Visiting Swistzerland
 

Me and my wife is planning for a vacation sometime in Mar/Apr 99, to spend about 14 days in the country. But there are so much to see and we need some tips to plan the entire journey. <BR> <BR>Can anyone gives us some helpful tips? <BR> <BR>Also, we may want to vist PAris for a day or 2 at the end of the trip, before going over to London for official business. Tips needed to cramp Paris into it. <BR> <BR> <BR>Thanks <BR>

<BR>Hello - We have been to Switzerland several times and love it. In fact we are going next month. I will be posting our hotel info and opinions on this forum when we return after July 22. You will enjoy the country, it is so beautiful but if you are considering Paris, I'd strongly suggest allowing at least a couple more days for it. You won't be sorry.

Good afternoon, my reply to yours with 12 days to spend in Switzerland, would be broken down like this <BR>and broken down like this. # 1 &2 with am arrival in Zurich, would see the Landesmuseum, Bahnhofstrasse and take a half day city tour. Also take a short boat trip out on Lake Zurich. #3 & 4 Take train from Zurich to St. Moritz via Chur, Day # 4 take train over the Bernina Pass to Tirano, IT and return, bautiful scenery. Day # 5 Take the Glacier Express to Zermatt, reservations for train/seat/diner must be made ahead of time.. # 6 in St. Moritz, go to the Gonergrat or cable cars up to Kleine Matterhorn or Schwarzee to get the feel of the Matterhorn. Day <BR># 7 take the train to Interlaken and stay at Grindelwald, Wengen or Murren, go up the Schlithorn, <BR>and up to Kleine Scheidegg and the Jungfrau on a clear day. The gondolas on Grindelwald First also offer an excellant view of the mountains. Days # 7 and 8 and 9 stay at the same place and go to Ballenberg, Interlaken, Boats on Brienzee. and Thunnersee , with Kursaals in Interlaken and Thun. <BR>Boats are a good choice for a rainy day... Days 10, 11 and 12 I would take the train up to Luzern and use this as a base for Mts. Rigi, Pilatus and Titlis. Engelberg is a small interesting town on the way to Titlis. Ascend Pilatus via the rack railway from Alpnachstad and return via Cable car to Kreins and then bus to Luzern. Rigi is best reached by boat from Luzern to Vitznau and then via rack railway to Rigi Klum, can return the same way or can go down to Arth-Goldau and return to Luzern by Rail. Luzern , has a very nice old town, the Lion Monument and the Swiss Transport Museum which is good for part of a day. Casino is also located in Luzern and also a short boat trip to Weggis. <BR>Trains either leave directly from Paris from Luzern or would might have to transfer entour at Zurich.... <BR>Here are a few web sites to check out. <BR>www.sbb.ch/onlinee/htm www.schweizferien.ch/ <BR>www.swisshotel.ch/ www.berneroberland.ch/ <BR>www.zurichtourism.ch/ www.zhol.ch/ www.holidaynet.ch/zwalk www.living-lucerne.ch/ <BR>www.hotelguide ch/ Good surfing, If you want any more information do hesitate to contact me, incl. rests.... Richard of Hickory Hills <BR>

The posting above is an excellent suggestion. I also feel that you should give Paris no less than 2 1/2 days if you have never been. To have more time there take the TGV train from either Bern, Lausanne, or Geneva. I know that one leaves Bern as early 6:30 or 7:00 and goes through Lausanne. I think it is about a four hour trip. Other types of trains can add up to 2 hours travel time. For TGV you need a reservation. Can get ahead of time from a travel agent if you choose. <BR>

If you want some expert suggestions as well as accomodations in private apartments (usually connected to a host family's home but with separate entrances), I highly recommend that you check out a group called Untours. For a reasonable price, they arrange for transportation and lodging, give you a Swiss-Rail pass and show you how to navigate the trains and buses (it's not easy), give you numerous and very detailed ideas and recommendations for things to see and do, organize one or two guided trips, and provide a local coordinator in case you have questions or run into trouble. Then they leave you alone to do what you want. I spent two weeks in one of their apartments in Thun last year and absolutely loved the experience. Their website is, I believe, at www.untours.com