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Switzerland family trip in July for 10 days

Posted by on

Hi,

I am planning a trip to Switzerland in July with my parents both 60+, wife and daughter who is 4 years so I am trying to avoid a lot of hikes but 30 minutes to 1 hour walk is fine. Below is my itinerary, please take a look nd let me know if you have any suggestions.

I have two questions:
1. I am planning to fly in to Geneva from London and then fly out of Zurich back to London. Is there any advantage of doing this the other way round?

  1. On day 2, I am planning to start early from Geneva, visit Montruex castle and Charlie Chaplin museum then take golden pass train in evening around 4:00 PM. Since this is July I am assuming it will be long days and golden pass train in evening will also be good. Is this doable?

My itinerary:
Day 1- Reach Geneva- Local site seeing, night stay in Geneva.
Day 2- Geneva to Montreux by train. Montruex local site seeing Lake and Chateau de Chillon castle and Charlie Chaplin museum. . Finally take golden pass train to Interlaken around 4:00 PM, then train to Lauterbrunnen.Night stay Lauterbrunnen.
Day 3- Lauterbrunnen local site seeing. mountain elevator and waterfall i.e. Trümmelbach Falls. Night stay at Lauterbrunnen or Wengen.
Day 4. Day trip to Schynige Platte or Schilthorn.
Day 5. Day trip to Jungfraujoch and Bernese Oberland.
Day 6. Lauterbrunnen to Lucerne. visit Mount Rigi or Mount Pilatus. Night stay in Lucerne.
Day 7. Day trip to Mt Titlis, Glacier cave, Ice Flyer Chair Lift. Night stay in Lucerne.
Day 8 Lucerne local site seeing. Boating on Lake Lucerne, Chapel Bridge, Dying Lion Monument, transport museum. Glacier park. Travel to Zurich. Night stay in Zurich.
Day 9. Trip to Rhine falls and return to Zurich. Night stay in Zurich.
Day 10. Zurich local site seeing. Flight to London at night. EasyJet 21:30.

Posted by
1412 posts

Add a night in Montreux and subtract one from Lauterbrunnen. Have stayed in both places. We actually stayed in Wengen rather than Lauterbrunnen and felt we made the right choice. Also stopped in Lucerne for a half day on our way to Zurich and wish we would have had a night or 2. Enjoyed our 1 night in Zurich. Have fun!!

Posted by
1453 posts

There's no obvious advantage to starting in Geneva vs. Zurich, so either direction works. I've done it both ways. Here is what I would recommend for 9 nights starting in Geneva:

No need to stay in Geneva on your first night. The train station is under the airport and it can have you in Montreux in less than 90 minutes. I'd stay in Montreux your first 2 nights.

Add a night in/around Lauterbrunnen, so 4 nights there. Lauterbrunnen is central to all the activity and attractions in the area, but Wengen and Murren are more intimate and enjoyable. Any will do.

Two nights in Luzern as planned.

One and final night in Zurich. It's one night less than your itinerary as I have taken a day from Zurich and added it to the Lauterbrunnen area. You will understand why once you go!

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks so much for the awesome suggestions. I have added one more day to my trip so I can cover glacier express as well. Below is another option. Would you recommend this or the previous one?

Day 1- Reach Geneva at 11:00 AM. Geneva to Montreux by train. Reach Montreux by 2:00 PM. Check-in hotel, local site seeing visit museum or castle. Night stay Montreux. Stay close to chaplin museum or train station.
Day 2 - visit remaining museum or castle then golden pass train to Interlaken and then train to Lauterbrunnen. Local site seeing. Night stay Lauterbrunnen. Stay close to train station.
Day 3- Day trip to Jungfraujoch and Bernese Oberland. Night stay Lauterbrunnen.
Day 4- Lauterbrunne site seeing. Night stay Lauterbrunnen
Day 5- Lauterbrunnen local site seeing -trip to Schynige Platte or Schilthorn. Train to Lucerne via golden pass. Night stay in Lucerne.
Day 6- Day trip to Mt Titlis, Glacier cave, Ice Flyer Chair Lift. Night stay in Lucerne. If time visit transport museum. Night stay in Lucerne.
Day 7- Checkout and leave luggage at hotel. Visit Mount Rigi or Mount Pilatus via boat ride on lake lucerne. Visit Chapel Bridge and Dying Lion Monument. Train to Zurich. Night stay Zurich.
Day 8- Trip to Rhine falls. Zurich local site seeing. Night stay Zurich.
Day 9- Zurich to Chur and then Glacier express to Zermatt. Night stay in Zermatt.
Day 10- Zermatt
Day 11- Train to Geneva. Local site seeing. Flight to London at 20:05 (not yet booked).

1 night Montruex
3 nights Lauterbrunnen
2 nights Lucerne
2 nights Zurich- need 2 nights to cover Rhine Falls.
2 nights Zermatt

Posted by
1453 posts

The revised itinerary looks good.

One alternative to Montreux is Vevey right next door. That's where the Chaplin museum is. In fact, I stayed at a B&B called 7eArt. It's decked out in a Chaplin theme and is an easy walk from a bus stop and the Chaplin museum. In a quiet residential neighborhood with a school and park close by.

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