Hi all! My wife and I are in the very early planning stages for a trip this October. We are thinking probably 2 weeks. The plan is to fly into and out of Zurich (nice direct flight from Boston). We plan to begin our trip with 4 or 5 days in and around Colmar before coming back to Switzerland. We will probably have a car for the first portion of the trip, to Colmar and then for some areas of Switzerland. I know that a car is not logistical in cities and other places and we plan on ditching it once we are out of France and the countryside. We will plan to end in Zurich for a couple of nights to visit with friends before flying home. We have some ideas of where we want to go but I'd love to hear ideas from others. We are pretty active and enjoying hiking and other outdoor activities. Thanks in advance.
Posted by
Chicago
3125 posts
From Colmar, I would head straight to the berner oberland, staying in either Murren, Wengen, or Lauterbrunnen. Depending on when you go in Oct. you may run into hotels closing as Oct. – Nov. is the off season. Grindelwald might be your best option. Then I would head to Lucerne and finally Zurich.
Posted by
California
497 posts
You will need to seriously find out what will be open in the mountains. Many places start closing since the summer travelers are gone and ski season hasn’t started. Our favorite hotel in Wengen closes October and November. You will need to check lift schedules too. It’s a dicey time to go.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11776 posts
Early October is great in the Lauterbrunnen area (we have been there often at that time and will be again this year) but things do start to close.
Here is a schedule of some lift closures https://holidaystoswitzerland.com/cable-car-and-funicular-closures-winter/. For example, the funicular at Allmendhubel closes from Oct 17 for the season and reopens in December. The little clifftop train to Muerren closes for seasonal maintenance from Oct 10-28, and so on.
That said, there is plenty to do and always some method to get where you need to go, with many hikes, scenic train and lift rides, etc.
When we were in Lauterbrunnen in October of 2019, we left on the 9th and a few restaurants had stopped serving earlier that week.
Posted by
Switzerland
8 posts
What are you interested in doing? October is a bit of a limiting month as summer is over, mountain passes are closed and winter hasn’t begun. There is beautiful hiking in October at lower altitudes, and you’ll see the leaves turning.
Glaciers like Schilthorn and Engelberg are open all year and snowy regardless of the season but choose a sunny day, or at least a day with low cloud, or all you’ll see is white!
Extend the season a bit by heading to the south side of the Alps in Ticino. It’s warmer longer there. Hang around the lake in Lugano or have a look at the castles in Bellinzona.
Oh and depending on where your friends are in Zurich, a car is fine. Switzerland’s a beautiful country to drive in. If you choose to keep the car try the Oberalp and Lukmanier passes. They are kept open all year. You can head that way into Ticino and come back through the Gotthard Tunnel or over the San Bernardino Pass, which is also open all year.