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Itinerary options - Switzerland

Posted by on

Hi ,
We are travelling to Switzerland from Paris to Geneva on 18th June. Im travelling with my husband and 10 yr old daughter. We would like to take as much scenic beauty as possible. No adventure or Hiking trips , but would be interested in visiting places or taking routes of scenic beauty. Enjoy the local culture and Nature.
I need advice on 2 Itinerary options:
Option-1
Day 1 - 18th June: Arriving in Geneva from Paris. Geneva to Interlaken . Stay in Interlaken.
Day-2 - Day trip to Jungfraujoch ( depending on weather )- is it possible to spend time in wengen or Grindelwald - which one is recommended?
Day-3 -Day trip - Need suggestions for spending time around Interlaken. - could be Murren / Gimmelwald or Zermatt
Day-4 : Arrive at Lucerne. Stay in Lucerne.
Day-5: Arrive in Zurich.
Day-6 : Flyback home
Can I include a panoramic train trip in this itinerary? If yes , please give me details.

Option-2
Day 1 - 18th June: Arriving in Geneva from Paris. Geneva to Interlaken . Stay in Interlaken.
Day-2 - Day trip to Jungfraujoch ( depending on weather )- is it possible to spend time in wengen or Grindelwald - which one is recommended?
Day-3 - Day trip to Lucerne
Day-4 : Take Glacier express from Brig to St. Moritz. Reservations are available only for 2:10 train. Arrive at St. Moritz at 9 p.m.
Day-5: Arrive in Zurich.- We will not have any time at St. Moritz
Day-6 : Flyback home

Is it worth taking the GEX ? I have heard amazing things about the trip. But will reach St. Moritz so late that we will not be spending any time in St. Moritz. Next day we leave for Zurich. So , in this perspective is it worth doing the GEX.?

Also what is appropriate clothing in Switzerland in June? we will be there from 18th to 23rd June.

Please let me know your suggestions. Thanks in advance

Posted by
1450 posts

Option 1 with some modifications is preferable to Option 2, imo. On nights 1-3 consider sleeping in Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, or Murren instead of Interlaken. Interlaken is not much more than a rail hub from a tourist's perspective, whereas the towns I listed are 20-30 minutes further south and deep in the Alps. The scenery easily beats anything around Interlaken.

The second tweak I'd make is to stay in Luzern on nights 4 and 5. It's a greater delight to explore than Zurich. It also has a direct rail link to the Zurich airport. Trip time is 70 minutes and trains leave Luzern for the Zurich airport every 30 minutes. Unless you have a really early flight departure time, spend your last night in Luzern instead of Zurich. It will also save you a tedious check-out/check-in.

ETA: WHen you arrive in Geneva, pick up a Swiss Half-Fare Card at the train station. It gives a 50% discount on all rail, boat, bus, cable car trips. You'll need one for yourself and your spouse, but the kid will ride free as long as she is with you. The cards are about 120 CHF each

Posted by
11569 posts

Do not stay down in Interlaken rather in the mountains, Grindelwald, Wengen, Murren. We found Grindelwald not only breathtaking but had convenient rail connections.
We were glad we didn’t stay in St. Moritz ; friends discouraged us from staying there. We loved nearby Pontresina.

Posted by
2 posts

Hi,
We have bookings in Interlaken. Had planned to make it a base. We thought would be good to connect with other towns. But will recheck my Options.
So you suggest: Staying at Grindelwald .
So we do Jungfraujoch 2nd day.
Day 3 what options do we have? Gimmelwald / Wengen ?
Day 4 we go to Lucerne - have booking for 1 night..

Also we have already bought the Swiss Travel Pass- Family card- 8 days..

Posted by
8889 posts

I would suggest option 1, with some enhancements:

Day 1 - the quickest route from Paris to Interlaken is NOT via Geneva. Go to the DB website ( https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml ), and look up trains for 18th June, PARIS to Interlaken Ost. It will show the quickest route, via Basel in 5½ hours. For example:

Paris Gare de Lyon dep 10:15, TGV 9211, Basel SBB arr 13:26
Basel SBB dep 13:31, IC 1073, Interlaken Ost arr 15:28

You need to buy tickets Paris to Basel now (on https://www.trainline.eu/ ), as the price goes up the nearer to the date. The cheapest tickets will already have been sold.

Day 4 - Interlaken to Luzern is one of the Swiss Panoramic trains. See here: https://www.zentralbahn.ch/en/interlaken-express

Day 5 - stay in Luzern. It is only 70 minutes by train from Luzern to Zürich airport, no point in moving to Zürich city.

And - for all your mountain trips, be flexible and alter your plans depending on the weather.

Posted by
6 posts

Hi! I also prefer your Option 1. But as others have said, taking the trip to Jungfraujoch depends on the weather. With option 1, you could do Jungfraujoch on either Day 2, 3, or actually 4, which is great - it gives you the most flexibility! We really enjoyed the Lauterbrunnen valley, with it's amazing waterfalls, so that would be another nice day trip. If you want a really long day trip, then you could go to Zermatt, which is in a beautiful and very different mountain range from the Bernese Oberland.

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