Please sign in to post.

January Geneva/Montreux/Chamonix?

Posted by on

We will have three days in Switzerland in late January and trying to make the most of it. We love beautiful scenery, quaint villages/shops/cafes, and are not big museum people. We are three (mom, dad, and 23 yo daughter) and fortunate to not be too restricted budgetarily. Would love to do the GoldenPass, but after researching am thinking that will need to wait for a return trip. Below is what we're thinking so far. Would appreciate any suggestions (are these the best areas to focus on? how to travel? restaurants? specific activities/tours? need to book in advance or ok to wait to check weather)

We will be based in Geneva. Day one, we arrive late morning and thinking this will be the day to explore Geneva (not exactly sure what we'll do beyond wandering/exploring!).

We then have two additional full days for adventure before leaving on day 4. For the two days, we are considering:

  • Train to Lausanne to explore and then train to Montreux. Visit Chateau de Chillon and do Rochers de Naye if clear day. Train back to Geneva.

  • Day trip to Chamonix (is train best?) Explore the town. Aiguille du Midi cable car if weather is clear (ok to buy tickets day of?). Add in Mer de Glacé?

Thank you for sharing your experience, tips, and ideas!

Posted by
40 posts

I am definitely not an expert, and hopefully someone who knows the area and trains better can chime in, but these are my thoughts:

Instead of staying in Geneva, go to Montreux that first day, see the Chateau de Chillon, and any other sites there or along the way. Stay overnight in Montreux. Go on to Chamonix the afternoon of day 2, stay overnight in Chamonix, then back to Geneva the night of day 3, to stay over and catch your flight day 4. If your flight is late in the day, stay overnight in Chamonix. It looks like the train trip to Chamonix is about 2 hours from Montreux, and 2 ½ to 3 hours to Geneva.

Geneva isn't all that scenic or quaint, and your time is so limited. I would get to the places you want to see and then move on rather than waste time back and forth to Geneva.

This is where my experience is limited, but it looks like you could do it as a loop, Geneva to Montreux, Montreux to Martinigny to Chamonix, Chamonix to Geneva. But I defer to experts on whether this is feasible.!

Posted by
81 posts

I think many people go overboard when planning itineraries, and often try to do so much that it wears them out, and they lose the experience of being charmed by their location. Three days is barely enough to recover from jet lag, get your bearings, and do some preliminary sightseeing. Geneva is a city, not a quaint village, so why are you making that your base? I agree with the other respondent to perhaps consider making a loop for your trip. Switzerland trains are prompt, fast, and very efficient .

So you will be traveling in the cold of Winter, full of snow in the higher elevations, and at the height of ski season. Some ski resorts require minimum numbers of hotel nights during high season. Chamonix is actually in France, not Switzerland.

Montreux will be warmer and more pleasant, and it is low season, so hotels are cheaper and availability is wider.

Okay, I was just in Switzerland last week! We landed in Zurich and took the train to Montreux, toured Chillon, spent the night, then went to Zermatt for a week of skiing. We stayed in the Marriott Grand Hotel Suisse Majestic in Montreux--extremely comfortable beds, excellent restaurant, and gorgeous views. Make sure to get the Riviera pass from the hotel for local discounts.

Zermatt is a very scenic village and the Matterhorn view is marvelous, but it is also quite expensive.

I cannot really recommend going somewhere for half a day or so when a lot of train travel is involved--I think it is more important to see something well and spend a bit of time in the location. However, given the potential limited hotel availability in Chamonix, I definitely would consider booking some kind of one day tour from Geneva that would include round-trip transportation and entrance fees (cable cars, etc.). That way you would be assured of seeing everything and not having to figure out all the connections yourselves. Finally, if wind conditions mean that cable cars close down, refunds are rarely offered. The weather can never be fully predicted in the Alps!

Have fun!

Add Reply

Please do not reply to violations of our Community Guidelines.