2 nights between Geneva and Mürren - where to stay?

Stay in Montreux to do both the Chocolate and Cheese train and visit Chillon on the lake.

Bern is an awesome and underrated city, and the gateway to the Berner Oberland (hence the name):

• car-free city
• capital of Switzerland
• preserved in the 16th century because it managed to avoid fire and war
• nestled into a spectacular bend in the Aare River (which you can swim in and float down)
• Einstein lived there and there is a great museum in his honour
• there is an bear pit (now to modern zoo standards) with real bears!

Montreux is awesome, but if you've been to Geneva, you've seen a French Swiss city. You'll add more to your trip by going to a German Swiss one.

We are arriving in Geneva and will explore it a bit...but didn’t think we would stay overnight there. I wonder about the merits of staying in Lausanne, Vevey, or Montreux-or another place near the lake.

We are also considering a hostel instead of a hotel-wondering if that makes sense?

Thanks for your ideas so far!

Laurie

Vevey is a smaller lakeside town with lots of charm. We have not yet stayed there, but it would be my choice.

Vevey is a lovely town; I loved staying there. It has easy and frequent trains to Lausanne and Montreux. The views of the lake and mountains from Vevey are stunning.

Vevey! I was sorry we did not stay there.

We stayed in Lausanne in the Port D'Ouchy area which had gorgeous views of Lake Geneva. Lausanne also has a lovely Old Town and cathedral as well as the Olympic Museum. You can take a boat ride across Lake Geneva to Evian Les Bains or other French towns. Lausanne has excellent train connections to see Chateau de Chillon and Vevey. Vevey is another good choice for a small town to stay in. In Vevey you can sign up for a chocolate making class at Laderach Chocolatier Suisse. The Lavaux Vineyards are a Unesco World Heritage site in Lutry and have world class views of the vineyards, lake, and mountains and are well worth seeing depending on the time of year you are there. We loved the French part of Switzerland!

Chocolate class! That certainly gets my attention as much as the beautiful scenery!😄 I was disappointed that it was too hot to do a chocolate class in Torino last summer. Do you happen to know if that’s possible to do a chocolate class in June in Vevey?

Thank you everyone for your responses. It’s so helpful to us!

Laurie

Yes, the chocolate making class that I took in Vevey was in June, 2018. You would most likely have to arrange reservations for the Tasting and Chocolate Making Workshop in advance. Laderach Chocolatier Suisse, rue du Theatre 8, Vevey 1800 Switzerland phone +41 21 921 3037. It is a 1-2 hour class. The shop is closed on Sundays. By googling Laderach Chocolatier Suisse or looking it up on Tripadvisor you may be able to find an email for it, or by entering your email you might get on a newsletter. I took the class with a group of 8 people that our tour guide arranged. It was wonderful!

Thank you, everyone! I found us a place to stay in Vevey, and now our lodging plans are complete!

So, any recommendations that are specific to Vevey would also be welcome!

Thanks,
Laurie

How is Bern overrated? I was thinking of doing day trip there.

I figure if I ride the same tram Einstein rode, I might understand the Theory of Relativity.

I stayed here two nights last June and loved the location and room. Free breakfast was fine and the dinner I paid for was better. Took bus to Cht. Chillon and then walked back to Montreux and bused back to Vevey. Next day I walked to wineries in the other direction.

Hostellerie de Genève, Grande Place 11, 1800 Vevey, Switzerland

How is Bern overrated? I was thinking of doing day trip there.

Sorry, typo, should be "underrated." Bern is awesome; as you can see from the rest of my post.

I love Bern. Probably doesn't belong on somebody's first trip to Switzerland list because I think that that should be spent in the mountains and Bern just has one mountain - the Gurten - and despite the long and fun funicular to the top it isn't really a dramatic mountain.

But I return there frequently. Plenty to do if you dig under the surface....

Underrated! Got it! 🙂

Mid April will be my first trip focused solely on the German part of Switzerland as I have spent most of my other Swiss visits, with the exception of one day to Lauterbrünnen & Mürren, in the French part.

Thanks, organizer8, for the chocolate details! I emailed the company to get more information. I’m excited to explore this part of Switzerland!

Laurie