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7 nights in July - Lucern, Interlaken, Grindelwald or other?

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My 14 year old daughter & I (Dad, 61) will be spending 6 weeks in Europe this upcoming summer. Week 2 of this trip will be Switzerland. We will be arriving from London on July 26, departing August 2. I'm thinking I want to be close to the Alps and, after a busy week in London, spending a week in the somewhat cooler climate appeals to me, plus the scenery is just unbelievable. Like the title says - I'm thinking of Lucern, Interlaken and Grindelwald. Trying to keep the budget between 150 & 200 USD per night. Hotel or Inn/B&B/apt. Right now I'm seeing properties available within my budget - both hotels and apts/B&Bs. I'm looking for any & all ideas/advice/suggestions on staying in this region - whichever one we decide on, we'd still want to visit the other 2, and any other areas you all might recommend.

Any day trip ideas would be most appreciated! I've been watching lots of youtube videos, trying to educate myself on this country which, until very recently, I was fairly clueless about.

I'd also appreciate any advice on the best way to travel from London to this area, as well as best way to travel from this area to our next destination, Rome.

Thank you all in advance.

Posted by
5786 posts

Lucerne is charming and beautiful. We like the Hotel des Alpes, ask for a room with a view of the Chapel Bridge, and hopefully a small balcony. Don't think you'll find rooms under $200, however. RS has used this hotel for some of his past tours.
Interlaken is a commercial transit center, not a charming Swiss village, on the valley floor.
We stay in Murren, but many folks here also like Wengen, both of which are in the Alps, about 4,000 -5,000 feet elevation, and both are car free villages.
Grindelwald has access to many activities, has noisy buses, not car free, but many folks stay here.
Gimmelwald is very tiny, a short walk from Murren. (Note the spelling difference.)
Lauterbrunnen has some elevation, but sits in the shadows of the peaks, but many folks like this area, as it is easy to access both sides of the "V", and can be more affordable.
Max out sleeping in the Alpes, you won't want to leave. Two bases would be ideal.
Safe travels.

Posted by
8228 posts

You can fly to either Basel, Zurich or Geneva from one of the 4 airports in and around the London area. You can fly to Rome from those 3 airports. I'd stay 4 nights in Grindelwald or Wengen and 3 nights in Luzern .

Posted by
11676 posts

I recommend staying four nights in Grindelwald or Saas-Fee and three in Lucerne. Interlacken is a transit hub and I wouldn’t stay there.
We spent a week at La Collina in Saas-Fee which worked very well for us and our friends. We had a car and toured the mountain villages of Murren and Wengen. This was one of our all time favorite trips.

Posted by
949 posts

My recommendation would be for three nights in Lucern and then 4 in either Wengen or Murren. As mentioned, Interlaken is a transit hub, and IMO, not the least bit charming. Our preference is Wengen over Murren, but you can't go wrong with either one. We found Switzerland to be very expensive, so if you can find a hotel/apt for under $200, then my advice would be grab it while it's still available. "Aplins in the Alps" is a website that I found helpful in my planning. It's a breathtaking country; stay IN the Alps and you will love it!

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