Venice to Zurich Best Place for 1 Night Stay In Between
Jun 17th, 2009, 09:37 PM
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Venice to Zurich Best Place for 1 Night Stay In Between
The very last leg of our trip has turned out to be Venice to Zurich. Due to commitments we have only 1 day to spend somewhere in between. We will be flying home to California the morning after we arrive in Zurich. We would like to split the long train ride in half so that we don't have 2 solid days of lengthy travel. Has anyone done this and where would you recommend the overnight layover? FYI We will have already been to both Murren and Zermatt.
Jun 17th, 2009, 09:43 PM
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Hi artsygirl,
What time of year is this?
Montreux on Lake Geneva would be a nice little break, a bit of a detour, but a lovely and relaxing spot that would be a big contrast to Mürren & Zermatt. But it hosts a big and important Jazz Fest in July, and in August it's still pretty much elbow to elbow with tourists. I would avoid it in July & August.
Another idea might be Brig, which would be more enroute. You probably went through it on your way to Brig -- that's what most folks do, just go through it. But it is a lovely little town with a castle, a lovely old town, and dozens of hiking trails leading out into the mountains. You can ascend to a car-free village above (Bettmeralp or Reideralp) and see the Aletsch Glacier.
Have fun deciding!
s
What time of year is this?
Montreux on Lake Geneva would be a nice little break, a bit of a detour, but a lovely and relaxing spot that would be a big contrast to Mürren & Zermatt. But it hosts a big and important Jazz Fest in July, and in August it's still pretty much elbow to elbow with tourists. I would avoid it in July & August.
Another idea might be Brig, which would be more enroute. You probably went through it on your way to Brig -- that's what most folks do, just go through it. But it is a lovely little town with a castle, a lovely old town, and dozens of hiking trails leading out into the mountains. You can ascend to a car-free village above (Bettmeralp or Reideralp) and see the Aletsch Glacier.
Have fun deciding!
s
Jun 17th, 2009, 09:47 PM
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Hi again,
Sorry to post twice, but I forgot about this. It might make your trip even longer.
You could go Venice-Milan-Tirano, then take the incredibly scenic Bernina Express up over the Bernina Pass. Spend the night in Pontresina or Silvaplana or Scuol and then continue on the next day. There are really very few English-speaking tourists in the Upper Engadin valley; most of the visitors are German-speaking, serious hikers. In fact, there was not even a souvenir shop in the town of Zuoz when I spent a week there once.
For info, see
www.pontresina.ch
www.scuol.ch
www.rhb.ch
Have fun!
s
Sorry to post twice, but I forgot about this. It might make your trip even longer.
You could go Venice-Milan-Tirano, then take the incredibly scenic Bernina Express up over the Bernina Pass. Spend the night in Pontresina or Silvaplana or Scuol and then continue on the next day. There are really very few English-speaking tourists in the Upper Engadin valley; most of the visitors are German-speaking, serious hikers. In fact, there was not even a souvenir shop in the town of Zuoz when I spent a week there once.
For info, see
www.pontresina.ch
www.scuol.ch
www.rhb.ch
Have fun!
s
Jun 17th, 2009, 09:52 PM
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Once more -- !
Yes, for a July trip, I would avoid Lake Geneva.
Here's a link to a video of the BE:
http://www.rhb.ch/Video-Bernina-eng.782.0.html?&L=4
s
Yes, for a July trip, I would avoid Lake Geneva.
Here's a link to a video of the BE:
http://www.rhb.ch/Video-Bernina-eng.782.0.html?&L=4
s
Jun 17th, 2009, 09:57 PM
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Swandav, post as many times as you want. I appreciate your advice. The Bernina Route is the one that my husband and I have been trying to work out but there seems to be an issue in Lugano because we arrive in the station 5 minutes after the bus to Tirano leaves. Timing of all possible connections is throwing us off.
Jun 17th, 2009, 10:10 PM
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Hello again --
Ok. I haven't read all of your posts (I tend only to read posts about Switzerland) so don't know your route. Are you coming from Venice or from Lugano? Or do you think you have to go from Venice to Lugano to do the BE? That's not necessary.
In either case, use the Swiss rail site to plan your journey; it's at www.rail.ch
You can get the schedule from Lugano to Pontresina (use the "Via Tirano" to get the BE route). You may have to take a train to Milan if you can't make the bus.
If you are coming from Venice, again just use the "Via Tirano" to get the route ("from Venice" "to Pontresina" "Via Tirano". This is more straightforward, again going through Milan.
Good luck!
s
Ok. I haven't read all of your posts (I tend only to read posts about Switzerland) so don't know your route. Are you coming from Venice or from Lugano? Or do you think you have to go from Venice to Lugano to do the BE? That's not necessary.
In either case, use the Swiss rail site to plan your journey; it's at www.rail.ch
You can get the schedule from Lugano to Pontresina (use the "Via Tirano" to get the BE route). You may have to take a train to Milan if you can't make the bus.
If you are coming from Venice, again just use the "Via Tirano" to get the route ("from Venice" "to Pontresina" "Via Tirano". This is more straightforward, again going through Milan.
Good luck!
s
Jun 18th, 2009, 08:09 AM
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To get to Tirano, the easiest way would be train to Milan, than transfer to a local train to Tirano. However, going to Zurich via the Bernina Express route doubles your travel time.
Using an arbitrary date next week, best travel times show Venice to Tirano 6:00 hours (2:35 to Milan, 1 hour layover, 2:30 Milan to Tirano), and Tirano to Zurich 5:30 hours.
If you take a train from Venice to Lugano best time is 4:19, and Lugano to Zurich is 2:39. So in sum, if, as you state, you don't want to spend 2 days riding trains, you really don't want to take the Bernina Express.
The ride from Lugano to Zurich is beautiful when you're not going through tunnels. Lots of people on this board recommend Hotel Dante in Lugano. I've stayed there it's very nice, and super convenient for the trains, as it's right at the foot of the funicular from the rail station down to the pedestrianized heart of the town, so very easy access to and from the rail station:
http://www.hotel-luganodante.com/welcome.cfm?lang=EN
Another place to stop en route is Bellizona, the next main stop up from Lugano, and a UNESCO world heritage site for its fortresses. It's a pleasant little town:
http://www.bellinzonaunesco.ch/castelliunesco/en/
Using an arbitrary date next week, best travel times show Venice to Tirano 6:00 hours (2:35 to Milan, 1 hour layover, 2:30 Milan to Tirano), and Tirano to Zurich 5:30 hours.
If you take a train from Venice to Lugano best time is 4:19, and Lugano to Zurich is 2:39. So in sum, if, as you state, you don't want to spend 2 days riding trains, you really don't want to take the Bernina Express.
The ride from Lugano to Zurich is beautiful when you're not going through tunnels. Lots of people on this board recommend Hotel Dante in Lugano. I've stayed there it's very nice, and super convenient for the trains, as it's right at the foot of the funicular from the rail station down to the pedestrianized heart of the town, so very easy access to and from the rail station:
http://www.hotel-luganodante.com/welcome.cfm?lang=EN
Another place to stop en route is Bellizona, the next main stop up from Lugano, and a UNESCO world heritage site for its fortresses. It's a pleasant little town:
http://www.bellinzonaunesco.ch/castelliunesco/en/
Jun 18th, 2009, 06:17 PM
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I know that a 7 hours does not sound like fun, but personally I would hang another day in Venice. If you are tired of Venice, then there are some daytrip options.
Or, you could change your train route and go thru the Dolomite area and Brenner pass but that adds 3+ hours to the Venice to Zurich time (just to give you some more options).
Or, you could change your train route and go thru the Dolomite area and Brenner pass but that adds 3+ hours to the Venice to Zurich time (just to give you some more options).
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