3 days in Switzerland

Old Aug 7th, 2015, 05:24 PM
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3 days in Switzerland

Helllo,

My husband and I are planning for a 3 days trip to Switzerland. We are in late 20's interested in sightseeing, hiking, and since would like to see all(maximum) the must-see places and highlights of switzerland.

We are thinking of renting the car from Zurich Airport and then drive to Lucern(what to do and see?)/Interlaken(what to do and see?) /Jungfrau and Mt Titlis.

Keep driving and look at the places enroute to Geneva. And then leave for Sweden the 4th day.

I am not sure, what places should we go to ?
Also, which scenic route should we take if we take a train from Florence to Zurich, or should we just fly and rent a car at Zurich. Would we see miss much if we dont take the train and just fly from Florence to Zurich, since we would see a lot of stuff while driving as well . Right?

Could anyone please help ?

Thanks,
Megha
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Old Aug 7th, 2015, 09:16 PM
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Hi Maggi123,

A car is really not the best idea for Switzerland, where the train system is very hard to beat.

You don't want a car in Luzern, a big, modern city, where you'll be competing with other cars, busses, trams, and pedestrians while navigating tiny winding roads. Parking will be hard to find and expensive. Gas will be expensive.

You also don't want a car for the Berner Oberland (Interlaken) region. You cannot drive to the mountains -- you can only get there by train or cable car -- so your rental car will likely sit in a (paid) parking lot while you take trains anyway.

In contrast, the trains will take you from city center to city center with no fuss and no hassle. Luzern is only an hour from the Zürich airport by direct (0 changes) train; the train station is in the basement of the Zurich airport.

With only 3 days (is that 3 nights or 2 nights?), I would stay in only one place and spend your time seeing it in more depth. You really shouldn't run out of hikes and adventures in so few days in either Luzern or the Oberland region.

Is your flight to Sweden from the Geneva airport?

Have fun as you plan!

s
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Old Aug 8th, 2015, 08:52 AM
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"for a 3 days trip to Switzerland, interested in sightseeing, hiking, and since would like to see all(maximum) the must-see places and highlights of switzerland."

Count at least 3 weeks for that!

"Also, which scenic route should we take if we take a train from Florence to Zurich".

Almost all places you mentioned (and almost all highlights) are between the Italian border and Zurich. There is no need to go up to Zurich.
Take a train from Florence to Milan - Brig (Aletsch Glacier, Matterhorn, etc.) - Spiez - Interlaken/Jungfrau - Spiez - Gstaad (Glacier 3000) - Montreux - Lake Geneva - Geneva.

Leave Florence by train at 3pm and arrive at either Zermatt or Interlaken around 9pm.
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Old Aug 10th, 2015, 07:52 AM
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Thank you for your responses. Based on your suggestions, I have follwing 2 itineraries:

1) First Itinerary:

Day1eave from Florence to Milan (in which train?) , then from Milan to Tirano (in which train?), then from Tirano take Bernina express to Chur . Stay near Chur

Day2: Take a train from Chur to Interlaken area. Roam around Interlaken area , and then go to Wengen and stay for the night.

Day 3: take a train to Montreux area, roam for a while, then take a train to Lake geneva area, stay there .

Day 4: Roam a little near Geneva, and then take the flight back to home at 12:00pm from Geneva airport

2) Second Itinerary:

Day 1: Leave from Florence to Milan(which train?) then from Milan to Brig (Aletsch Glacier, Matterhorn, etc.) - Spiez - . Stay there.

Day 2: Go to Interlaken/Jungfrau , then to Bern(what to do?), Gstaad. Stay at gstaad.

Day 3: Go to Montreux - Lake Geneva - Geneva. Stay thr.

Day 4: Roam a little near Geneva, and then take the flight back to home at 12:00pm from Geneva airport

Now my common questions are:

1) Should I buy a swiss pass or any other pass? Will swiss pass cover all these places? How will I know which trains are covered by swiss pass?

2) If I don't go to Jungfrau, will I miss a lot. Because from what I have read, its mostly cloudy, and you need to reach there at proper timing or something? Would the other places I am planning to go to as per above itinerary cover the most of swiss feeling?

3) Will the bernina express be a part of swiss pass as well?

Another questions is:
if I fly from Florence to Zurich and take a car rental from Zurich airport and drive to Geneva, and stop over in the villages(in mountains) nearby interlaken and Lucerne over 3 days(like Wegen , lauterbereen area, spiez etc) , would it be a good idea, to see Switzerland like this? Are all these villages car accessible?I know you mentioned earlier not to rent a car, but my reason of renting the car is that I can drive as per my own convenience, instead of going to train station everytime(which might be far from some places I go?) and wait there.

Thank you so much in advance.

-Megha
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Old Aug 10th, 2015, 08:28 AM
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We much prefer having a car in Switzerland. Yes, the trains are on time and frequent, but having a car makes it easier to tailor your plans to your wishes and make split second changes to them, as needed.

I thoroughly enjoy both Lucerne and Interlaken. Titlis was awesome when we visited in March.
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Old Aug 10th, 2015, 08:50 AM
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Thanks for your response simpsonc. Can I ask is mt titlis car accessible and did you have to pay hefty car parking fee near Titlis and other areas?
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Old Aug 10th, 2015, 09:06 AM
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None of the mountains are car accessible. They are mountains. If you have a car it has to be parked in a town near the bottom of the mountain and you take either a train or cog railway or cable car to the top of the mountain.

And sorry - but neither itinerary is doable - unless you just want to ride a train or drive all day and not actually stop and see things.

You should be staying in one place and try to see at least a little of the area.

And note that many days the tops of the mountains are in the clouds so there is no reason to ascend. We were in Interlaken 3 days before there was a day with the top of the Jungfrau clear. If you go up on other days you won;t see your hand in front of your face at the top since you will be IN the clouds.
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Old Aug 10th, 2015, 09:28 PM
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Hi again,

Some other aspects of using the trains --

You'll be adding a layer of "European adventure" to your European adventure. You can take a road trip practically anywhere in the world, but using a good train system is rare -- and getting more rare. You'll be adding a new way of travel and new experiences that you can't get in many places.

It's really a lot of fun. You can enjoy the scenery, read, listen to music, chat together, meet your seat mates, munch a picnic, walk the aisles to the bistro or the bar car, follow the route on a map, etc. It's also prime people-watching time: you can see what businessmen and businesswomen are reading, what charts they're constructing on their laptops; you can see matrons coming back from a visit to the grandbabies; you can see groups of elderly folks going out or coming back from a hike; you can see fashionistas coming back from a buying spree in a big city; you can see how teens interact with the elderly; you can see how young families travel and how they interact.

And finally, it's more green (yaaay)! We're already seeing damage to the mountains and the glaciers due to Global Climate Change, so you may be happy to be able to reduce your carbon footprint so easily!

As for your itinerary, Montreux of course *is* on Lake Geneva, so I'm not sure what you mean with your notes for itinerary 1 day 3. I also agree with nytraveler that you are trying to do too much in too little time. If I were you, I would stay in one place for your 3 nights -- Spiez is a good choice (lots of nearby mountains and lots of touring options), and Gstaad is one of my favorite spots on earth (some mountains nearby but not super high, and lots of touring options). Either one would be ok for your last night before your flight.

Have fun!

s
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