Hi all! I am planning a trip to Switzerland, in July, with my husband and children aged 7 and 5. We are coming from Annecy in France. My plan was to drive/train to Bern for a night or 2, Lucerne for 2/3 nights, on to Murren for 4/5 nights and then finally to Lausanne for 2/3 nights. We have just under 2 weeks. We need to fly back to Sydney after that, from Geneva, I'm presuming (haven't booked flights yet). My questions are:
* does this itinerary sound ok? It's what's often recommended, from what I've read on here. But is the timing ok and is this order of places doable/make sense by train?
* how long would you recommend in Murren? I'm planning on this being the main part of our trip. Any family friendly hotel recommendations?
* what are the best 1-3 hour hikes for kids, particularly in Murren? My 5 year old daughter isn't the most hardy of souls, so something fairly flat, gorgeous scenery, etc?
* to celebrate my 40th, I'd love to try a via ferrata! Can anyone recommend a location and guide for an average fitness but completely inexperienced mountain person (I live in Sydney!!) ??
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks so much!
Posted by
Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
172 posts
Took my 6 year old granddaughter to Switzerland last June. Here are a few things we did. Aeschbach Chocolatier is a 10 minute train ride outside of Lucern. Took a short tour, made our own candy bars, ate lots of chocolate samples, they have a restaurant too. Great for kids!
Stayed in Murren at Chalet Fontana. Denise, the proprietor is a delight. We booked a separate apartment from her. Food is very expensive so we would cook occasionally. It worked very well for a family. They gave us free passes to the Sports Complex (beautiful swimming pool, etc) There is a beautiful playground above Murren, you do not always have to hike, there are funiculars, trains, gondolas to help when kids get tired. Please use Rick Steves guidebook for Switzerland.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Definitely get the Chalet Fontana's Apartment from Denise if it's available. That would suit your family perfectly. The large bedroom at the back looks out into the neighbor's garden and with their chickens and rabbits roaming around right at eye-level. Our children had a blast in that bedroom.
Murren has a perfectly perfect via ferrata! You can rent any needed equipment from several places in Murren - we used InterSport http://www.intersport.com/stores/murren-stager-sport-s6663
Murren is also the beginning of perfectly beautiful walks especially downhill from Murren to Gimmelwald. Stop along the way to pet the horse or the kitty who's always ready to meet new people. There are places along the path to grab a snack and drink.
Yes, I would probably just give Bern a night and definitely make Murren the highlight. It's just a perfect and safe place for children. Lucerne is also beautiful and a perfect place to launch onto one of the many boats that carry passengers all over Lake Lucerne. You can easily get to Pilatus by boat (via Alpnachstad) and then a super steep funicular to the top. Come back down via gondola and trek back to Lucerne that way.
Even though I've not been to Lausanne I know it's beautiful - my daughter's fiance lives there :-) It's easy to trek to Montreaux and Geneva from Lausanne.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17562 posts
Walking down to Gimmelwald from Mürren one time, we passed a yard with a child's construction set---complete with toy helicopter to transport materials high into the mountains.
Just about every path from Mürren goes either uphill or down, apart from the level walk along the tracks to Grutschalp ( the cablecar top station). This is a nice walk with views, and you pass a dairy farm. We saw the cows being brought in for milking in the evening, rounded up by dogs. I have never seen such agile cows.
Posted by
OP
Sydney, Australia
13 posts
Thanks so much everyone, for your advice and recommendations. I really appreciate it.
Posted by
Atlanta, Georgia
451 posts
Murren is great for kids! There is a childrens playground at the top of the funicular at Allmendhubel. From there you can follow the North Face trail down back to Murren, or if you get tired, there are several places where you can turn down hill and go back to Murren early. My 7 year old loved it. It is the longer of the trails. We also did the Children's Adventure Trail, it goes through horses grazing, goats, and cows. It started to rain on this trail, but my daughter loved it! The Children's trail starts off like the Northface .
Here is a map of the North Face Trail.
http://www.switzerland-hiking.ch/e/hiking-trail-switzerland/panoramic-hiking-switzerland.asp?codechemin=98&codestation=39
Close to #3 Sprutz Waterfall there is a farm house, you turn and head to Murren. Sprutz waterfall is steep with dangerous dropoffs for small children. I cannot think of the name of the hamlet where you turn back. You can turn right and go up, go straight and the waterfall, or left and back to Murren. We found out that with kids, at least double the walking time. Grab sandwiches from the Coop before you head out. It may take the better part of a day.
Once you are in Murren, you can follow the train back to Winteregg, where the cable car comes up from Lauterbrunnen. It is nice and flat. There is also a trail from Allmendhubell to Winteregg primarily down hill.
Across the valley is the Mannlich to Kleine Scheidegg trail, it is wide, but has a steep drop off on one side. Look at the pictures. I did not worry about my 8 year old walking, as long as she stayed uphill side of the trail. This trail is 5 feet wide or more in most places.
From Grindlewald, take the cable car up to First and walk to Bachalpsee. nice and wide, little danger of falling off the edge of the trail. http://www.momstotszurich.com/2015/09/grindelwald-first-bachseealp.html
Schynige Platte Panorama Trail is another trail back toward Interlaken.
Here is an excellent hiking with kids source. http://www.momstotszurich.com/search/label/Hiking/