I want to take my wife to Switzerland in about 2 weeks for 6 or so days. We love scenery, good food, and just want to relax. I am a vacation planning doofus and need specific advice. We don't want to stay in the big city and will be flying in and out of Zurich. Thanks.

Good evening, John<BR>Would suggest Luzern, it is not a large<BR>city, by staying in the Old Town you are<BR>about five mins walk to the Bahnhof that will allow you to take numerous<BR>day trips from there and return later <BR>in the day to your one hotel and one<BR>unpacking. Youcan go up Titlis, Pilatus, Rigi, vist Bern and Zurich<BR>for the day and enjoy Luzern it self.<BR>Not sure if the lake boats ply in January but they are also a source of<BR>relaxation. The casinos in Luzern and<BR>Weggis also are attractive. They are<BR>a few pleasant night spots in Luzern.<BR>We have always used the Hotel Wilden Mann and its ristorante and stubli are<BR>very good. Richard of LaGrange Park, Il..<BR>

Zermatt would be my choice. We took the Glacier Express from Zurich. It is small, charming,beautiful, relaxing and the walks you might take are very interesting. What could be more thrillng than to sit and take in the Matterhorn...going via train to the highest point possible.

John.<BR> You better like very cold weather.<BR> I think that Zurich is a fine base<BR> for 6 days.You can do many ,many<BR> day trips from there .i.e Bern,Luzern<BR> Basel,Freiburg(my fave) and you can <BR> still enjoy Zurich.The train station is very easy to navigate.<BR> Good luck T

You'll have to ask Ursula about your best bet for small winter places near Zurich. But Rapperswil gets my vote. It's on Zurich's lake and it is small and picturesque. It has a good website: http://www.rapperswil.ch/T_news_E.htm

I am assuming you are looking for a mountain resort. It is perfect deal for beautiful scenery, relaxing and good food. There are so many mountain resorts in Switzerland being suitable for you, and it depends on your budget where to stay.<BR><BR>I would recommend Arosa, Gstaad or surrounding villages, Grindelwald, Wengen or Murren. Zermatt is a good choice, too.<BR><BR>You did not write if you want to do excursions by train, go sightseeing in cities or just want to walk around, enjoy the scenery, relax in the wellness centre … so it is difficult to recommend something.<BR><BR>Ingo<BR>

John: It's very difficult to come up with good suggestions because there are too many and you do not specify if you want to go to a ski resort or not. If yes, I second the Gstaad area which offers everything also for non-skiers. However, I would stay in Schšnried or Saanenmšser. Sunnier than Gstaad itself.<BR>Same goes for Arosa, famous for its walks. <BR>Zermatt would not be my first choice, if you are a non-skier. <BR>Wengen and MŸrren, yes, sure, both car-free.<BR>Don't forget, at the end of January, high season starts with school holidays in some areas. A lot of places are already booked.<BR><BR>Let me add the following nice resorts not that far from Zurich (by train and postal bus):<BR>Flims (2.5 h from Zurich)<BR>Lenzerheide-Valbella (about 2 h from Zurich)<BR>Braunwald (less than 2 h from Zurich, car-free as well).<BR><BR>Rapperswil can be dull with bad weather. It's definitely a place for the summer. jw: Sorry, this is my personal opinion.<BR>Right now, we have very nice sunny and cold weather. But when rain and snow are back, it's bad on the lake.<BR><BR>John: Could you be a little more concrete about what you want, please.

Oh dear, what a strange emoticon in the "Muerren" word.<BR>Sorry. Is that a TV?

John, You can trust Ursula and Ingo to give you the absolute best advice on anything regarding Switzerland. I'm a June traveler, so I'd better just enjoy reading this thread and not try to contribute (Ursula, 'dull places' are my favorites.) J.

Thanks for all the tips so far. To be a little more specific:<BR><BR>We do want to take advantage of the trains and some of the scenery we can see on them. We don't want to spend all of our time walking around outside necessarily as I imagine it will be quite cold. We don't ski. I don't care about staying at a resort. We just want to see some of the sights without having to hurry from one place to another. I imagine we could pick a few highlights and enjoy them. I hope this helps. Thanks again for your replies everybody!<BR><BR>John

After reading your 1/03 note, I'm really interested to see what Ursula and Ingo suggest. J.

John: After reading your Jan 3 post... hm, well, I suggest you pick Lucerne rather than a ski resort. From Lucerne, you can reach a lot of nice places within an hour or so by train like Zurich, Basel, Berne, Zug, etc. You can also go up a mountain like the Rigi or Pilatus on a nice sunny day to enjoy the view and being in the snow.<BR>Right now, it is cold, but sunny and the fresh air is really a joy even here in the city of Zurich.<BR>In Lucerne, you can visit the Swiss Museum of Transportation which is very interesting. and can be reached from town by a nice walk along the lake. Close by is an IMAX movie theater which has always superbe movies on (just in case of bad weather).<BR>In Lucerne, there is also a small Picasso and Fine Arts Museum.<BR>You are likely to be more lucky finding a room in a town than in a winter resort anyway and there is more to do and to see.<BR>Lucerne is small and if you pick the right place to stay, you can definitely have a good time without too much travel and hassle. It can be truly charming on a sunny winter day, but will be kind of dull with rain and fog like every place, of course.<BR>I do not suggest Zurich, Berne or Basel, because they are all much larger and you won't get that "on vacation" feeling. But of course, I also love all of them as well.<BR>If you decide to stay in Lucerne, I would suggest the Montana Hotel which is a truly nice Art Deco place not in the very center, but overlooking the lake. I would be prefer that to a business traveller hotel right in the very center.<BR>Hope this helps a little.<BR>

Yes! Now this is going to be a stupid question--Do the lakeboats on Lucerne's 4-Canton Sea run in January, or is the lake frozen over? Such magnificent scenery. If you'd like to see a smaller place or two, you can visit Brienz by train as well as Altdorf; and if you really don't mind hours on the train watching the spectacular scenery go by, then you could even scoot on down to Lugano for the day! (a long day, but wow). J.

Not sure about the boat schedules on the 4-Cantons-Lake during winter. Anyway, the lakes here in Switzerland are NOT frozen. Last time was in 1963 (Zurich Lake) or so and that was THE event of the century.<BR>The schedules are probably reduced just like on the Lake of Zurich. Recommnend the Fondue boat in the evening.<BR>Best is to go to the TI to get all info. The one at Zurich's train station has information material about all Switzerland.

PS:<BR>Boat schedule for winter for 4-Cantons-Lake at:<BR>www.lakelucerne.ch/indexen.htm<BR>There are lunch boats, patisserie boats and fondue boats.<BR>Have fun, if you go.

I see Ursula was first to recommend Lucerne. I had the same idea! Hotel Montana is also a perfect advice.<BR><BR>I definitely recommend a trip to Einsiedeln to visit the monastery with its famous Baroque church. Bern is also worth a one day excursion (UNESCO heritage of mankind).<BR><BR>Ingo

Ursula! You mentioned Zug! I don't think anyone ever has. Tell us about that little city, please (she says, barging right into John's thread). Seeing the little town of Walchwil from the Lugano-Zurich train, I've often thought about that lake as a nice spot to pause. What do you think; is it dull enough for me? J. p.s. I've already made a note about the Picasso Museum in Lucerne, didn't know about that.

Good evening, John Second Igno's suggestion on Einsiedeln. I was very impressed with it along with the singing<BR>of the vespers by the Monks... Tbhis is<BR>either a short trip out of Zurich or<BR>Luzern. Richard of LaGrange Park, Il..

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