10 days in Switzerland?

[utmb]

I am thinking about spending 10 days or so in Europe with the wife over Christmas break. Since she is a green card holder and not a citizen, Switzerland would be the best deal since no visa is required.

I am curious - is 10 days overkill for Switzerland? I am sure there is a lot to see and it is supposed to be the most beautiful place. I have no idea where to begin or how to plan a trip there - any advice would be great.

We are not into skiing, but I think we might give it a try if we go someplace that offers lessons or something.

Any books or good websites I should check out? Hotel recs? Places not to miss?

I really wanted to start in Paris for a few days and then head to Switzerland, but I am not sure I want to hassle with getting a French visa for her.

Thanks!!

 

[next2naus]

say to Hi to my friend Jimmy is you see him

 

[Doug E. Fresh]

I recently spent 3 days in Lucerne. It's a really cool town worth checking out, and the trip up to Mt. Pilatus is worth it.

Other popular places are Interlaken, Grindelwald, Zermatt (for skiing and the Matterhorn) and of course the larger cities in Zurich and Geneva. For me, 10 days would be too much of Switzerland. I would probably spend around 5 days there and another 5 in either France, Germany, Italy or Austria, although I do realize you may have visa issues.

Be prepared for the cost. Switzerland is about as expensive as it gets in Europe. Hotels are not so bad, but the food, drinking, etc. can really add up.

 

[UTinBigD]

We took a week long ski trip to Zermatt. Like others have said it was fairly expensive (they fleece you something fierce there), but it is a neat little town. They will have lessons for both boarding and skiing, but if you don’t ski/board you can still get up in the mountains and get some great views of the Matterhorn, weather permitting as sometimes it is cloudy and you can’t see too much. The night life was pretty good; there are a lot of bars/pubs in the town that are open late. We saw several bachelor/-ette parties that were in for the weekend just to party there. The best place was the Hennu Stall (sp?), an afterski place near the base of the mountain. Not sure when it closed, but you had to be sober enough to ski down the rest of the way to the base (at dusk or later)..

The restaurants were all good. Mix of French, Italian, Asian and then more traditional local food (fondue, etc…). A really good place that served South African food.

Honestly, though if you are not skiing, it might not be worth going out there. It was probably a 4-5 hour train ride from Geneva.

One thing I did not know was how much grapes were growing all around the countryside. I think the swiss wine was called Dole (sp?) and was good, mild type of wine.

 

[EuroHorn]

I spent time in Basel which is a nice small city on the French and German border on the Rhine. You might consider going to Lugano which is in the Italian part of Switzerland. If you take the train during the day from the north of Switzerland to Lugano, it takes you through the Alps and you will get to see some incredible scenary. Also, Lugano is on a nice lake and there is a casino across the water in Campione.

 

[Texan]

We ordered a pitcher of beer in Switzerland and it was 30 Euros (Over $40). Just a heads up - these people aren't joking when they say it's uber expensive.

 

[Bottlecap]

you might want to see if there is a footy match in Belen or Zurich as Switzerland prepares for the Euro 2008 Cup, which they are co-hosting. Seeing an international sporting event, especially football (even if you're not THAT into it) is a freakin blast!

 

[YoLaDu]

Lugano is very nice. Was there in the summer, not sure what the winter would be like.

Everything is expensive, the dollar sucks. Europeans are living high on the hog these days.

 

[mynametaken]

Here's my advice:

1. Fly to Zurich. Spend day there. Not much to see unless you like to shop. I'd recommend:
2. Train to St. Gallen. Hit Lake Constance or Appenzell and sample cheese. Appenzell is like going back in time.
3. Train to Lugano. Do not miss it. Spend a day or two relaxing. Breathtaking views.
4. Train to St. Moritz. Then take Glacier Express to Zermatt.
5. Matterhorn, then head to Geneva.
6. If time, hit Interlaken or Lucerne
7. Back to Zurich for flight back.

I'm not sure how easy it is to get from Lugano to St. Moritz by train. 10 days goes fast so unless you're a big skiier don't try to fit that in.

 

[smwhorn]

Interlaken just might be the mot beautiful place in the world. If it isn't, I wanna go to the place that is.

 

[Tex Pete]

I went to Switzerland in 1990. Stayed in a cool hotel in a town in the Alps called Laax. I would love to go back. St. Moritz was beautiful, but I am sure it would be sky-high at Christmas time.

I do remember buying a Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal and a hamburger for over $13 (American). In 1990!

 

[happy fun ball]

10 days would be badass, though it would be badasser in the summer when you could do some hiking above Interlaken. Short answer, hell yeah, buy a guidebook and do everything in it.