Geneva to Interlaken Where to stop for a few days

Posted by ginamluketic on 07/20/15 12:00 PM

we are landing in Geneva for a 2 week trip through Switzerland and Innsbruck
We have been to interlaken and the mountains around it (ie Murren, etc) and Jungfrau

Want to to spend the first 2 or 3 days around Montreax on our way to Interlaken. my husband is into photography but we arent big hikers. We considered Sion, Gstaad, Guyeres, but nothing is resonating. We would like someplace quite and easy to get around without a car but scenic. Perhaps small medieval town or small alpine with cows.

any suggestions?

Thank you

Posted by Anita

Long Beach, California, USA

07/20/15 03:41 PM

3391 posts

Actually Sion might be a good choice for you. It is a beautiful town with a very picturesque, old town center with two hills in the middle topped by a castle and ancient church. It is right on the main train line through Valais so you can get to many of the other towns in the valley as well as down to Montreux, Lausanne, and Geneva. There are many old castles in the valley and the whole place is ringed by vineyards, making it great for pictures! Gstaad is mainly a ski town and Gruyere is super touristy.

Posted by Robert

Austin, TX

07/21/15 03:23 AM

92 posts

The Lausanne Olympic Museum is well done.

If you like trains and mountain scenery, the Mont Blanc Express from Martigny (between Montreux and Sion) to Chamonix is very scenic. The Trient Gorge at the Vernayez train stop doesn't require much walking. Chamonix offers the Montenvars train to Mer de Glace overlook, Augille du Midi gondola and the cable car ride over the glaciers under Mont Blanc to Point Helbronner, and the Brevent/Planpraz gondola/cable car on the North side of the valley.

Posted by Beth

Boulder, Colorado, USA

07/21/15 04:52 AM

437 posts

Chamonix and the Augille du Midi gondola over to Italy is awesome. Get the multi-day pass and you can ride up all the mountains along the valley, all accessible by bus. A photographer's paradise.

Or consider Zermatt and the Matterhorn. Also awesome but harder to get to.

Enjoy the trip!

Posted by ginamluketic OP

07/22/15 11:29 AM

5 posts

Thank you for the responses.

If i want to go to Chamoix, when i arrive at Geneva, do you suggest i take the bus to Chamoix? I am not sure where to find information those logistics. I thought we could then take the Mont Blanc express from Chamoix to interlaken?

gina

Posted by phred

Los Angeles

07/22/15 07:29 PM

4385 posts

rome2rio

Frankly once you've seen Chillon, there's not much else in Montreux so don't count on spending much time there.

Posted by Robert

Austin, TX

07/23/15 02:54 AM

92 posts

If i want to go to Chamoix, when i arrive at Geneva, do you suggest i take the bus to Chamoix? I am not sure where to find information those logistics. I thought we could then take the Mont Blanc express from Chamoix to interlaken?

AlpyBus and several others run shuttles from the Geneva airport to Chamonix; about a 1h15m trip. From there, the Mont Blanc Express train goes to Martigny, Switzerland, from which you may head northwest to Montreux and Lausanne or northeast to Sion and Interlaken.

If you want to start in Lausanne or Montreux, then take the train from Geneva around the north side of the lake, and treat Chamonix as a good-weather excursion. Chamonix is not as spectacular when you cannot see the mountains; this lets you tune your schedule based on the weather, but does mean a roundtrip scenic long train ride rather than a one-way scenic long train ride to move on to Interlaken.