I will be spending the first 2 weeks of December in a small village outside of Lausanne. I will be renting a car and am thinking of doing an overnight trip to Lake Como. Is it better to drive or take a scenic train? Also, best scenic day trip by train from Luasanne or Geneva? I have been to Switzerland many times and want to see something different this trip. Am also thinking of driving to Interlaken area?? Maybe a trip to the Black Forest?
Any advice would be helpful!!!
The lakes in December aren't always very pleasant, and Lake Como is quite far from Lausanne to start with .
I would perhaps skip lake Como this time, and focus on lake Maggiore which is much closer. Stresa is a direct train ride from Lausanne or Montreux and would be a perfect base for an overnight stay with a trip to the Borromean Islands. The drive involves the Simplon pass road and would thus be slower than the train.
Likewise, I would forget about the "Black Forest", it is far and can be dreary in December.
The Interlaken area is amazing but might be a bit far for a day trip: consider an overnight.
There are tons of great day trips from the Lausanne area: the Montreux area (Chillon castle, Rochers de Naye, Vevey old town); Gruyères and the Caillier factory in Broc; the Golden Pass railroad to Zweisimmen and back; Bern; Murten; Glacier 3000; Chamonix... the list goes on.
Thanks Balso. Some good thoughts, I was thinking of an overnight in Interlaken. I have already done the typical day trips from Lausanne, Gruyeres, Vevey on previous trips. Have also done Montreux and the Christmas market twice. Looking for something new ....Maybe Zermatt this time around.
You could also pop over to the French side of the lake by boat: Yvoire from Nyon or Evian from Lausanne.
There are some good thermal baths in Saillon if you want to relax; you could combine with a visit of the Gianadda museum in Martigny (never been but I've seen it mentioned many times).
