We will be traveling from Marseille in June, and with information from you guys I have decided to visited OB...I can only get one train a day to come up on TGV and it is a late train.
We have ten days for this trip and four of them are going to be Lake Como
TGV from Marseille to Bern, onward to the mountain villages of the OB, head to Muerren, Wengen or Grindewald, and then a couple of days in the mountains. Would like to see the peaks of Schithorn or Jungfraujoch and the lake Thun. I just don't see how to fill in these spaces and where to make hotel reservations. Would we be better off taking the train to Geneva and Interlaken? If we arrive in Bern that late at night, do we then change trains for the OB villages. And the idea of the train is to see the countryside.
Once I get this portion of the trip down, I will then tie up the end of the trip from Lake Como to London....I know I go all over the place sometimes with my postings but would appreciate your input.....

> Would we be better off taking the train to Geneva and Interlaken?

If you have to visit Berner Oberland, going via Geneva is the quickest and necessary route, it seems to me. Maseille - Geneva direct TGV is about 3.5hrs and there are 2 trains per day. From Geneva to get to Interlaken, you will have go via Bern (with most trains you have to change in Bern). There is no direct TGV train Marseill to Bern. Geneva - Bern is about 1,5hrs + 0.5hrs for Bern - Interlaken.

Search a time table on the following site for Marseille (St.Charles) to Bern (or Interlaken) and you will see.
http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm

Marseille - Geneva direct TGV's stop at Lyon. There are many more TGV's Marseille to Lyon. If you take one such (1.5hrs), then you will be able to change to Lyon - Geneva (2hrs) that run about 5 - 6 times a day. This would give you more options to get closer to your destination. Bus these Lyon - Geneva trains are a semi regional and makes more stops than TGV that stops only at Bellegarde + comfort level is a bit less than TGV.

According to the timetables at www.bahn.de, there are at least eight trains per day (with a varying number of changes) from Marseille to Bern. There is also a night train from Marseille to Mulhouse and regional trains from there to Bern.

Hi jelane,

I just checked the Swiss rail scheduler (alternate tying, same site, at www.rail.ch), and that's a real killer route. It will take you about nine hours to get from Marseille to one of the villages in the BO. I'm afraid a trip of that length would really have a bad impact on my trip --

But getting from Marseille to the town of Thun (which you mention) is just over six hours, so you may want to consider staying there. Thun is a neat little town to use as a base, for one thing because it's really not very touristy. You can easily get to the villages of the BO and the peaks of the Jungfraujoch & the Schilthorn from Thun in under two hours. Another plus (well for me anyway!) is that you'd be right on the lake of Thun, which I think is really beautiful.

Another option -- if you have the time to spend -- would be to take the TGV to Lausanne and then spend a night or two on Lake Geneva (Montreux or Vevey). Then in the morning, take the slow & scenic Golden Pass Panoramic train from Montreux via Gstaad & Zweisimmen to Interlaken Ost & then one of the BO villages.

I know it seems difficult to work out all the little kinks & inconveniences of a trip, but I think you'll reap the benefits in June!

Good luck!

s

Tim, those must be the trains I posted about, via Lyon (with change or not) and Geneva. or not ?

Sorry, all; that should be "alternate typing . . ." not "alternate tying . . ."

oops!

s

geez I just went into my TGV site and put in morning - one train came up....Not a seasoned train traveler, but I would like to find the least amount of changes. Perhaps someone will give some feedback on hotels. I have never traveled any place that I have not had a car so I have to be sure of the accomodations.

Try the Swiss sites I and swadav posted. They are much easier to use. The quickest connection at first glance seems to takes 6hrs to Bern with a change at Geneva.

swandav2000

this sounds like a great plan, I will work on this. We travel many places but I have to tell you this has been the hardest for me to plan. I keep picturing getting into some train station late at night because I didn't plan and my husband would not be a happy camper....he feels he works and my job is to plan our trips, but he doesn't know I have you guys to make me look so good. Thanks again....

kappa,
I see that we posted our notes at about the same time. Yes, what you listed is what I found at bahn.de:
1. Marseille-Lyon-Geneve-Bern (with an additional change in Bellegarde for one time frame).
2. Marseille-Valence-Geneve-Bern.

I have printed out your information and I have gone to the Switzerland website. What would be your choice - to be in Thun, or to take the Lausanne and the Golden Pass train. If we travel all night from France, we would have three nights in Switzerland and then on to Como for four nights. Swanda I was not sure when you said another option if you have time to spend. Is three to four days enough for an itineray of this. And which of these would be an easier train departure for Lake Como. I guess I want to know for the first and maybe only trip to Switzerland, what would be the wow factor for us in your opinion. Thanks guys.

And you want to take a strong strong look at a Swiss Pass - probably flexi but maybe consecutive for plans in Switzerland you outline.

Hi again,

So if you spent a night on Lake Geneva, that would leave you only two nights in the BO, is that right? If that's so, I would go on to Thun and spend the time there.

Plus, I personally don't like stopping for only one night -- all the hassle of checking in & unpacking, only to pack up & check out in the morning.

So if you go directly to Thun, you can spend your first day exploring Wengen & the Jungfraujoch; spend your second day exploring Muerren, Gimmelwald, and the Schilthorn; then spend your third day exploring Grindelwald & First. Then, every evening you come back to Thun and maybe take a lake cruise, maybe a dinner cruise, maybe explore the old town, maybe go shopping, maybe explore its castle, maybe take an evening walk around the lake. The BO definitely has more WOW than does the Lake Geneva area.

Have fun!

s

okay that is the plan. I am taking your advice and just working on the train schedule. If you have a hotel and restaurant suggestion that would be great. How lucky are all of us to get to do these trips and to share knowledge with others. I really appreciate all this effort that you have made.