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Spiez: more beautiful/ lively than Brienz (July)?

Hi, what are your favourite things about staying in Spiez? We stayed 2 weeks in Brienz and couple of years ago and loved it, but perhaps a little quiet. Is nearby Spiez just as stunning as a base and worth at least a week if not two?

Keen to try somewhere new that's doable by train from London in a day, but Brienz feels hard to beat! We visited Thun, Ballenberg, Wengen and Lauterbrunnen already.

Have stayed in Weggis on Lucerne (rather quiet but lovely) and Ascona and Cannobio on Maggiore (both perfect scenery and size), Malcesine (thanks to this forum!) on Garda and near Bellagio on Como. If you've been to most of these you'll get the idea of our ideal vwry mountainous lakeside setting with ample restaurants, boat trips and day trips.

Trying to find somewhere equally as good in Swiss/Italian alps/border for 2 weeks without taking overnight trains. The towns of Iseo and Lovere on Lake Iseo look tempting but trickier to achieve in one day from London.

Any thoughts on Spiez or nearby alternative suggestions based on all of the above would be VERY welcome, thank you!

(Thought about Morcote but it's small and Lugano feels too big compared to Brienz and Ascona!)

Posted by
2681 posts

Thun is another town on the Thunersee that makes a beautiful base town. Staying in the Altstadt near Thun’s castle overlooking the lake is the place to stay.

Posted by
2942 posts

The main issue is that in Spiez the town centre is down by the lake, whereas the station is up a hill. You will be walking that hill every time you go somewhere.

If you want something different maybe head East to the Grisons. You will find the scenery there, but the culture is quite different. And you can continue to lake Como from there, then return to London...

Posted by
2383 posts

Agree. I've spent a week in Spiez and I liked Thun (on a daytrip) much better. The big hill is a significant negative in Spiez.