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Switzerland for a week late June

My husband and I are planning to spend a week in Paris next June and then will take the train to Switzerland for another 6-7 days. It’s our first time in Switzerland, except for two days in Lucerne this winter as part of a Christmas markets tour. We definitely want to spend several days in the Berner Oberland. We are in our 60s and 70s and are avid hikers. Here are my questions:
1) should we spend our entire week enjoying the BO, hiking, taking cable cars and exploring both sides of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, or should we add another destination in Switzerland as well? (Zermatt? Lucerne in summer?)
2) Paris has high speed trains direct to Bern and several other Swiss cities. Which city should we head for for the least complicated train/bus connections to the BO? We are hoping to stay in Murren but haven’t looked into lodging possibilities yet.

Any suggestions/advice welcome! I’ve been reading the RS Switzerland guide but have so many questions.

Posted by
2548 posts

You could take the train from Paris to Lauterbrunnen in just over 6 hours, then it’s a short trip to Murren. If you are flying out of Zurich, you’ll want to spend your last night there. This gives you 5-6 nights in the BO which sounds perfect.

Posted by
3230 posts

Next April Rick Steves Switzerland guidebook 11th edition will be available. However, I recommend booking your stay before then because you’re going during peak season.
When staying in the mountains you want to allow an extra day in case of bad weather so five nights would be ideal. If you can fly home from Zurich, do it. If not then how about Geneva.
How many nights are you going to be in Switzerland?

Posted by
17456 posts

My husband and I are in our 70’s and avid hikers. We like to spend two weeks in Switzerland and base in 3 locations. But with the time you have, I suggest you spend all 5 nights in the Berner Oberland. We have stayed in Grindelwald and Wengen as well as Mürren, but Mürren is our favorite, and now we just head there for our BO base.

We like to rent an apartment to have a kitchen and avoid the high cost of dinner at a restaurant. Our hikes often include lunch at a mountain inn or hut, so we do have a chance to sample a bit of the local specialties, and that is enough restaurant meals for us. There are some good apartment options on AirBnB. I would suggest our favorite, which has beautiful views from a large balcony, but it is a 3-bdr. as we travel with family members. There is a smaller apartment in the same building ( under different ownership) if you are interested.

Unless your flight departs Zurich in the morning before 10 am, you can easily spend your last night in Luzern, just over an hour from the Zurich airport by direct train.

Posted by
77 posts

I have sketched out a possible itinerary.
- Train from Paris to Lausanne, possibly spend one night there, then catch the Golden Pass scenic train from Montreux to Interlaken. Thenon to Murren from Interlaken. (Not sure of the best way to get from Lausanne to Montreux).
- Four or five nights in Murren
- then head to Zurich to fly home, with a possible night in Zurich before our flight.

Thoughts?

We are retired, so the exact number of days in Switzerland is flexible, but Switzerland is expensive and we don’t have an unlimited budget, so about a week is what we’re thinking. I haven’t begun looking at airfare, train or lodging availability yet.

I love the Airbnb suggestion. Any thoughts/recommendations welcome!

Posted by
11784 posts

Lausanne to Montreux is an easy train trip. The Golden Pass route is lovely.

I can personally recommend this apartment https://www.vrbo.com/1207898ha in Lauterbrunnen. Very convenient, but nothing fancy.

Posted by
3230 posts

Train from Paris to Lausanne

Take a direct train that are less frequent than trains with connections. I see one departing at 11:56 AM arriving in Lausanne at 3:37 PM.

Not sure of the best way to get from Lausanne to Montreux

To get from Lausanne to Montreux takes four to five hours depending on what station you need to get off to catch the Golden Pass and requires multiple transfers. A train from Lausanne to Lauterbrunnen takes 2h 45m and also involves two connections. You then have to work your way from the Lauterbrunnen station to Mürren.

Posted by
33870 posts

To get from Lausanne to Montreux takes four to five hours

I'm terribly sorry but that answer is quite wrong.

There is a train every ten minutes all day long from Lausanne to Montreux. Duration 20 minutes.

Posted by
3230 posts

There is a train every ten minutes all day long from Lausanne to Montreux. Duration 20 minutes.

Thank you, Nigel, you are correct.

Posted by
1 posts

I just saw this thread and am so excited because my husband and I (also in our 60/70's) will be going to Switzerland at the end of June 2023, so this information has been very helpful. We have friends who live in Geneva so will most probably will fly in and out of Geneva, but are currently planning on about 4 days/nights in the BO. We would also like to find a place with a kitchen and prefer to have a base camp rather than moving every other day. I know one of the commentors was from Seattle so would love to hear more (we are Seattleites). We were also thinking of using Murren as our "base camp" so really appreciate the Airbnb reference.

Posted by
4987 posts

There are a number of great lodgings in Murren, but it's not an unlimited supply so I advise booking quite early. I wanted to have a spectacular view--that's why you're there! I found washing machines somewhat limited and that was something we needed. If I had started earlier I may have found more of what I was looking for, but the splurge ended up being pretty memorable.
I can't recommend the outstanding place I stayed only because it is so expensive I'd be embarrassed (but I actually got a steal in offseason and it was a special occasion), but it is on VRBO.
Many town/regional websites also have their own rental listings. I'd try there first, then search the usual sites (AirBnB, VRBO, Booking.com).