Marcsgirl

Think of traveling In September. Will have 7-10 days to do anything. Have never been to Europe and most interested in Italy/Switzerland.<BR><BR>Could fly into Zurich and out of ROme or Venice. Airfare not included, we would like to stay under $2500 for expenses and really don't want fancy hotels. We want to experience the culture more.<BR><BR>Thanks in advance for any who can advise!

Rex

Sounds like the makings of a Fodorites trip!<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

s

Marcsgirl,<BR><BR>ooooohhh, this is a difficult one. There are simply so, so, so many options.<BR><BR>But here goes.<BR><BR>Flying into Zurich, you have two obvious choices for your first few nights: Lucerne or the Berner Oberland (the villages of Wengen, Grindelwald, or Murren). <BR><BR>Lucerne is only about one hour by train from Zurich, so it will be easier for you after a long flight. Lucerne is a lake-side destination (obviously) with majestic mountains framing the lake. You can take ferry rides to the villages around the lake, you can take excursions to Mt. Pilatus and Mt. Titlis (sp?), and you can take long walks around the lake.<BR><BR>The Berner Oberland is about three hours from the Zurich airport, and that can really zap you on your arrival date. On the other hand, it's clearly worth the trouble. These villages really capture the images most of us (Americans) have about Switzerland, and they sit right in the middle of the mountains. Here, you can take long and wonderful walks on trails through the mountains, stopping at a family-run guest house or a mountain top chalet for lunch.<BR><BR>Some other possibilities for the Swiss portion may be Spiez or Thun or Brienz, all near Interlaken on the lakes.<BR><BR>Anyway, from there, you can proceed to the Italian lakes destinations, Bellagio or Varenno or Como. The Swiss towns of Locarno or Ascona are in the Italian section of the country, and are considered part of the Italian lakes area.<BR><BR>From the lakes area, proceed to Venice or Rome.<BR><BR>I would guess you could spend 3-4 days in each spot.<BR><BR>You can research these destinations easily on the net. First, you can type the village name in the "search" box on this site and come up with lots and lots of Fodorite suggestions. Next, you can go to www.twenj.net. This is a private site, but it has comprehensive and detailed information on all of Switzerland and on Rome. It's a good place to look to get ideas. You can also go to www.myswitzerland.com, which is the Swiss national tourist office site. Finally, you can go the the websites of the individual towns. For Lucerne, go to www.luzern.org and www.lakelucerne.ch. For The Berner Oberland, go to www.berneroberland.ch, www.grindelwald.com, www.wengen.com, and www.muerren.ch. I can't vouch for any other sites, but I'm sure other Fodorites will add more later.<BR><BR>Feel free to e-mail me.<BR><BR>s

John G

Zurich is a very nice city, but just what do you mean by culture?? Are you talking art, museums, opera, dance, etc? Lucerne is not a cultural city at all. Lucerne is a nice place to go if you want to just relax and walk around the lake and eat. If you want true culture, then I say just stick with Zurich, then go on to Venice, Florence, or Rome. Don't get me wrong, I think Switzerland is one of the most beautiful places I have ever traveled (and I have been almost everywhere), but I don't think it has the same "culture" as Northern Italy. What do others think? I also think the Swiss are rather aloof.

r

Dear Marcsgirl; I'm thinking that by culture you mean "you want to be among the real people of the place you are visiting"? Here's a thought: Purchase a Eurail Pass; Fly into Zurich, spend a night acclimating; The Swiss trains are great, hop on (having picked some of the spots that attract you) and head in the direction of Italy; (I realize that you probably only have 10 days max,to do this in and something is always better than nothing; but it's not a whole lot of time for intense exploration of the culture) Someone else will have to advise from this point on as to how many days in each place and where. But that's a lot of territory in 7-10 days, so maybe you might consider focusing on a few key places.

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Given 9 days, in Sep, here is a plan.<BR><BR>Into Zurich--train to Berner Oberland for 3 nites.<BR>Train to Lugano--stay there or go to<BR>Lake Como, or both<BR>Train from Lugano to Luzern--depart Zurich<BR><BR>Not much time---pick only 3 destinations and make them within 4 hours travel time between.<BR><BR>Good luck !

Rex

&lt;&lt;Here's a thought: Purchase a Eurail Pass&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>Here's a better thought - - have "marc" buy you a diamond necklace instead of a "Eurailpass" (starting price: $572 per person, up to $1606).<BR><BR>Maybe "r" meant a "rail pass" generically. Eurailpass prices are outrageously high. I wonder who ever really buys one. Traveling salesmen? For one thing, they start at 15 days minimum, and they are first class only.<BR><BR>For a 7-10 day trip, I recommend no more than two or three "connectors" (between destinations) - - and these might well be train trips - - but they could be cheap flights. More than 9 hours of intra-Europe transportation time on a 76-10 day trip is WAY too much. And you shouldn't have to spend more than $200 (per person) at MOST for your intra-Europe transportation expenses.<BR>

r

Rex; That's just how long ago I actually bought one! I had a feeling that info was dated. Sorry Marcsgirl. But I like the idea of a diamond necklace.

Barry

Hi Marcsgirl -<BR><BR>This one we did 4 years ago using the Swiss Rail pass system... and there are good hotels in each city near the Bahnhoffs (rail stations)...<BR><BR>3 Days in Zurich and day trip to Mt. Rigi and Titlis..<BR><BR>3 Days in Lucerne and day trip to Bern, Basel, Thun and Interlaken..<BR><BR>3 Days in Lausanne and day trip up to Montreaux and down to Geneva ( or rent a car and drive the Cornice road up and down the lake...<BR><BR>We loved that trip!