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Itinerary refinement help needed

Posted by (New York, NY, USA) on

I'm taking my first trip to Switzerland this fall (2014), and have booked flights from Newark to Zurich arriving September 12 and from Geneva to Newark on September 22. My itinerary so far:

Sept. 12: Go directly from ZRH to Luzern, spend 3 days in Luzern.
Sept. 15: Go from Luzern to Muerren, spend 3-4 days in the Berner Oberland
Sept. 18 or 19: Go from Muerren to Lausanne, spend 3 days in the area (Vevey, Chateau de Chillon, Audrey Hepburn's grave in
Tolochenaz, etc).
Sept 22: Take train from Lausanne to GVA for flight home (flight leaves at 9:20 AM, so I'm figuring on waking up at about 5 AM to get an early train).

Question 1: I see that going from Muerren to Lausanne, I have the choice of the Golden Pass route via Gstaad, or the much faster route via Bern. I will have a Swiss Pass so the cost of either route is covered (I wasn't planning on take the special Golden Pass train, but just the same route on regular trains). Given that I am spending a lot of time in scenic places, is the scenery on the Golden Pass worth the extra time, or should I take the faster way?

Question 2: Is it worth trying to take the train (by whatever route) from Muerren to Lausanne during they day for the scenery? (This would mean leaving Muerren on the morning of the 19th, cutting into my time in Lausanne). Or could I do it after dinner on the 18th, giving me three full days in Lausanne? Again, I know I'll be missing scenery with an evening train, but the question is will I regret it given the amount of scenery I'll be seeing on the rest of the trip?

I want to start on hotel reservations, and this decision will determine whether I need 3 nights in Muerren and 4 in Lausanne, or vice versa.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Posted by
32752 posts

Good morning, Harold,

The route called the Golden Pass goes through good but not fabulous hill and valley scenery as it heads towards Montreux. You are changing in the rural area from German speaking to French speaking and as you will be with the locals on the non-trademarked train you will pick up on that as the same people change language.

The scenery for the last leg, you come down a very steep mountain winding down into Montreux as it sits quietly on the edge of the lake, is fabulous and worth it.

The views of the lake are really nice, and the overall ambiance, between Montreux and Lausanne.

Personally I prefer the mountains of the Lauterbrunnen Valley - and you never know what the weather gods will deal out to you - over Montreux (liked it but didn't spend ages there) or Lausanne (loved it especially the multi level-ness but prefer the mountains).

Posted by
32752 posts

The high speed route is following the Rhone valley, worked by normal Swiss trains, not the cute little ones that I prefer via Gstaad, and is not in any way particularly scenic.

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