Switzerland driving itinerary
Aug 2nd, 2016, 11:06 AM
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Switzerland driving itinerary
Hi all,
My wife and i are trying to map out the best itinerary from lake como to Switzerland. We arrive in milan this saturday the 6th early morning and plan on renting a car from milan to bellagio where we are staying for one night. Onward from there, we have 9 days to drive through Switzerland starting on the 7th. Ideally would love to drive to iterlaken and visit blausee and lausanne. Is it reasonable to drive from that region to st moritz and ultimately to venice for 2 nights? We need to be back in milan on the evening of the 16th as our retrum flight is on rhe morning of the 17th. We have done milan before but would like to stay there for out last night. I love to drive so distance is not really an issue. Heard chamonix is amazing as well but seems like we wont have enough time. Any input is most appreciated including towns to visit along the way, places to stay and restaurants. Not really on a budget. Its our anniversary on the 12th so id like to surpirse her along the way!
Thanks in advance.
Asif
My wife and i are trying to map out the best itinerary from lake como to Switzerland. We arrive in milan this saturday the 6th early morning and plan on renting a car from milan to bellagio where we are staying for one night. Onward from there, we have 9 days to drive through Switzerland starting on the 7th. Ideally would love to drive to iterlaken and visit blausee and lausanne. Is it reasonable to drive from that region to st moritz and ultimately to venice for 2 nights? We need to be back in milan on the evening of the 16th as our retrum flight is on rhe morning of the 17th. We have done milan before but would like to stay there for out last night. I love to drive so distance is not really an issue. Heard chamonix is amazing as well but seems like we wont have enough time. Any input is most appreciated including towns to visit along the way, places to stay and restaurants. Not really on a budget. Its our anniversary on the 12th so id like to surpirse her along the way!
Thanks in advance.
Asif
Aug 2nd, 2016, 12:55 PM
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Since you’ll get into Milan early, you should have a nice rest of the day at Bellagio. Just as well, because after breakfast you should head out and drive to Lausanne - about five hours unless you get hung up in the mountains. But absolutely fine and doable if you’re patient: Monza - bypassing Milan - A4 to Aosta - head for the hills up and over to Martigny down in the Rhone valley, on the flat via Montreux along the lake to Lausanne.
Not sure what attracts you all the way to Lausanne, it’s a long way to go - for what?
A better idea: In Montreux you should arrive in time to do this: Take the cog-rail mountain goat of a train up to Les Rochers de Naye (alpine flower paradise, great views over Lake Geneva and the distant French Alps) - this will make up for Chamonix which really is too far and on the “wrong” side. Take a look at the photo on the opening page at www.myswissalps.com/rochersdenaye and you’ll see what I mean.
Stroll by the lake in the evening, sleep in Montreux or nearby.
The next day drive to Interlaken, but do yourselves a favor - first (it’s hardly a detour) drive the 35 minutes to Broc where the chocolate factory “Maison Cailler” lets you do a very interesting factory tour that ends with all-you-can-eat sampling of their wares. Oh my... And it’s in a very scenic region, of course. See https://cailler.ch/en/maison-cailler...aterie-suisse/
Then it’s a straight shot to Spiez on the lake Thun and a short drive to Interlaken which sits betwen lake Thun and lake Brienz. Unless you want to take the longer way around, via Bern, where you can park on top of the train station which is adjacent to the historic center, still very much alive, and worth a few hours of strolling.
If you go via Spiez (or do it later from Interlaken) and you’re in the mood for a mountaintop with great views, from Spiez hang a right and after a few miles pull in at Mülenen and take the funicular to the top of the Niesen. Incredible 360 views - see www.niesen.ch/en. Then when you come back down you’ll be in Interlaken in no time.
The Blausee is not far - might be congested up that way, but it’s way less than an hour.
From Interlaken to St. Moritz, over the top of the entire alpine massif at Andermatt, will take you maybe four hours.
You could pull into Brienz along the way and take the train up to the Brienzer Rothorn, to add a great interlude to this trip. See www.brienz-rothorn-bahn.ch/en/welcome.html
Going back down to Milan from St. Moritz will complete the entire circle - except for the Bellagio trip there won’t be any backtracking if you do it this way.
Make sure your rental car has the road-tax sticker (called “Vignette”) on the windshield, in Switzerland you will likely use roads where that is mandatory. The rental company will know what you’re talking about when you say you’re going into Switzerland.
Not sure what attracts you all the way to Lausanne, it’s a long way to go - for what?
A better idea: In Montreux you should arrive in time to do this: Take the cog-rail mountain goat of a train up to Les Rochers de Naye (alpine flower paradise, great views over Lake Geneva and the distant French Alps) - this will make up for Chamonix which really is too far and on the “wrong” side. Take a look at the photo on the opening page at www.myswissalps.com/rochersdenaye and you’ll see what I mean.
Stroll by the lake in the evening, sleep in Montreux or nearby.
The next day drive to Interlaken, but do yourselves a favor - first (it’s hardly a detour) drive the 35 minutes to Broc where the chocolate factory “Maison Cailler” lets you do a very interesting factory tour that ends with all-you-can-eat sampling of their wares. Oh my... And it’s in a very scenic region, of course. See https://cailler.ch/en/maison-cailler...aterie-suisse/
Then it’s a straight shot to Spiez on the lake Thun and a short drive to Interlaken which sits betwen lake Thun and lake Brienz. Unless you want to take the longer way around, via Bern, where you can park on top of the train station which is adjacent to the historic center, still very much alive, and worth a few hours of strolling.
If you go via Spiez (or do it later from Interlaken) and you’re in the mood for a mountaintop with great views, from Spiez hang a right and after a few miles pull in at Mülenen and take the funicular to the top of the Niesen. Incredible 360 views - see www.niesen.ch/en. Then when you come back down you’ll be in Interlaken in no time.
The Blausee is not far - might be congested up that way, but it’s way less than an hour.
From Interlaken to St. Moritz, over the top of the entire alpine massif at Andermatt, will take you maybe four hours.
You could pull into Brienz along the way and take the train up to the Brienzer Rothorn, to add a great interlude to this trip. See www.brienz-rothorn-bahn.ch/en/welcome.html
Going back down to Milan from St. Moritz will complete the entire circle - except for the Bellagio trip there won’t be any backtracking if you do it this way.
Make sure your rental car has the road-tax sticker (called “Vignette”) on the windshield, in Switzerland you will likely use roads where that is mandatory. The rental company will know what you’re talking about when you say you’re going into Switzerland.
Aug 2nd, 2016, 01:21 PM
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If you are going to Interlochen, I believe that Murren is just up a cable car ride up the hill/mountain. You can park a car below. Really gorgeous Swiss mountain village with waterfalls all around, at least when I was there. Try to spend a night or two there if you can. Sue
Aug 2nd, 2016, 06:47 PM
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I urge you to consult the Michelin Green Guide.
Some interesting suggestions above, proving that we all travel for different reasons and with different interests. For example, I thoroughly enjoyed Lausanne and was disappointed by the chocolate factory in Broc. Viva la difference! And please note that it is about an hour by train from Interlaken to car-free Murren.
Some interesting suggestions above, proving that we all travel for different reasons and with different interests. For example, I thoroughly enjoyed Lausanne and was disappointed by the chocolate factory in Broc. Viva la difference! And please note that it is about an hour by train from Interlaken to car-free Murren.
