Day trips from Interlaken

Bryan,

I also agree that the smaller villages in the Lauterbrunnen Valley are well worth seeing, especially Gimmelwald and Murren. If you're inclined, you can take the Cable Cars to the top of the Schilthorn and Piz Gloria (apparently the world's first revolving restaurant - a fantastic view from 10K Ft. - used in filming one of the James Bond movies many years ago). If you're the adventurous type, you might want to try paragliding, either from Murren or from the Schilthorn?

From what I recall, Montreux is a bit of a trip so I would probably not consider that a "day trip".

Cheers!

If you're going to be in Switzerland and especially if you're staying around Interlaken I would NOT bother with a rental car just because the Swiss public transportation system is just so wonderful.

You can check all of the train times at www.sbb.ch/en to see exactly how long it takes from Interlaken to Montreaux or Luzern. Also, being in Interlaken is perfect for a base to explore by train because it's a rail hub for many connections.

Although I would suggest that if you plan to visit the mountain villages around Lauterbrunnen like Wengen, Muerren or Gimmelwald - then just stay in one of the many hotels in the villages. The Alpine villages are much nicer than Interlaken.

Ditto on Tim's comment. There's not much to see in Interlaken but the Lauterbrunnen Valley is most scenic and especially the villages mentioned by Tim. It takes 20 minutes from the Interlaken Ost (East) station into Lauterbrunnen. From there, you can get to all of the villages.

Bryan,
My husband & I did a day trip to Montreux to visit the Chateau from our home base in Interlaken. We thoroughly enjoyed the chateau but I do remember it was a rushed visit.

Agree with the previous posters. We stayed in Lauterbrunnen 6 days. You would enjoy the area and the day visits to other villages.