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Lake Geneva or Lago Maggiore?

Posted by on

Finalizing our itinerary for trip to Switzerland in July and could use some help!

After arriving Zurich and giving ourselves 1 night nearby to deal with any flight delays, we have arranged...
4 nights in the Berner Oberland.
Then, at the end, 2 nights/1 day in Zurich (for work reasons) before flying out.

The question is the middle! We could...
1. Spend 3 nights in Ascona on Lago Maggiore, then 2 on Lake Geneva
2. Spend 4 nights in Ascona and skip Lake Geneva. Spend the extra night in Zurich to do day trip from there.
3. Skip Lago Maggiore. Spend 4 nights in Lake Geneva area. Spend the extra night in Zurich to do day trip from there.

Day trips from Zurich on that extra day might be Luzern, Rhein Falls, St. Gallen, or Appenzell.

In Ascona, we would plan to visit around the Lago Maggiore area. Bellinzona, Lavertezzo, etc.
In Lake Geneva area, we would plan to visit Lausanne, Vevey, Gruyères, Callier Chocolate, perhaps enjoy Lausanne City Festival.

We are two adults, two teens, looking for a low-stress, relaxing vacation. We had initially planned to do #1 above, but now I'm wondering if we should skip one of the two lake areas to reduce hotel changes and travel time on our trip.

Would love feedback! Thank you in advance!

Posted by
3958 posts

With 2 teens and looking for a low stress middle to your vacation, I’d add a 5th day to the BO area. Then I’d spend 4 nights on Lake Geneva enjoying the wine, views, ferry rides, Olympic Museum and locations you’ve mentioned as day trips.

`In Lake Geneva area, we would plan to visit Lausanne, Vevey, Gruyères, Callier Chocolate, perhaps enjoy Lausanne City Festival.

I’d stay in Lausanne or Vevey. We’ve visited all of the sites you mention on and around the lake with teens who loved the castles, chocolate and cheese. We also took a ferry over to Évian FR on a Saturday market day.

Posted by
367 posts

Tough call, for sure.

If you do Lake Geneva, I think the Montreux side is quite a bit nicer than the Geneva area. And there you have Chateau Chillion which both my 20-something daughters loved, and I would have loved as a teen.

But if you do Lago Maggiore, your teens will love swimming at Lavertezzo, and you can do a trip over to Lugano and go up one of the mountains. The Ticino area is my favourite, so I'd lean that way, but Montreux is also very nice. I'd need a reason to go back to Geneva or Lausanne, although they weren't bad either

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