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Itinerary help with a young toddler

Posted by (Redmond, WA, USA) on

Hi! My husband and I have travelled quite a bit, but never with our young daughter, and never to Switzerland before. We are traveling late June/early July of next year, and she will be almost 2 1/2 at the time. The plan right now it to fly into Zurich early morning, take the train immediately to Luzerne and spend the night. Day 2 we would move on to Murren and spend either 4 or 5 nights there. The big question is what do we do from there? We have either 2 or 3 more nights, depending on our Murren stay, and need to end up in Paris after that. I am considering two main options right now but am open to other suggestions! Cutting down on travel time and long days without anywhere for the kiddo to nap are a priority, but after spending several days in the Alps relaxing I feel like we could handle at least one longer day.
1.) Do the Golden Pass train to Lausanne, or is it possible to stop at the Chateau de Chillon on the way? Stay 2 nights in Lausanne, or nearby if you have a better suggestion
2.) Go straight from Murren to Bern and spend 2 nights there.

Again, we have a possible 3rd night available for this portion of the trip, but want to make sure we are well situated to continue on to Paris at the end! Thanks so much for your advice!

Posted by
4853 posts

The Golden Pass train actually runs to Montreux, and then you transfer to the mainline lakeside line to get to either Chillon or Lausaunne (opposite directions). Our hotel in Montreux gave us a free bus pass so we got to Chillon that way, but the train station is almost as close. I thought Chillon was really interesting but there is a ton of walking, not much in the way of museum exhibitions, and some pretty steep and scary staircases. And it took several hours. So perhaps not the best bet for a child. I'm thinking there might be playgrounds on the lake in Montreux? Or a lake cruise.

Since Bern is a city there are places to walk, things to see, stores and restaurants, the bears, trams.

Posted by
8889 posts

If you do go to Bern, don't forget to say hello to the bears after which the city is named. At the far end of the old town, essential visit for all ages. They even have there own portion of the river (in the middle of the city) fenced off for their own use.
Taking a boat trip from Luzern will allow you to enjoy scenery and allow nap opportunities.

Posted by
328 posts

We've explored this area 3 times with our kids who are now 2.5 and 4.5 years old. The major difference is that we have always rented a car, so the kids napped in their car seats.

I think either option could work. Personally, I'd choose to spend the extra time in Lausanne (I've always thought of Bern as a great rainy day option from the Lauterbrunnen Valley). I think Chateau de Chillon would be great ... we took our son when he was 2 and he did fine.

While in the Berner Oberland, consider the Brienz-Rothorn Cogwheel train. Our son was 3 when we took him on it and he loved every. single. second. of the trip up and back down. Just beware that guard rails are limited at the top so you will want to keep a close eye on your little one.

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