Hi,

I am visiting switzerland wih my wife in the month of june if any of you guys have any recommendations for quiet and romantic places there, would be glad to hear about it. Also would like to know any must see places/activities

cheers!
Barista

Hi Barista,

Well, you'll have to help us narrow it down for you; there are dozens of quiet, romantic spots all over the country (mountaintops, hillsides, lakesides, cities, towns, villages . . .). Just turn a corner almost anywhere in Switzerland and, voila, it's quiet and cozy. So let us know what your interests are -- cities, mountains, lakes, tiny villages, hills, history, etc -- and we can help you more.

As for must-sees, my own list grows with every trip. Here are a few must-see places off the top of my head: Chillon, Montreux, Veytaux, Lavaux, Vevey, Morges, Nyon, Celigny, Murten, Gruyeres, Gstaad, Eggli, Saanen, Wengen, Muerren, Schilthorn, Jungfrau, Lauterbrunnen, Kleine Scheidegg, Interlaken, Kuesnacht, Rapperswil, Luzern, Weggis, Vitznau, Rutli Meadow, Basel, and Zurich.

Must-do activities: walk, eat, drink, & cycle.

So. Tell us what you're looking for and what you like to do, and maybe we can direct you to it.

s

Thanks for the reply S,

Hillside and Lakesides would be the most interesting for us. Would like to stay away from the touristy parts of cities and towns. Would not be much interested in visiting museums etc.

we are planning on spending a total of 6 days and the things that we'd like to cover while there are: stay in some lakeside resort with mountains close by (Ascona, Montreux, Chur?) A great train travel (Bernia possibly) and may be a stay at some place in/near the alps. Though this will be our first trip to switzerland, we dont plan to cover a lot in this trip as I'm sure we'll come back here in a couple of years

Thanks!
-B

Vevey and Montreux fit what you're after. Gorgeous, right on Lac Leman, looking towards the mountains across. Not a museum in sight and no noticable tourist throngs.

Must sees: walking along the quai (lakeside promonade), Chateux de Chillon outside Montreux, Rocher de Nayes tram up the mountainside (leaves from back of Montreux train station), and the Saturday morning open air farmers market in the Vevey town square. Oh and a day or dinner up into the vineyards on the surrounding hillsides.

This region is approx. one hour by train from Geneva/airport, easy logistics especially since you only have 6 days to visit.

Barista,
Ascona was a bit busy with tourists for my taste. Locarno/Muralto was a little calmer. Lago Maggiore is lovely there. We always stay at La Palma Au Lac, a lovely lakeside hotel. June would be a nice time to be there, I would think. I've only been in late March or early April. It is usually sunny then, but can be a little chilly... but always nicer than Zurich weather at that time of year. There is decent shopping and some great eateries within easy walk.

Another romantic lakeside spot would be the Grand National Hotel in Lucerne. IMHO, Lucerne is one of the most picturesque places in Switzerland.

Enjoy your trip!
Carol

Hi Again Barista,

Glad to hear from you and to hear a few of your details!

O my, only six days! I would suggest you limit your trip to only two locations then, or moving every two days will wipe out any romance!

So, with only two destinations, obviously, you're going to have to make a compromise --

Here are some ideas:

1. Montreux & Scuol
Montreux is the lakeside with mountains close by (sorta). From Montreux, you can stroll the lakeside promenade; you can visit Chillon, the vineyards of the Lavaux, the cheese village of Gruyeres, and the mountain villages of Gstaad, Chateau d'Oex, and Saanen. The train trip from Montreux to Gstaad is very, very nice -- the Panorama Express. Now, Montreux is pretty touristy, but Vevey is less so and Morges (very close to Lausanne) has almost no tourists.

Train ride from Montreux to Scuol is 3h57. Scuol is also pretty much un-touristed and is a mountain town, but there is no lake really nearby (I think). I have to admit right away that I haven't actually been to this town, but I've heard great things about it. I have been to Guarda, a wonderful village nearby, and fell in love with it. From Scuol you can hike the mountains or take a (long) excursion on the Bernina (it'll be about three hours each way to Poschiavo), as you wanted.


2. Montreux & Locarno
Montreux as above.

Train ride from Montreux to Locarno is 3h42 to 4h19. Again, I haven't been to Locarno, but I've heard great things about it. Things to do there: rent a bicycle and go down the Centovalli (sp??), hike the mountains, walk the lakeside.

3. Montreux & Luzern
Montreux as above

Take the Panorama Express train from Montreux via Gstaad & Zweisimmen to get to Luzern. If you want, you can stop overnight in Wengen to get a taste of the mountains. Then on to Luzern, which is to me the ultimate lake destination with mountains so close they're spilling right into the lake. Here you can walk or cycle the lakeside trails, take ferry rides around the lake, or take excursions up to the peaks of Pilatus, Titlis, or Rigi. To escape the crowds, stay in the lakeside villages of Weggis or Vitznau.

You can play with train schedules at www.rail.ch.

Have fun!

s

Hello Again again!

After thinking about it some more, I thought you could do *any* of the destinations for three or four nights, and combine it with three or two nights in Luzern. Luzern is only about an hour by direct (0 changes) train from the Zurich airport, so it's convenient for your last nigh(s) before departure (assuming you're flying, either to the UK or to the US).

So you may want to consider also Sils or Silvaplana in the Engadin, also on the lakes and near the mountains, where you could easily take the Bernina over to Poschiavo.

So your trip might look like this, then:

1. Four nights Montreux, two nights Luzern

2. Four nights Sils, two nights Luzern

3. Four nights Locarno, two nights Luzern

etc.

s

Hi, Barista, Hi S!

June may be warm, FYI. So if you'll be returning for more visits, I'd do the Lac Leman and Lucerne combo. Lovely small towns on each of those lakes. In fact, I'd stay in the Vevey/Montreux vicinity for four nights with plenty of opps for daytrips into the mountains (to Chateau d'Oex) or along the lake via boat. Now, if you insist on Maggiore, then I've got to suggest my Albergo Panorama in Gerra Gambarogno for quiet with a capital Q.
You'll love Switzerland.

Hello Everybody and thanks much for all those helpful replies and suggestions.

After doing a little more research, here's what we think we'll do:

We are flying either from US or India.

Arrive at Zurich. Take a short trip around the town(optional) and take a train to Luzerne. Stay for 2/3 days and take trips to pilatus and titlis.

Take Golden Pass Train out of Luzerne to Interlaken. Stay there for 2 days. Take a trip to Grindenwald and Jungfrau

Continue onto Golden Pass to Montreux. Stay at Vevey for 2 days.

Take a Train to Geneva and Fly out of Geneva after possibly spending a few hours there.

Does that sound too hectic for a 6/7 day plan? I have heard that the Golden Pass route is scenic but does the train allow taking break in the middle like I have planned. Is it a hop-on/ hop-off route? Also what is the best approach to go about booking this trip? If you have any recommendations for good travel agents, I'd be glad to know about that as well.

Cheers!
Barista

Forgot to add that I am looking for recommendations for travel agents based in US, Switzerland or India. I heard that they can offer better package deals even on a custom planned trip. Also, cost wise what works better a local (swiss) travel agent or someone based abroad? Or is it better to do it myself?

Thanks!
~B

Hi, B. The only thing I'd like to add is to say that if you could ride all the way to Interlaken from Zurich(a bit more than 2 hours), it would be possible to stay in place for four nights. You can daytrip by train easily and beautifully to Lucerne from there. We made the daytrip several times and never tired of the Brunig pass. This suggestion is, of course, if you'd prefer not to change hotels so often. Actually, I'd do a three/three split between lakes Brienz/Thun and Lac Leman. J.

Hi Again Barista,

Well, personally, I think you're planning too many stops -- but that's just me! My personal preference is to stay at least four nights, and my favorite is to stay seven nights in one place.

Your itinerary sounds good; you've picked some great spots. There are lots of trains that run the route Montreux-Zweisimmen-Interlaken-Luzern; some of them have cars with huge (panoramic) windows, and those are designated as the Golden Panoramic and they cost extra. But you can take any one of the trains over that route. Go to www.rail.ch to see the schedules (be sure to enter "via Zweisimmen" or they'll route you on the faster route via Lausanne).

When you buy train tickets at a ticket window in Switzerland, they're good for 24 hours. So if you buy a ticket Luzern-Montreux on Monday but you don't do Interlaken-Montreux until Thursday, your ticket won't be valid. So just buy the portion of the ticket that you intend to use: buy Luzern-Interlaken in Luzern, then Interlaken-Montreux in Interlaken, etc.

Most of the folks here prefer to do their own planning, so most of us use neither a tour nor a travel agent. Hey, you've got the hard part done. Now all you have to do is decide on a budget and research a few hotels. You can contact the hotels directly by e-mail or reserve directly by computer. You can research ticket prices & schedules at www.rail.ch. Really, half the fun is doing all the planning yourself!

Let me know if you need more info --

s

Hi jmw44 and S,

Thanks for your mails and all the great information.

From what you have suggested, I am thinking of taking jmw44's advice and trying out an option of staying at Interlaken or a smaller village nearby for 4 days. As Lucerne is just a couple of hours from there, I think it might work out well to take a daytrip to lucerne/pilatus and next day to jungfrau/grindenwald.

About making the bookings, I heard that travel agents can get you a good deal if they book everything for you including airfare. As long as they book the hotels that I want, I would be happy I think I'll try both the options.

Thanks again for all the help
Cheers!
~B

Hi again. I'm with S' re the travel agent issue, but let us know how it works out please. Did I say you're going to love Switzerland? I hesitate to recommend that you stay in Brienz, because it attracts a lot of visitors on prime travel days (charm, woodcarvers, etc.), but if you're gone during the day, it will be quiet in the early mornings and evenings. So why did I bring it up? Because it's on the Brunig route to Lucerne (a 1:36 direct once each hour), it has a range of accommodations, and because the view from Brienz looking across the lake to the mountains is gorgeous. Do you have a map? Keep in touch, J.

oh, p.s. you might want to add the laketown of Thun to your list of day visits, if you have time. Also the little castle (castlette) at Oberhofen.

thanks jmw44, I'm defi. looking fwd to the trip and will let you guys know how it goes. Will keep the spots you suggested on my list too.

Cheers!
Barista