reyam1105

My fiancee (will be wife) and I are going to go on our Honeymoon to Switzerland. I've been to Interlaken briefly a few years ago and really enjoyed it. The only catch is that we are going to be based out of Zurich (meaning we need come back to Zurich each night). Long story short, our hotel is already booked in Zurich for the full duration.

So my question is simply what locations should we visit? Here's some more information that will guide my question:

a. We'll be traveling in October.
b. Interlaken is a definite must as Jungfraujoch is on our to-do and I'm looking for about 2-3 more. It'll be cold, yes, but we're going.
c. We can take a one overnight trip out to somewhere further away. It'll be "waste" of a night back at the hotel in Zurich, but I'll take that to go somewhere worth seeing. However, I wouldn't want to do this for more than one night.
d. Going to other countries is an option too. But again, these should mostly be a day-trip distance away (about 3 hours max in one direction) unless we plan to stay overnight.
e. We may be willing to use RyanAir (or other low-cost carriers) to go further away, but again, not for more than one night.
f. Eurail pass is an option, although I'm not sure if that'll be effective in terms of cost.

Thank you!

FLYMSY

More information is needed to be able to give a worthwhile response.

Will you have access to a car? Using trains only?
What are your interests? Sports? Food? Museums? General touristy stuff? Spas? Architecture? History?
Personally, I'd forget the Ryan Air idea. Wasting too much time and there are too many interesting things to do without having to fly somewhere.

One quick suggestion would be to go to Schaffhausen to see the Rhein Falls and then over to Stein am Rhein for it's beautiful, quaint architecture. Look up both of them to get an idea of what you'd see. I'd probably schedule it to have lunch at the restaurant at the base of the Falls.

I'd also suggest that you take things at a more relaxed pace so that you can really focus on what you're seeing or doing. I hate to see people doing drive-by tourism.

reyam1105

Thank you for the response FLYMSY. I've taken note, but let me address your comments to provide some more information.

I won't have access to a car. I don't see why I can't get one, but it is an additional expense and It'd be nice if I can get around without it.

Nature and food are big areas. Architecture is cool, although we are probably just more stupefied by it than actually being able to appreciate it. No go on the museums and sports. Having a nice spa day would be good to just relax and be lazy.

Guilty. I generally like to pack things in, but this is a good advice. Thank you. (Although I still want to hear all that FT has to say to have a list of choices. Hehehe.)

Thanks,

jighen

I agree with the destination suggested by FlyMsy. I would like to add also Luzern, Bern and Basel which are suitable for a daytrip from Zurich.

Bear in mind transportations are expensive, having a car could be useful and cheaper but be careful at parking area which ca be very expensive.

ajeleonard

Jungfrau
Rhaetian Railway in Graubunden

FLYMSY

I'll add:

Lausanne - only about a 2.5 hour train ride from Zürich

Appenzell - less than 2 hrs by train.

Konstanz - 45 minute train ride. Konstanz is in Germany and situated on the Bodensee (Lake Constance). You can take the ferry boat across the lake (15 min.) to the very picturesque village of Meersburg.

MarLim

Almost everything in Switzerland is doable as a day trip from Zurich. Apart from the obvious near destinations already mentioned by other posters, with the new Gotthard tunnel, you might go to Lugano and there up to San Salvatore where you might have sun when it's raining in Zurich. Or take a train ride to Montreux and visit Chateau Chillon.

reyam1105

This is fantastic. Thank you so much! I posted a resopnse earlier, but it seems like it got deleted? I'm not sure what happened--I'm pretty new to the forums here. Anyway, here are some responses to FLYMSY's questions that can hopefully help narrow down some destinations.

- I'll be traveling by train. I can get a car, but don't want to unles I have to.
- NATURE (huge) and FOOD (pretty important) are our interests. We can pass on museums and sports. Architecture is cool, but not a must.

Thanks! Will be looking out for more replies!

FLYMSY

You have a very short time in Switzerland and more than enough suggestions to fill those days.

If you take a day to explore Zürich and another day to go to Interlaken, that only leaves you 2-3 days for the rest of the suggestions. I think you should look at what has been posted here, do some research on the places mentioned and decide on your own what interests you most.

With that said, I'd probably do Schaffhausen/Stein am Rhein on one day and the Konstanz/Meersburg trip on the other day. I have a personal preference for Appenzell, also, but there are some other good suggestions made by other posters.

YuropFlyer

When exactly in October? Early October can be very lovely (quite often is) - late October might be very miserable. Also, daylight will change massively (1hr40min less daylight from 1st to 31st October) which might mean longer trips will have a "dark" return.

As others side. Train is king when staying in Zurich. Plenty of cities you can visit. Lucerne, Bern, Basel as the most "known" ones all within <1hr. St. Gallen about the same. Fribourg (very lovely old city) 1.5hr. Ticino with the new tunnel 1hr 45min - especially a good idea should the weather be bad in the North, but sunny/warm in the South. Enjoying a pizza in Locarno or Lugano in t-shirt, followed by a long stroll along the lake in the sun, while it's raining and freezing cold in Zurich.. with weather sometimes changing from day to day, you should be spontanious, and not have any fixed program, but rather many ideas you could follow.