Two of us women in 50s are planning an early Dec. trip. Attending a festival in Woolerau Dec. 6 and probably staying there 4 nights. I would guess we would fly into Zurich. First time for both of us ladies. I may ski one day but mostly want to sight-see. Christmas markets etc. Any ideas what other towns to visit or places to stay. We thought of Lucerne or Geneva.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6462 posts
I am in my 50s and I brought my twin daughters (age 20) to Europe January of 2017. We loved Switzerland. Most people are not fans of Zurich and Geneva gets mixed reviews. We went to Geneva so I could take my physics loving daughter to CERN. I highly recommend Lucerne especially that time of year and possibly some time in Berner Oberland--like Lauterbrunnen/Wengen or Murren. If you want to stay on Lake Geneva, I'd recommend Montreaux or possibly Lausanne, but again, I'd put Lucerne at the top of your list.
Posted by
Vancouver, BC
381 posts
I was in Switzerland December 2017. We were in St Gallen because my daughter was at university there so we did that area, Liechtenstein, Neuschwantstein in Germany (it had been on my bucket list for most of my life), and did our skiing in Austria.
My daughter has a Swiss boyfriend so he showed us Lucerne which was gorgeous, even on a chilly drizzly day. The architecture is fairytale-like. He also took us to Bern on Christmas day and everything was closed but it was a half-decent day and we just wandered. Out of all the places I've visited in the 10 European countries I've been to, Bern is my current favourite city. So I highly recommend you go to Bern.
If you want to ski, and you've never skied in Europe, start planning asap. It was the hardest part of my trip to figure out. Very different from North America (and I've been planning ski holidays for a couple of decades). Austria was WAY cheaper than Switzerland. But if you can't travel that far and/or have your heart set on skiing in Switzerland, leave time to research. There are a lot of choices, they're just pricey.
We were in Zurich right over Christmas and it was also a weekend, so almost everything was closed. Zurich has a Christmas market that we did get to see, it was okay (pretty much the same as the one in St Gallen, which is a much smaller city), but there is also a Christmas market at the train station, and it was amazing! My husband was also thrilled to visit the FIFA museum.
Another thing I need to mention -- going up a cable car to see a view is a must-do in Switzerland, but when I left I didn't have anything planned because I didn't know what the weather would be like. Turned out the day after we arrived was the only full-on sunny day forecast for our entire 2 weeks, so we went up Santis, which was the closest. Spectacular! And the forecast was correct--that was our only really clear day. No point in paying $100 to go up a mountain if you can't see. So I recommend that you don't have your heart set on going up any particular one, and then when you have a clear day, go up the closest mountain. The technology that they have on these mountains is worth the trip even before the views. So do be ready to dash up a mountain when you have a clear day. And it's worth the $$
Hope that helps.
Posted by
OP
Seattle
8 posts
Thanks for all the great info. and definitely want to go on a cable car. I may not ski but we do want to get out weather permitting. Maybe snow shoeing, dog sledding or just walking around. I am guessing the dog sledding is pricy. We will be using trains to get around. I would plan to stay in Zurich for at least a night as tired from plane. We are coming from SeaTac.
Posted by
OP
Seattle
8 posts
One other item is we wanted to see Matterhorn-Zermatt even though we wouldn't be skiing. Wondering about the train there. Maybe we could use the Glacier Express for the 2nd part of the train trip. I am guessing it is expensive to stay at the lodges at the top. Any ideas on where to stay and the trains would be helpful.