My husband and I are finishing a 3 week trip in Europe in Swizterland. We are planning to fly from Rome to Zurich (seems fastest but don't have this flight booked yet so open to discussion) on July 4 and fly back to the U.S. from Geneva in thr morning on July 8. We would love to spend those couple of days in the mountains and have been looking at Wengen, Murren and Grimmelwald, but I was wondering if there are other areas I should consider given our short time frame and really the need to be heading towards or to Geneva on the evening of the 7th to catch our flight the next morning. Any thoughts? Thank you!
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Thoughts - you should have allocated more time in Switzerland. Yes, the mountains are beautiful. Unfortunately you'll lose most of your first day (7/4) flying into Zurich and then training somewhere. So you really only have 2 full days to see the most beautiful areas which is the Lauterbrunnen Valley area and surrounding Alpine Villages. Then you'll have to pack up and leave on the 7th to train to Geneva for your last night.
I'm a fool for the Swiss Alps and would do anything it takes to spend 2 nights in the Lauterbrunnen area. However, if you are practical you may want to just take a short train ride from Zurich (50 minutes) to Lucerne and stay there for your time. It's a beautiful city with lakes and mountains in the distance.
Otherwise you'll have a 2.5 - 3.5 train ride from Zurich to get to Lauterbrunnen or Murren.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11775 posts
I am inclined to agree with Tim that you should go to Luzern for your brief time. There are mountains and hiking around there and you will maximize your time versus heading to the Berber-Oberland for only two full days. From Luzern you can go to Rigi Kaltbad and the Stanshorn easily. For more info take a look at this post from last month. Scroll down to see what Lola has to say about the area.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Definitely agree Tim! Switzerland came on the radar late in our trip when we figured out it would be cheapest to fly home from Geneva. We were already boxed in with other plans we had in England and France. So definitely another more complete trip to Switzerland will need to occur!
I will definitely look into Lucerne. What are you thoughts on Bern as a base for those days? Looks to be about the same distance from Zurich and puts us closer to Geneva for the flight home.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
To throw a totally different scenario into the mix what are your thoughts on taking the train from Rome to Brig. At 5 hrs 16 min this would be faster than flying when adding in travel/airport time. Then we could spend the 4th-7th there with a day trip to Zermatt one day and head onto Geneva the afternoon of the 7th. What do you think?
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11775 posts
I think the train to Brig is a great idea, but go all they way to Zermatt to spend your time. Much better place to hang out, ride lifts and hike than Brig.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4853 posts
Bern is a smaller and easier to handle city than Zurich, very easy to get around on the trams. And it's a straight shot down to Interlaken if you want to pursue the BO angle. I'm guessing it would be cheaper than Zurich too.
Check out http://www.beauvilla-bern.com/?lang=en, Gabriela and Marc are excellent hosts with a lovely hotel.
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8965 posts
By all mean, stay in Zermatt, not Brig.