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Four days in May 2018 to visit Switzerland

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My 77 year old healthy wife Connie and my 81 year old frame will be ending an 8 day Viking Cruise down the Rhine to Basel, Switzerland. We are looking into spending an additional four to five days somewhere in Switzerland with the possibility of flying back to San Francisco from either Zurich or Paris. Paris appears a bit far fetched, 361 miles, maybe.

We have traveled the world mostly by cruise ships and timeshares and enjoy sight seeing with limitation on hiking. We are currently looking at Murten and Bern as noted in Rick Steve's booklet but are somewhat overwhelmed with the many aspects of choosing our comfort zone.

Looking for any suggestions on how to go about doing this in a short period of time. Perhaps even suggestions for hotel accommodation.

bob & connie
candlman@comcast.net

Posted by
60 posts

My primary suggestion would be to use ultra-reliable Swiss Rail to go anywhere you like, then take a rail or cable car to the top of any mountain pass of your choosing; there are many all over Switzerland. The most famous rail is the one up the Jungfraujoch, also known as the "top of Europe," but there are many that leave from all over the country. I'm very partial to the cable car that leaves from the village of St. Nicklaus just south of Zermatt; it does not end at the very top of a mountain but at a wonderful Alpine hut and farm run by a local family, with a spectacular view of the valley and surrounding mountains. This is Swiss rural life at its best; they raise their own animals, make their own cheese, and serve lunch and beer. The rail up to the Gornergrat in nearby Zermatt also gives you a wonderful view of the local glaciers and the Matterhorn. None of these trips require extensive hiking or climbing; at most you have to walk several yards to a departure point. You can count on local buses to transport you between stations and your hotel or any other stopping point.

Posted by
8441 posts

Well, there is a reason that Viking offers a post-trip excursion to Luzern. Nothing against Bern, but its not "in the mountains", which is what you go to Switzerland for. You can book a stay there on your own easy enough for much, much less than the Viking cost. Its about an hour and half from Basel, and another hour or so direct to the Zurich airport from Luzern. If you want to go to the French part of Switzerland, go to Lausanne or Montreux, and fly home from Geneva. No point in going all the way to Paris if you're not going to spend significant time there. IMO.

Posted by
3 posts

Thanks very much for both responses especially the Luzern suggestion that appears to fit our needs to a tee.. We continue to review Rick Steves narratives as well.

Best

Bob & connie

Posted by
2128 posts

Hi Bob & Connie,

Spending a few days in Lucerne is a very good idea. We stayed at the Hotel des Alpes (https://www.desalpes-luzern.ch/de/) and recommend it. Good location, nice breakfast.

You could spend a day or two in Lucerne then do a day trip to Mt. Titlis or Mt. Pilatus. Here is a website to give you some ideas (https://www.viator.com/Lucerne/d576-ttd). It's just a one hour train ride from Lucerne to Zurich Airport.

We did a Viking river cruise (Basel to Amsterdam) Oct 2017 and enjoyed it very much. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Posted by
3 posts

Once again a travel review is worth its weight in gold. Thank you so much for making our search much easier. We definitely will be staying in Lucern, however the hotel room expense of $235.00 plus per night might take away from a four night stay. I’m sure Rick will have something to say abuut this. At any rate thank you so much for your great response and suggestions.

bob & Connie
Napa Valley CA

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