Or we could stay in Bern instead of the Lake Geneva region and visit the Chateau de Chillon as a daytrip from Bern>

IMO the Lake Geneva area as a base is far better for most than Bern, which though a lovely lovely city is in many ways just another nice large city - Lake Geneva's bases like Montreux or Vevey are much more romantic

I would do Bern as a day trip from Wengen or Murren - esp if you have a poor weather day - Bern has many of its sidewalks in the old town center covered by arches! And the bears in the bear pit don't mind foul weather either. Bern is just about30 mins by train from Interlaken - to vary your day hop a lake boat on the way back at Thun and float back in later afternoon to Interlaken-West train station. On a nice day if the ice-girdled Jungfrau Massif is out what an awesome boat ride. Swiss Passes good for the lake boats too.

Palenque: I appreciate your reply! Romantic sounds good to me...since Montreux and Vevey on Lake Geneva are romantic, I would enjoy that. I'm looking forward to visiting the Chateau de Chillon and hoping it won't be too mobbed with people. I like your idea of seeing Bern as a day-trip as well. Bern does sound interesting, if we have time to check it out.

The lake boat from Thun to Interlaken sounds like a scenic way to travel...thanks for the lovely images.

What do you think of Lausanne as a base as compared to Montreux or Vevey? Rick Steves recommends Lausanne as a base...sometimes my taste agrees with his...and sometimes it totally clashes! (I enjoy reading opinionated guidebooks even if I disagree with some of the opinions.)

You probably have had enough but the year before last we had 24 days in Switzerland and a Swiss rail pass. Flew into Zurich hopped on the train and went directly to Luzern; base one. Next was Lauterbrunnen, base two, then Lausanne, base three; St. Moritz, base four and St Gallen base five. With the Swiss Rail Pass along with minimal hotel changes we saw as much of Switzerland as possible in the time we had available; actually saw more than we thought due to the relatively short distances and a very efficient transportation system.

Hi again,

There are many little towns and villages dotting Lake Geneva. I personally don't like cities and wouldn't stay in Lausanne -- I'd go to a small town and get close to the lake. The main part of Lausanne is up on a hill some ways from the lake. There are some hotels at the lake, but I don't know about how many restaurants, cafes, and shops are also there.

s

I agree with swandav2000 about not considering Lausanne nearly as romantic a base as either Vevey or Montreux - Lausanne is a fairly large busy commercial city - at least the main part of town up from the lake.

But i would not neglect hopping the train or a lake boat or the trolley bus (Swiss Passes valid on all) the few miles from Montreux or Vevey to Lausanne and bat around for a few hours - the train station is right in the heart of the upper town. Check out the huge cathedral and check out the Olympic Museum if that interests you - the IOC is headquartered here. And go down to the lake and check it out - yup a short boat ride could be nice if you end up down on the lake!

Last year I stayed in Vevey and did day trips to Lausanne and Montreux (well, if you can even call them day trips -- I think one was a 20 minute trip on the train and the other was a 10 minute trip). I enjoyed visiting both cities, but was so glad I decided to stay in Vevey, which was just a really delightful little town.

<b>nicki</b> and <b>Palenque</b> and <b>swandav 2000</b>: Thanks for sharing your experience. It seems like many travelers who have enjoyed the Lake Geneva area actually stayed in the smaller villages along the lake, such as Vevey and Montreux. It sounds like the train is convenient between Vevey, Montreux and Lausanne. I'm getting a clearer picture of the area thanks to everyone's input. Thank you!

<b>Vanman</b>: Sounds like a great trip...I wish we had 24 days! But I'm grateful that we will have about 15 or 16 nights in Switzerland. Did you have a favorite spot in all your 24 days in Switzerland?

Some of you wonderful fodorites have already suggested some accommodations. <b>Does anybody want to add their favorite accomodations in Vevey or Montreux or anywhere on Lake Geneva?</b> I am ready now to check out accomodations. I think I will book Vevey or Montreux based on which accomodations I can find available for our dates. I'm getting excited!

I'm hoping we can visit Gruyers as well as the Chateau de Chillon. Lausanne as a "day-trip" instead of a base sounds like a good plan as well.

I think we will see Bern as a day-trip from Lucerne.

As always -- what is your budget?

I love the 5-star Hotel Royal Plaza and love its location at the lake.

Love the 4-star Hotel Eden Palace au Lac that sits right on the promenade so you can view the lakeside strolers from your balcony. Also love the 4-star Hotel Victoria in Glion above Montreux.

Have heard good things about the 3-star Hotel Masson, that sits in the suburb of Territet.

All of the above will be crowded and maybe sold out for the dates of the Jazz Fest, though the Masson may be quieter.

In Vevey, I've heard good things about the 2-star Hotel Negociants. I myself would stay at the 3-star Hostellerie Bon Rivage that sits in La Tour-de-Peilz just a few steps from Vevey. It sits right on the promenade.

Have fun!

s

swandav2000, thanks!

Our budget for accommodations is...moderate prices with a splurge here and there.

I'm sorry, but "moderate" means different things to different folks. If you could give us a $ or chf figure range, it would be more helpful.

s

swandav2000: Sorry to be vague about the budget but I judge the value of an accommodation according to whether they are providing me with the kind of experience that is worth the price they are charging. For a double room for 2 people in Switzerland I would probably regard 100-200 SF per room including breakfast as moderate; whereas a splurge would be 200-300 SF per double room and should include breakfast. (And that is per double room, not per person!) Under 100 SF would be lower priced.

I have been reading about the <b>volcanic ash</b> in the air over Europe. Now I'm wondering whether it will still be there in June. I haven't booked our flights yet and I'm wondering how to guess which routing of our flights would be our safest bet!

Melissa, It's up to the Volcanic God of Iceland and the Wind God of Europe to decide if there will still be an ash problem or not.

I would book and hope for the best.

In Switzerland, we have some men who can forecast weather through the use of nature. Here's a picture of our "weather frogs"

http://www.neuheim.ch/fileadmin/reda...schmoecker.pdf

Hi again,

Ok, those are figures we can work with!

The Hotel Negociants (it's a 3-star, sorry for the error!) would be well within your budget as it shows 143 chf for two people with no breakfast. Hotel Masson would be at the upper edge of your budget at 200-270 chf. The Bon Rivage is also 200-270 chf.

Have fun!

s

Part of the allure or mystique i find in places like Montreux and Vevey is that it's a bit like France - not only in language but in architecture - more stone or stucco houses in nice pastel hues rather than chalet-style houses (not saying which is nicer as they are both sweet! - but this Frenchness to me is one reason to incude it with the more encompassing German areas like Zermatt and the Jungfrau where so many people only go.

Thanks swandav2000 I will look at those hotels. We especially enjoy cozy family-run b&bs as well when we can find them. I guess I will continue to read about the loveliness of Switzerland...and try not to worry about those ash clouds...They are especially NOT helpful when I was already a nervous flyer to begin with.

We were going to book British Airlines with stopover in London but now I think maybe that isn't the best idea due to the ash. Not sure what would be better. Someone said Swiss Air may have nonstop from LAX to Zurich or Geneva...I'm not sure if that is really nonstop...but I think Swiss Air is way more expensive than British Airlines. Sigh... I feel sorry for the folks who got stranded.

Yes, Swiss from LAX to Zurich is non stop.

Oh how one little volcano can cause trip planning changes and yes i would also look for a flight direct to Switzerland if it were me.

We now have our eye on that nonstop flight to Switzerland...however I find myself obsessed with volcano news now. I'm getting cold feet (or hot feet?!) Unfortunately somebody told me about Katla so I read all about Katla which could also erupt.

Not sure what I will do. Finish booking my trip or postpone the whole thing? We decided if we continue to book will probably book nonstop roundtrip to and from Zurich. That changes our itinerary a bit but its still doable. Since we will still have 15 nights in Switzerland I can still work with flying into and out of Zurich. (That way we would get nonstop flights both ways.)

I wonder how many other people are getting nervous? In fact I think some people are still stranded.

Well flying into and out of Zurich (to get the nonstop flights) might change my 4 base cities a little bit. We wouldn't fly out of Geneva because it's not a nonstop. We would have 15 nights in Switzerland in late June/early July. This might work:

Bern (3 nights)
Montreux or Vevey (3 nights)
Murren (6 nights)
Lucerne (3 nights)