My husband and I will be heading to Zermatt at the beginning of January, coming from Zurich by train (or at least that's the tentative plan). I think we would ski or do other outdoor activities 2 days, so my question is-- are there enough other things to do in that area to spend another 1-2 full days there? Or should we maybe plan to spend a day somewhere between Zermatt and Geneva? Here's a tentative schedule, which is open for change based on your suggestions (no intra-Europe flights/trains booked yet):
1/2: travel from London to Zurich (EasyJet)
1/2-1/3: Zurich
1/4: travel to Zermatt
1/4-1/7: Zermatt
1/8: travel to Geneva (train) and then on to Amsterdam (EasyJet)
1/9-11/11: Amsterdam
1/12: fly home from Amsterdam (this flight is already booked, so no changing that)
Thanks in advance for your help!
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
5581 posts
I was in Berner Oberland in January 2016. It was lovely. It looked like people were enjoying the ski slopes around Murren. Though I'm a skier, we didn't ski on this trip, we did do some sledging so that we could see the slopes. I would consider skipping Zurich and either spend time in Luzern or head to BO for a couple days of skiing.
Posted by
OP
San Antonio, TX
48 posts
Thank you Jules! I appreciate the suggestion.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Zermatt accommodations can get pretty booked up during ski season so you might run into two scenarios: places that will only take reservations for a minimum number of days and/or prices so high that you don't want to stay longer.
Along Lake Geneva/ Lac Leman, you could make a good home base anywhere between Montreux and Lausanne. See https://www.ricksteves.com/europe, where French Switzerland is the featured destination this month. Also well covered in Rick's guidebook.
If you want someone to talk you into staying in Luzern instead of Zurich, you've come to the right place. Both cities have some interesting museums but Luzern is smaller and prettier.
Posted by
Green Bay
20028 posts
Do you have a solid booking in Zermatt for those 4 nights? Its a busy time right after New Years.
If you do, I can't imagine why you would want to be anywhere else. get a 4-day pass. There is no law that says you actually have to ski down the hill. You can go up, ski to a hut and enjoy the ambiance, then ride the lifts down. There are some very nice restaurants for lunch, especially in the Findeln area just below the top of the Sunnegga funicular. You can ski over the top and down to Cervinia, Italy.
So once you are there, don't waste time going anywhere else.
You could save a bit of money by getting a Swiss Transfer Ticket before you enter Switzerland. 154 CHF 2nd class. The train from Zurich Hbf to Zermatt is 129 CHF, and from there to Geneva Airport is 102 CHF, so the Transfer Ticket will save you 77 CHF per person.
https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/travel-in-switzerland/international-guests/swiss-transfer.html