Fall foliage

I'd always choose Lucerne over Bern.

I’d always choose Lauterbrunnen over either of those.

Having a base and being able to do day trips is the best way to see fall foliage. Bern is a good choice, and I would also check out Thun. From there you can easily travel through some of the different valleys

• The Simmental, towards Zweisimmen and especially the area between Oberwil im Simmental and Boltigen. Here you have hillsides with a lot of deciduous trees on both sides of the valley and higher mountains in the background. There are a few wanderweg paths along the farm roads and through the fields here that provide loads of photo opportunities if the conditions are right.
• The valley towards Kandersteg is another wonderful route.
• Head down to the Lavaux Vineyards near Montreux
• Into the Lauterbrunnen valley as well as Grindelwald
• Around Interlaken the hillside of the Harder is almost all deciduous trees and looks wonderful when all yellow and orange, also along the Aare river from Interlaken Ost station toward Unterseen.

All of this really depends on pretty precise timing that can not be predicted far in advance. Staying in a central location will help you to go where the conditions are best during your stay. This foliage map with live webcams can help.

 You will also see a map of the country and what is usually the best time for fall foliage in different areas.



https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/experiences/summer-autumn/autumn/foliage-map/

Thank you all for your replies.

Thank you @swissnomad for the detailed advice- it's a very helpful basis for me to start planning my trip.

@swissnomad I had one more question - apart from Bern I was looking for one more option in the mountains for a 2 N stay as part of this trip - Mürren and Wengen were 2 villages that came to the mind - is there any other option you could suggest?
Thank you in advance

Mürren and Wengen were 2 villages that came to the mind

Since you are going in October and not in the summer, I think that Wengen and Mürren are great options. I stay away from this area most of the summer due to the insane amount of crowds, but fall is another story.

The views from Wengen that will include fall foliage (timing/weather permitting) are the best. Mürren is above the narrow end of the Lauterbrunnen valley with its steep cliffs. You can not see Lauterbrunnen from there. All of the iconic shots of the valley are taken from Wengen and/or the train ride up. Fall is a wonderful time to walk the various trails through the village as found here:

https://wengen.swiss/en/destination/about-wengen/walking-in-wengen.html

Männlichen closes on Oct 27th, but it sounds like you will be there earlier than that.

Even if you decide to stay in Mürren, a trip to Wengen will definitely be worth it.

I just want to add one more thing. I did a quick Google search for fall images of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, and nearly every photo I found was heavily oversaturated. In one of them, all the trees had bright red leaves—which just doesn’t reflect reality. In my experience, you’ll rarely (if ever) see red foliage here. Fall in Switzerland is mostly about yellows and oranges. It’s definitely beautiful, but expect to see pockets of colour rather than some magical, utopian wonderland.

@swissnomad thank you so very much for the detailed and wonderful advice - it’s going to be super helpful for me - yes you are correct- I am planning on travelling around the second week of October so hopefully should be able to experience some fall beauty - fingers crossed for the weather then
Thank you again for your help - much appreciated