Hi,

We're planning a trip next May to celebrate my 40th (gasp) birthday which will include 5 days in Switzerland. We will fly from London to Geneva and are thinking about spending 2 days there before heading on to Lucerne. I have read a lot of tripadvisor reviews, but trust you folks to give me a better impressions of Geneva hotels than some of the kooks/imposters that post on tripadvisor. I've already searched some previous posts here.

We generally like to stay near the city center in 3 or 4 star hotels. I guess our budget would be around 250 US dollars per night. Anyone with impressions of the Manotel chain, specifically the Royal or Kipling? I like that they are located near the train station.

Any must-see and must-eat places you recommend?

Will we need to make train reservations to get to Lucerne? We are still trying to decide if we will take the goldenpass route or a quicker route. Your thoughts?

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I continue my obsessive planning.

Thanks for all your valuable insight.

ally

As a <b>general rule</b> seat reservations for train trips which take plce <b>wholly within</b> Switzerland are not available. There are some exceptions and those include the so-called &quot;specialty&quot; train such as the Crystal Panorama (Golden Pass), Glacier Express, etc.

So my answer to your &quot;will we need reservations&quot; (from Geneva to Lucerne) would be no depending on the route you take.

I am not familiar with either of the Geneva hotels you mention as I've only stayed in the 3* Hotel Eden.

Wow, quick reply time! How was the Hotel Eden?

Well I'm one of those kooks/imposters who post on Trip Advisor, but I'll chime in anyway...

I have never been particularly fond of Geneva (been to the area 5 times) but do absolutely love the towns on Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) that can be reached by train within ~1 hour. Lausanne, Vevey, and Montreux are all incredibly charming, as is the countryside surrounding, and more interesting than Geneva itself (which is better for business than pleasure imo).

I've never made train reservations except for overnight trains in a private cabin (Geneva/Venice). I have just purchased tickets at the train station when I'm ready to go.

Suze- I meant those people that never seem to like a room or the service no matter how great it is! Have you been to Chateau Chillon? I think we might have to find some time to do that. Does about 5 hours cover the travel time from Geneva by train roundtrip with a few hours time exploring it?

Stay in Hotel Bristol in Geneva. I think it might be around $250 a night.
Its between the old town and the railway station and has a bit of olde worlde charm to it.
Eat at Le Pied de la Cochon for a rustic,delicious,reasonably priced dinner. Its in the old town.

We enjoyed the Eden..it is about a 15-minute walk from the RR station (also near public [tram] routes) and is situated across the street from the lake front. A few of the rooms have lake views with a balcony but they aren't totally unobstructed.

The hoteil was very quiet, very clean (typical in Switzerland IMO) and had a great breakfast spread. But if you want to stay closer to the RR station I would not necessarily advise staying at the Eden.

ally67, Ah, I was just teasing you!

Yes, I've been to Chateau de Chillon several times. It is a fantastic OLD castle. Especially love the dining room, the knights' armour, and the toilets (you'll see what I mean).

You can do a self-guided tour (they offer brochures in many languages) so take as long or as quickt as you like. I think you could do it in 5 hours round-trip, if you didn't dawdle. BUT I'm not sure how close the train station gets you to the castle though. I've always gone with a friend who lives in Vevey/Montreux by car.

ally67,
A wonderful and very special way to arrive at the so impressive (!!) Castle du Chillon is by boat, taking the steamer from Ouchy (lower Lausanne). We did this when staying in Morges (preferred our base there at the Best Western du Mont-Blanc au Lac to visit Geneva, Lausanne, Vevey and Montreux). This was THE most memorable event of our entire trip around Lac Leman.

We took the morning steamer, trip takes 90 min., and we sat on the upper deck, 1 st class tickets, and were served capuccino while we glided along the lake soaking up the gorgeous scenery of magnificent snow-capped Alps on one side and vineyards on the other. Wow. We were told that this was the &quot;only&quot; way to arrive at Chillon, and while certainly not the &quot;only way&quot;, it was so incredibly special. I'm glad we listened.

You could train from Geneve to Lausanne (takes 33 to 51 min,, depending), then take the metro (if now open) or taxi the few minutes from the train station down to very pretty, lakeside Ouchy, which merits a visit in and of itself.

There's also a 12:30 p.m. steamer trip from Ouchy, arriving at Chillon at 2 p.m., which along the way serves a nice lunch in a pretty inlaid wood paneled dining room with pink linens, fresh flowers, selection of the famous and delectable perch or other local specialties and dessert cart. You can return by steamer to Ouchy/Lausane at 5: 15, until May 16, then it's at 5:37, then train back to Geneva.

We chose the 9:30 a.m. departure and did this one way, as we wanted plenty of time to visit the castle, walk (the 45 min. lakeside walk is also so memorable!) to Montreux, then train back, with a stop in Vevey.
The steamer runs daily from April-Oct. and one buys tixs at the booth in Ouchy.

Just an idea that mightmake your birthday trip special.

I loved Chateau de Chillon. I was there during a thunderstorm and it felt like I was in a spooky haunted castle!! Really, it was great fun.

And I'm sure it's nice on a sunny day too.

Thanks to all your great suggestions. I think we may do Chillon but by train, and save a lake trip until Lucerne as part of our Mt. Pilatus excursion. Hotel Bristol looks amazing, we'll have to see if we can slip it into our budget- I came up with $285 a night for a double.

You people are truly amazing with your willingness to share information. Of course more options tend to make for more time planning and researching. Which thankfully, I love.

My pleasure. Talking about Switzerland is my next favorite thing to being there!