Trip to Switzerland - help needed

[utmb]

I am planning to take the wife for 9 days to Switzerland, but I have never been and have no idea how to plan this trip.

For those who know the coutry, could you please help me plan an schedule, with which cities to stay in overnight etc so I can get to booking the trip. We would be planning on mid-June.

I assume train travel is the way to go? If so, which cities should we set up as "home base" and then take the trains to get to nearby places to see?

Thanks a lot.

 

[smwhorn]

My wife and I took the train through Europe, including Switzerland, after we graduated law school. I can't tell you any type of schedule to recommend but I can say this: Interlaken, Switzerland is the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life. I haven't been all over, but I've been alot of places. You should also check out Lugano.

 

[fluff]

Agree with Interlaken, Interlaken has to be on the itinerary....If you are at all adventuresome, go Canyoning, probably one of the funnest things I have ever done!

 

[Mobyhorn]

Three sectors, German, French and Italian. I recommend using Zurich as the base--has the best air and rail connections. All Swiss rail is outstanding, so you probably need only day rail passes in second class (plenty fine). You will certainly want to see Lucerne. Geneva on the French side is a longer trip, but given Swiss distances not too far. Lake Como, near the Italian Alps is a must see. Interlaken is great also. Bern is the capital city, not too far from Zurich. If you do not have accomodations yet, I recommend you check out the "alkohol frei" hotels. These are a little cheaper but great, a holdover from the Swiss temperance movements. Zurich has an airport rail directly to downtown Zurich at the railroad station. From there, it's an easy jaunt to accomodations.

 

[EuroHorn]

I really liked Lugano. It was very small but a nice relaxing place with a great casino just across the lake in Campione. If you take the train from Zurich to Lugano, make sure you do it during the day. The ride is breathtaking.

I also spent 3 months in Basel, which is kind of a cool town where the borders of France, Germany and Switzerland all meet. It is on the Rhine River You can take the tram just outside of the town and hike around some old ruins.

 

[YoLaDu]

i would also recommend Lugano. Not a thrill a minute there, but the town and lake have a nice, no nonsense beauty about it.

 

[NBMisha]

We trained around Switzerland in the winter of 99 looking at schools. We started in Zurich, trained to Leysin, then around to Lugano, then up to Bern to transfer to a train to Salzburg in Austria.

Two things I got out of that: taking the train is a wonderful way to see the country, and get to where you are going. Just so much better than driving. Second, as others have mentioned, Lugano is a wonderful place.

 

[Lone Star]

Switzerland is a country where it benefits the visitor to get out of the large cities. Zurich, Luzern, Geneva are fine, but it is the alpine towns that hold Switzerland’s real scenery.

Switzerland is blessed with tremendous scenery and outstanding infrastructure – so getting around is easy. I would fly into Zurich (one of Europe’s best airports) and immediately take the train towards the Alps – with an overnight in Chur.

I would then travel two railroad lines from Chur & Davos – The Glacier Express and the Rhaetian Railway.

From Chur I would take this route:
Chur -> Landquart -> Klosters -> Scuol -> Sameden -> Tirano (Italy) -> St. Moritz

Then take Glacier Express line from St. Moritz to Zermatt (Matterhorn).

Your trip is nine days – and I would take six days to complete the loop – staying in mountain towns as you move along. Zermatt, Brig, St. Moritz, Scuol, Tirano are all outstanding mountain towns. These railway lines traverse landscape that is a UNESCO World Heritage Landscape – they are truly world class and unmatched once you look at the landscapes and the ease of traveling around Switzerland.

Glacier Express
The LinkThe Link
Gallery:The Link
Timetable:
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Rhaetian Railway
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Spending time in the main Swiss cities is a waste of time.

Get to work.

 

[BigWill]

I highly recommend their cheese. Great with Turkey on Sourdough.

 

[Smurfette]

I loved Luzern. If it's not too expensive, I'd reccomend staying in Engelburg, which is in the mountains. There is a train thingy that runs from Engelburg to Luzern. There is a hotel in Engelburg called the Europe Hotel that's awesome, and has some interesting history. (One of Hitler's head dudes tried to hide there at the end of the war.)

Both towns are beautiful. You can take a cable car into a glacier from Engelburg.

 

[MirrOlure]

Grindelwald, Interlaken and Lauterbrunnan are definitely among the finest places on the planet.

Do not go to Switzerland without an extended stay in this region.