you swandav2000! Stunning photos btw. That looks like a beautiful walk!

Go to Gruyeres first and take the bus from the railway station to the castle in order to save time. Visit the castle (inside!) and listen to the story of the last count of Gruyeres. The cheese diary (down at the railway station) isn't that interesteing, but if you visit it, do it in the morning when you can get a cheese making show. The Giger museum has not much to do with Switzerland. You will have no time to go to the Nestle (Cailler) chocolate factory.
Among all the villages you mention, Rougemont is the most interesting one. If you will still have time, you can go back from Gstaat via Coll du Pillon bus to Les Diablerets and enjoy the somewhat different local architecture there. From there a small train goes down to Aigle, from where you will be back at Montreux in some 10 minutes (4 trains per hr)

Thank you!

The more we research Switzerland, the more we wish that there was a way to experience Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald. We are just so fascinated by lush green, picture perfect villages with cows etc.

Unfortuntaely as we only have 2 full days ( 6th and 7th May ) and we are based in Montreux and fly back from Geneva – that is unrealistic. Plus, our 3 nights in Montreux Hotel is already paid for.

Question for an Experienced Swiss Traveller or a destination expert please, which village within realistic travel distance of Montreux would be closest to the features that Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald would offer please? We have a Saver Day Pass for 6th and 7th. We are Londoners so we are happy to skip cities and would just love to experience the Swiss villages if possible now.

If you want Lauterbrunnen or Grindewald, then you really have to go there, or some other similar high mountain town (Zermatt, for example) to get that experience. That's not really feasible with your itinerary. However, for your limited stay, I think you'll find that a daytrip like the one outlined above to Gruyeres and Gstaad, will be fine. You'd probably only find that to be lacking if you were on a longer trip and comparing that to what you saw high up in the Alps. The areas you can see are worth seeing in their own right, but not quite as dramatic was what is available higher up. Don't make the perfect the enemy of the good.

Thanks twk, appreciate it. It does put things into perspective. I guess we'll just stick to going to destinations within reasonable commute then.

Do you ( or any destination expert ) mind rating our planned itinerary please given our preferences? We are based in a hotel in Montreux for 3 nights. Is it doable? Feel free to suggest changes. Would you do anything differently? So, this is what our itinerary looks like based on the research and the advice so far:

5th May: Land in Geneva at 11am. Take the train to Montreux and check into the Hotel. Walk around & explore Montreux and then take the train to Rougemont and explore surrounding villages before coming back to Montruex at night.

6th May: Morning train from Montreux to Gruyères. After lunch train to Gstaad. Explore Gstaad and Saanen villages. And then train back to Montreux at night.

7th May: Morning Panoramic train from Montreux to Zweisimmen. Walk around Zweisimmen for a bit then take the train to Spiez. Walk down to take a boat to Thun. Walk around Thun for a bit and take the train to Bern. Explore Bern and then come back to Montreux at night.

8th May: Fly back to London.

Given that our preferences: Would you say this is the best possible itinerary for those 2.5 days please?

YOUR PLANNED TRAIN JOURNEYS:
Day 5:
MONTREUX - MONTBOVON (1hr) - ROUGEMONT (1 1/2 hr) - MONTBOVON - MONTREUX
Day 6:
MONTREUX - MONTBOVON (1hr) - Gruyeres - MONTBOVON - ROUGEMONT - SAANEN - GSTAAD - SAANEN - ROUGEMONT - MONTBOVON - MONTREUX
Day 7:
MONTREUX - MONTBOVON (1hr) - ROUGEMONT - SAANEN - GSTAAD -Zweisimmen - Spiez - Thun - Bern - Lausanne - Montfreux.
That means:
3times Montreux - Rougemont
twice Rougemont/Saanen Montreux

What would you recommend please?

Hi again,
Thank you for your comment on my photos!

Since you seem to be most interested in the area around Gstaad, can you cancel your hotel in Montreux and get a place in Gstaad or Saanen? That would cut down on those repeated rail trips.

Have fun!

s