Two weeks in Switzerland
 

I'm planning to be in Switzerland for 14 days (flying into Geneva, out through Zurich) and have the following planned:

Day
Day 1 - Geneva (arriving)
2 - Lausanne
3 - Lausanne - Montreaux/Vevey
4 - Lausanne - Chocolate train
5 - Train from Lausanne to Fribourg to Bern
(send luggage straight to Bern)
6 - Bern - Bern
7 - Bern - Basel
8 - Bern - Lucerne
9 - Bern - Bernese Oberland
10 - Zermatt
11 - Zermatt - Matterhorn
12 - Glacier Express train from Zermatt to St. Moritz
13 - St. Moritz
14 - Zurich

Are the plans too ambitious? Am I missing out on something? Any suggestions/critiques would be appreciated.

Are you a person who "loves the mountains"? if so, you are missing the Interlaken area. This is the area that is home to the Jungfrau (i probably didn't spell it correctly) and the Lauderbruden Valley (again, i am sure i mispelled that as well).

I have been to Switzerland 2 times and both times ended up for a couple of days in this area. If i ever went back, i would stay in this area again.

I think this region is considered "Berner Oberland". My husband and i have travellled to Europe probably 11 or 12 times over the last 13 or so years and this particular area is still our favorite. When i think "Switzerland", i always think "Interlaken".

I would blow off Bern and spend time in a smaller community like this. You really need at least 3 days in the region to do it justice as well!

Whatever you do, i envy you.

Hmmm.... I've heard mixed reviews about Bern too. Is Basel worth seeing? I'm wondering if I should revise my itinerary to something like:

Day 1 - Geneva (arriving)
2 - Lausanne
3 - Lausanne - Montreaux/Vevey
4 - Lausanne - Chocolate train
5 - Train from Lausanne to Fribourg to Interlaken
(send luggage straight to Interlaken)
6 - Interlaken
7 - Interlaken
8 - Interlaken Bernese Oberland
9 - Zermatt
10 - Zermatt - Matterhorn
11 - Glacier Express train from Zermatt to St. Moritz
12 - St. Moritz
13 - Zurich - Lucerne
14 - Zurich


Thanks for your reply.

I second the suggestion on Interlaken. It is an area not to be missed for any visit to Switzerland.

I don't see any of the Ticino lakes on that list (Maggiore, Lugano). I think you're really missing out if you don't spend a day or two there.

I love Switzerland (I'm going again this fall), but 14 days is a lot in such a small country. Keep in mind that you're within easy "striking distance" to France, Germany and Italy.

Ticino (where I live) is beautiful and really is not to be missed. It is completely different from the rest of Switzerland and would allow you to experience the third culture of Switzerland (the Switalians as I playfully refer to them). The lakes are beautiful and it is much warmer than the rest of Switzerland. There are mountains that you can go hiking in and boats to take out on the lake (Lago di Lugano or Maggiore).

As for Interlaken if you want and extremely small town packed with nothing but tourists, go right ahead. Yes Interlaken has river rafting and paragliding, but the Swiss don't really go there. I had a good time when I went river rafting for the day and visiting Hooters Interlken was slightly amussing, I wouldn't go back or want to spend much time there.

I see what you're saying.... I planned it based on the fact that we don't want to be rushing anything. Do you think it's possible to add in more cities to the above itinerary without packing in too much? I'm thinking that I could cut a day each from Lausanne and Interlaken.

I wouldn't add more destinations............if you do that then you're going to be rushing.

Think of it like this............you're going to both Zermatt and St. Moritz. I've been to Zermatt, but never to St. Moritz. But from what I can tell, you're going to get the same big Swiss ski town experience in both places..............so why not just go to one? Then use the extra days to see something different?

Its obvious you want the total Swiss experience (I can't blame you........the country is beautiful)............but you've completely left off the lakes in Ticino.
Which would be a really shame because the lakes are really beautiful.

I picked St. Moritz because that is where the Glacier Express train ride will end up. I don't have the map in front of me, but I will check later to see if there is a way to get off before then and not miss anything.

As far as senic Swiss trains............the William Tell Express runs from Lucerne down to Locarno (Lake Maggiore) and Lugano (Lake Lugano). And the Centovalli line runs from Bern to Locarno.

http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/Loet...32.0.html?&L=2

I travel to Switzerland about eight times a year for business. I am in ZRH now on my way back from St. Moritz (first time). The train ride is truly spectacular. Most times I am on my computer or reading but I basically just checked out the scenery the entire trip. I might consider another day or half day in GVA.

The trains are great and Switzerland is a gorgeous country. Not sure if you like to hike, but you may want to consider leaving some time to do a couple hikes.

In St. Moritz you can rent bikes and boats at the lake, so there are some great opportunities to get some exercise as well if you like. The air is so clean you want to just take a deep breath.

The purpose of visiting Interlaken is not for the town itself, but as a jumping off point for the little villages tucked away in the mountains close by.

We home based in Bern for two days during a trip a few years back. It's a nice city. We did a nice walk through it, fed the Bern bears, etc. I'm glad we stayed in Bern for a few days.

We daytripped to Gimmelwald (another Rick Steves destination). If we had more time on that trip, a stay in Gimmelwald or a small village would have been nice. We also did a enjoyable cruise on a lake (I forget which one) which was free as part of our Eurail pass.

Hmmm, I'm wondering if I should take the Glacier Express to St. Moritz, then take the Palm Express bus to Lugano the next day. Stay one day in Lugano, then take the William Tell Express to Lucerne. Spend a couple days in Lucerne, then take the train to Zurich for the flight home. So my revised itinerary would look like....

Day 1 - Geneva (arriving)
2 - Lausanne
3 - Lausanne - Montreaux/Vevey
4 - Lausanne - Chocolate train
5 - Train from Lausanne to Fribourg to Interlaken
(send luggage straight to Interlaken)
6 - Interlaken
7 - Interlaken
8 - Interlaken Bernese Oberland
9 - Zermatt
10 - Zermatt - Matterhorn
11 - Glacier Express train from Zermatt to St. Moritz
12 - Palm Express bus to Lugano
13 - William Tell Express train to Lucerne
14 - Lucerne

Would that be too much time on transportation rather than on sightseeing?

That looks like a lot of time on trains and busses over 2 days.

While I'm sure the Palm Express bus ride is pretty, its definitely not necessary in order to get from Zermatt to Locarno/Lugano. All you have to do is take the train to Brig and change trains there in order to get to Locarno. Lugano is just another hour on the train from there.

Heres a great resource for figuring out train schedules.

http://www.railpass.com/new/infocent...timetable.html