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best way to spend 3-4 days in Switzerland??

Hi All, we are flying into and out of Geneva in August 2017 and I would love some advice.we have 14 days total and first we are traveling to Chamonix and are going to hike the Tour Du Mont Blanc. After we finish I was thinking we could take the Mont Blanc train to Martingy. After this is where I cant decide what would be the best. We will have either 3 or 4 days (depending on how long the hike takes us) to explore, days will be possibly Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Is Chamonix cool enough to need more than an afternoon/evening? Should we stay around the lake Geneva region? Iv read a lot about Vevey being a great place to stay possibly better than Montreux?, the castle, wineries and Gruyere all sound great. Is Lausanne worth a visit? Iv also read however, that the lake geneva region isn't what you'd expect when thinking of Switzerland; is there another area that is easily/quickly reachable and better to visit? Another consideration is that I was thinking our very last day (Saturday) would need to be spent in Geneva because our flight leaves around 9am on Sunday. Is there better area to stay in that is also very close to the airport for early morning transportation? Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Also I love small markets that sell artwork, crafts, good souveneer type items that aren't keychains or shot glasses, etc. I have a tradition of bringing a piece of artwork home with me when I travel abroad. Any towns nearby have good market days?

Posted by
28134 posts

Many, many years ago I stumbled on a nice outdoor craft fair in Bern, but it's the first Saturday of the month, and I don't think that works for you. I found this link via Google; it's not limited to craft markets. WARNING: There's an audio pop-up on that site.

Posted by
313 posts

Although the Swiss rail system is very efficient, I did once have a train that arrived late. That being said, I would not take the chance of being a distance from an airport with such an early flight. We stayed near the Cornavin train station in Geneva, which is a 10 minute train ride to the airport, but there are also hotels near the airport that have shuttles. I like arriving early to get through security and have a chance to relax without being frazzled before an international flight. With a 9:00 a.m. flight, I personally would not stay a distance from the airport. If you spend the night at a hotel in Geneva, the front desk should give you a free train pass to the airport.