Brig or Thun on way to Milan

Ok thanks.. I thought of actually going to Lugano if I was going to go that route.. And leave from wengen the day before.. heading back to Lucern - then get up and take the train to Lugano.. so I'd be much closer to Milan Only issue is everyone says go to Lake Como , which is "better" But figured that would be a shame since I have the 3 day Swiss pass.. so why not use it for some free boat tours on lugano VS pay to get one on Como unless its really that much better so i guess its really between lugano, brig/kandersteg, and thun decisions..decisions..

Are you staying overnight or just stopping off for a few hours? Do you really need to break up the journey to Milan? It's not that long. (Unless maybe you are going beyond Milan, but you don't say that). Thun is out of the way, but not by much, and the lake is nice. What things are you looking to do in your stoppoin place?

Yes must stop in Milan to make the 615 train to La Speiza / Cinque terre that night. So you guessed.. looking to break up the trip a little so the train ride isn't AS painful.. although even if I choose Brig.. I'm still looking at an hour and change to Milan, the 3 hours to laSpeza VS 2.5 hours from thun to milan then on to lapeiza We'd be in either destination (Brig or Thun) .. for the evening.. and then the next day until roughly 1 or 2 pm when we'd need to hit the train to Milan. I know thats not much time, so we'd need to find things close by. We'll be up early.. lake cruise and hiking around Thun could sound appealing.. i've also heard Kanderstag is reachable from Brig which sounds awesome, but time might be too short. Does that help you help me?

Hi Dan-I'll just say that Kandersteg is one of our favorite places in Switzerland. You can get there from Spiez without going to Brig and back-tracking. Just take the regional train instead of the newer route via Visp and the Basistunnel. I would take a night in kandersteg over either Brig or Thun. There are a number of hotels within an easy walk of the train station (like 5 minutes). Check in and drop your luggage, then walk through town and catch the lift up to Oeschinensee, the beautiful lake above town. There are nice walks and hikes up there but check the time of the last ride down (unless you want to walk down). Or you could rent bikes and ride into the next valley, the Gasterntal. It is undeveloped and traffic is limited, so riding the road is pleasant. We actually stay up at the lake at the mountain inn up there, but it is not for everyone (very quiet in the evening, and no rooms with ensuite bathrooms). If you can handle those conditions, I highly recommend it. www.oeschinensee.ch for photos. You'll have about an hour's ride to Brig the next day.

Thanks.. this place sounds amazing.. Only downside being an hour trip down to brig before hopping on the milan train But still same time as it would be coming from Thun.. so sounds like between Kandersteg and Thun.. You prefer the former.. is it more the lake , or alps scenery that has you prefer one or the other? Also does this famous Lake O have free boat tours covered by the swiss pass?

No boat tours on Oeschinensee. It is a small alpine lake, glacier-fed and surrounded by cliffs on two sides. You can rent a rowboat, or swim if you are hardy (water is cold!!). We go for the beautiful alpine scenery and hiking. There is also a Rodelbahn (summer luge) up Another possibility would be Stresa, a town on Lago Maggiore, on the train line before you get to Milan. We have never stopped there but other people here have, and I believe it is in the RS italy book. This would get you much farther on your way to La Spezia.