swandav2000

Yeh, I think Ingo wins here. The locations he noted are superb and relatively undiscovered for English-speaking visitors, and the hotels provide the views and ambiance the OP wants.

If the OP really wants someplace new, those are it!!

s

kawh

ok... so may i piggyback on my question?

let's say that we spend a few days in the MONTREAUX area, then want to go to the LAUTERBRUNNEN/murren area... also hoping to go to the thermal waters at PRE-ST DIDIER and then to SOGLIO for a few days... and don't want to rent a car... is this all pretty easy? Would also like to go to a beautiful lakeside town (smaller than montreux). After all this, want to go to the Dolomites on the Italian side of the border... and are good with renting a car in Italy. (we only want to rent once, and in one country.)

Any thoughts on this very preliminary outline? Are there any changes, or places to stop along the way, that would make it smoother?

michele_d

Hi kawh,
Lauterbrunnen is still up in the mountains but it is located in a valley looking up at the mountains. You get to Wengen and Murren from Lauterbrunnen and they are at a higher elevation. It is simple to get to anywhere in the BO from Lauterbrunnen.

That said, Wengen is also a beautiful location. For me, IMO, Murren is a little bit too far from everything, although a lovely town also.

Here is a map of the area so you can get your bearings.

http://mappery.com/map-of/Jungfrau-G...ion-summer-map

swandav2000

Hi again,

I'm not sure you realize how far away Soglio is -- it's in the far eastern part of the country. The trip from Lauterbrunnen takes 7 to 9 hours with 5, 6, or 7 changes.

I recommend you choose *either* the Jungfrau area or the Graubünden. Since you've already been to the Jungfrau area and said you want something new, I would stick to the Graubünden.

If you also want to experience a small town on a lake, I'd suggest Sils or Silvaplana, both in the Engadin Valley.

You can easily spend your time in this area, spending time around Scuol or Guarda (Lower Engadin), Sils (Upper Engadin), and Soglio.

It's easy to get to Italy from the Engadin Valley on the Bernina Express -- from St. Moritz to Tirano, then rent your car there.

Have fun!

s

kawh

swan.... thanks much for the input. i will look into your lakeside recommendations over the next few days and keep considering... this is why i posted my v. early thoughts here. (i admit that i don't yet know exactly where the 'engadin valley' is yet!) i will say that we have almost 4 weeks and we fly home from bologna... so we do expect to travel at least that far east.

on the other hand, we hope to travel by train for much of the trip across switzerland if it's not too complicated. thanks again.

swandav2000

That's quite a lot of time, you lucky guys!!

Here's another option --

Spend time in Montreux, then go to Zermatt for a few days (not my favorite place, but worthwhile if you haven't seen it before). Then take the Glacier Express to St. Moritz and spend your time in Soglio or Sils (or both). Then continue to Italy via the Bernina Express.

BTW, options for smaller towns on Lake Geneva might be Lutry (just outside of Lausanne on the Vevey side) or Villeneuve (other side of Chillon castle). Villeneuve, though, is truly small and only has about two or three hotels, none of which I'd consider staying in. Oh, you could also think about Morges, between Lausanne and Geneva.

Have fun as you think it over!!

s

catherinehaas

Hotel Edelweiss in Wengen for the second week in June is running about 90CHF for 2.

neckervd

....Soglio is on the Italian border anyway.

BTW: must it be Pre Saint Didier (Courmayeur)? http://termedipre.it/en/
There are tons of other spas in the Alps.

Anyway, your itinerary would then be:
Montreux - train - Martigny - train - Chamonix - bus - Courmayeur - bus - Pre St-Didier - bus - Milan Lampugnano - metro - Milan Centrale - train - Colico - train - Chiavenna - bus - Promontogno - bus - Soglio.

kawh

thanks, neckervd... wow... that's a lot of bus rides just to soak in some warm water. we are reconsidering pre saint didier at this point... the swandav itinerary seems a whole lot calmer without the trip to p.s.d.

i think there are other thermal towns in the dolomites which i will look at. we will have a car there, so it would be much more simple.

this is starting to stack up nicely... and i do see a few great places to stay within our budget. thanks again to all!

susan001

I'm not sure I'm going to go out of my way to post hotel info for someone in the future. A thank you would have been nice.

kawh

susan001-- so glad you posted this "harummmph" as i have felt that way many, many, many times. my bad this time.

i had waived off the murren hotel, as we have been there and wanted a different town nearby. the meisser in guarda is a bit above our budget but looks great if we can't find less expensive. the one above zurich looks like heaven-- but we are thinking that we probably shouldn't go quite that far north... and if we did, we would want to go to baden for the thermal water instead.

in the middle of all this planning, it's hard to keep up with acknowledging the ones you have discounted... but i totally get your point.

susan001

Kawh, I apologize for the knee-jerk reaction. I know it's difficult to keep up with every person's response.

I've been to Baden, and it was nothing special compared with Stein am Rhein. Someday, when you get to the north, you should think about staying there. It really was a fairly tale experience for me. I've been there 3 times!

I hope you have a wonderful trip. Ingo is a GREAT resource, especially for the eastern side of Switzerland. You won't encounter many Americans in that region. Quite charming.

kenav

catherinehaas: I believe the Hotel Edelweiss in Wengen is 90 CHF <b>per person</b> for 2.

kawh

susan... i will look into whether there is any thermal water near to stein am rhein, as it really does look special. on my to-do list.

swandav2000

kawh,

You may want to know that Scuol (one of the towns I recommended above and quite close to Guarda) is a thermal spa town.

http://www.engadin.com/wellness/baed...scuol/?S=1&R=2

s

neckervd

Famous Swiss spas between Montreux and the Dolomites:
Lavey-les-Bains
Saillon-les-Bains
Bains d'Ovronnaz
Leukerbad,
Yverdon-les-Bains
Baden AG
Bad Ragaz
Bogn da Scuol

kawh

thanks, neckervd... do you happen to know without looking them up, which ones have hot water (rather than body temp or lower)??

susan001

Swandav, I loved Scuol, and now that I know it's a thermal spa town, would love to return.

swandav2000

susan001, I agree! As some old friends of mine used to say -- "Too much Switzerland, not enough time . . .!"

s

neckervd

The springs at Leukebad are hot, but the water in the basins is usually cooled down to 38 degrees centigrade (100 degrees Fahrenheit)

Copy from Burgerbad (Leukerbad homepage):

Leukerbad Therme
Spoil yourself in the 10 thermal baths (from 28°C to 43°C/82F to 110F)) and treat yourself to the wide range of spa facilities at the Leukerbad Therme in Leukerbad (1,400 m above sea level). Enjoy the rejuvenating thermal water, rich in minerals, from our private springs in the midst of an impressive mountain world. Waterfall showers, massage jets, whirlpools and a natural rock grotto offer superb relaxation and an unforgettable natural bathing experience whatever the weather. Look forward to discovering a wide choice of spa treatments and massages in the spa zone.

The 25 m sports pool, a children’s play pool and Switzerland’s first Xtube tyre slide with banked corners provide ideal surroundings for daredevils and active sports enthusiasts. Delicious set meals and local delicacies are offered at the coffee bar, in the restaurant and in the pizzeria with its large sun deck. The largest alpine thermal spa in Europe

At Scuol the water temperature is between 34 and 38 degrees centigrade/ 93 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit