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Day trip to France from Montreux and is #50 bus to Basel EuroAirport covered by Swiss Pass?

Posted by on

A couple questions:

First, my daughters (ages 11 and 14) and I will be spending three and a half days in Montreux in early June before heading to Bern. We would like to take a short trip into France to get a "taste" of France. I was thinking about taking the boat from Lausanne to Evian les Bains and spending a few hours there. Is this the best choice? Or is there a better French side trip? Will we need Euro? Or are Swiss Francs accepted in the border towns? Any suggestions for things not to miss around Montreux or Bern?

Second, we will be flying out of the Basel airport. I've looked into transportation and it appears that we need to take the No. 50 bus from the main Basel train station. Is the fare for the No. 50 bus covered by the Swiss Pass, or do we need to buy individual tickets inside the train station before we get on the bus? It seems like the fare should be covered by the Swiss Pass, but I've been unable to confirm this so far in my search.

Thank you for your help.

Amy

Posted by
6898 posts

Amy, if you are open to a long day, you can take the train to Chamoix-Mt. Blanc from Montreux. 2hr04min each way with 2 train changes at Martigny and Vallorcine. Very scenic between Martigny and Vallorcine. First train out is 7:06. Once in Chamonix-Mt Blanc, you are about 1/2 mile walk away from the lifts up to Aiguille du Midi. On a clear day, it's one of the best views on the planet. If the weather isn't good up top on the mountain, Chamonix is just great to walk around. Lots of great shops on the pedestrian walkways. The good news is that your Swiss pass is good to and from Chamonix. The children can ride free as well with their Swiss Family Card. The ride to and from Aiguille du Midi is not covered by your Swiss pass. Just to and from the Chamonix-Mt. Blanc train station.

Chamonix uses the Euro. I'm sure that you can use Swiss Francs there as well but usually, the conversion rate from the merchants is not good and not a good value. Same with Evian Les Bains. You might want to find an ATM and withdraw a few Euros once you are in France. Your daughters can save some of both the currencies and put them away when you return home.

Posted by
21137 posts

The bus from Basel to the airport is covered by the Swiss Pass. If you are just buying trifles, the francs should work fine. If you will be spending more than 20 euro, hit the ATM. You will get your change in euros anyway. You can always spend the paper euros back in Switzerland as well.

Posted by
7 posts

Thank you both very much for your help. I'm not sure that we will be up to that much of a trek into France, because Montreux will be our first stop upon arrival from the US, and I've learned not to overdo too much - particularly right away. It sounds wonderful though - perhaps another time.

Amy

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