Switzerland and Italy Trip Planning
 

My family and I are traveling to Europe for the first time to see friends. We will have a few days after our visit to explore on our own, and are thinking about how best to spend our time in Europe, given that it'll be our first time.

We will be starting our trip in Montreux (after visiting friends there), and from there we have 6 days of travel.

My tentative plane is:
Day 0
AM: Arrive in Geneva
AM:

Day 1
AM: Chillon Castle
PM: Roche Nayes

Day 2
AM & PM: Golden Pass Scenic Train (Montreux-Interlaken-Lucerne)
PM: any evening Lucerne suggestions?

Day 3
AM: Mt Pilatus or Mt. Rigi trip
PM: Train to Zurich to catch 3pm flight to Rome
PM: Arrive in Rome

Day 4
AM: Coliseum
PM:

Day 5
AM:
PM:
PM: flight to Geneva

Day 6
AM: Geneva flight to back home

Is my plan too ambitious? I realize that I'm giving Rome only 2 days, but it is because we are

Sorry! Please ignore this post - I accidentally clicked "post" when I was editing my post.

Clearly, I'm still in the middle of sorting out a few details, but I really value the feedback in this forum, so I'll post again once I've figured out a few things.

Sorry again for my accidental posting! :)

Hi kt123,

Quick note: if you don't already have your air tickets, get an open-jaw to fly into Geneva and out of Rome. That'll give you some extra time & money for the trip!

s

EasyJet goes right to Rome from Geneva - I would do that instead of going to Zurich. The views are not so great from the train between Lac Léman and Zurich, nothing spectacular, and you will avoid that big airport and just deal with the little Geneva one and then easyJet.

I'd skip Zurich and (as suggested) fly into Geneva then out of Rome. Those two changes smoothes out things considerable.

Actually with only 6 days I'd just stay and enjoy the Lac Leman towns outside Geneva (Lausanne, Vevey, and Montreux), but that's just me. Hardly seems worth the cost, hassle, and time factor to go to Rome for barely a day.

Do you already have your tickets? Where is it that you are visiting friends? Knowing these details will help people give you better advice. With less than 6 days available I personally wouldn't try to do both Switzerland and Rome, especially if you have to fly back to Switzerland to fly home. If you could fly home from Rome that would be one thing, but it doesn't sound like it. So given that, I would stay in Switzerland the whole time, or go down to the lakes region of Italy if you really want a taste of Italy (though I found the lakes region to feel more Swiss than Italian). You could do a couple of days in the Bernese Oberland (mountains), a day or two each in Bern and Lucerne.

On the other hand, if you really prefer Italy then I'd go down there for the majority of you week and just maybe see a little around Geneva on the day before and after your flights, but not try to see so much. Basically I think you won't get a very satisfactory feeling from either country the way you have it currently planned.

What time of year is your trip? The Goldenpass trip is not so great in like March when it tends to be rainy and foggy.

How long will you be in Montreux with your friends? Do you know whether your friends are planning on taking you sightseeing in the area?

Are you aware that Chillon castle is about 5 minutes from Montreux so there would be a chance you may be able to see it with your friends when you are in Montruex, thus freeing up a day?

I agree with the above that you should either skip Rome, or skip the rest of the Swiss itinerary and spend the rest of the time entirely in Rome. 2 days is really hard to see enough or to enjoy the lovely people, cafes, etc and get a feel for the city.

We had a wonderful trip via the MOB Golden Pass train to Montreux in March 2002! The whole 8 days in Switzerland on that trip were fairly good weather!

Cheers,

Bill