As part of a 30 day visit to Germany & Switzerland we are considering a train trip to Chamonix for a 2-3 day stay and then a train trip from Chamonix to Zurich for plane departure to a cruise departing from Istanbul.
Does anyone have any recommendations as to the train trip and/or accommodations/things to see in Chamonix?
Thank you.
Rick
Simply go to http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html and put in Lauterbrunnen to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and your date of travel and ,voila, there are your options. Same thing from there to Zurich airport. You might look at flights from Geneva airport as there is frequent shuttle-van service to Geneva airport from Chamonix.
Chamonix is all about the mountains and the scenery!
I don't know what month you plan to be there but my top sights are
L' Aguille du Midi gondola up to the vista over Mont Blanc.
The cogwheel train up to the quickly melting Mer du Glace glacier.
Strolling along the pedestrian promenade and enjoying the shops and restaurants.
Gondola ride then hike up to Lac Blanc to have lunch at the beautiful refuge overlooking the most stunning range of mountains anywhere!
This is not an exhaustive list of course but these are my favorite things to do when in Chamonix.
If you are there in shoulder season or winter, some of these things won't be an option since they are closed seasonally.
Rick,
For the trip from Lauterbrunnen to Chamonix (and using Interlaken Ost as the departure point), you can either take a ~4.5 hour rail trip with four or five changes OR take a ~2.75 hour trip to Geneva and then book a Shuttle to Chamonix (about an hour as I recall). The latter option will be easier, but your choice.
For the trip from Chamonix to Zürich, travel by rail will take ~4.5 hours with a minimum of three changes. Unless you have a late afternoon flight, you might have to spend your last night in Zürich.
Genuine Thanks to all of you!! We "plan" to be in Chamonix September 21 - 23; do any of you have any hotel recommendations?
Thanks!
Rick,
Hotel suggestions - that's really difficult without having some idea of your price criteria and "comfort level". Do you have a copy of the RS France guidebook? That has good suggestions on a number of hotels in Chamonix. You could also check Trip Advisor to get some idea on the hotels there. Have a look at this link.....
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotels-g187261-Chamonix_Haute_Savoie_Rhone_Alpes-Hotels.html
I was in Chamonix in September and stayed at Hotel le Chamonix. It's an older hotel but the room was very comfortable and the staff were wonderful to deal with. Great location also and the price was right. The breakfast was extra cost and adequate, although somewhat spartan. On my last morning there, I treated myself to a full English breakfast at a small restaurant by the station, and it was wonderful.
Sam:
Thanks for the reply and web connection to the train schedules. Strange, however, I must be doing something wrong as I was able a week ago to put in Lauterbrunnen to Chamonix and get some schedule; "now" for the 9/21/16 planned departure from Lauterbrunnen to Chamonix I keep getting the response that "no connections are available". Perhaps you can give me further advice.
Rick
Hi Rick, you will love Chamonix! We stayed at the Hotel L'Arve in May 2015 and highly recommend it - great location, helpful staff, wonderful breakfast (best bread ever!). What to do? Cable car to Aiguille du Midi, cog wheel train to Montenvers, then walk down to see the ice cave. Charming town, beautiful scenery.
Rick,
The schedulue does not show up after August 31. It is too for away, timewise. The schedule does show trains as far as Vallorcine, France. At that station, you switch to a French TER train for the continuation to Chamonix. Apparently, SNCF has not loaded that train into the scheduling computers yet. Since it is in September, there also could be fall maintenance scheduled on the line. Usually if that is the case, a replacement bus will be provided.
Anyway, its is 8 months away. I think you can count on the route being open in September for trip planning purposes.
Rick,
As Sam mentioned, the rail schedules for September won't be available yet. You should be able to get a good idea by researching trips in the next month or so, using the same day of the week that you'll be travelling. Check again closer to your trip, but the schedules probably won't change much.
Sam & Ken:
Thanks for the quick replies and the good advice/guidance!
Rick
