We are landing in Zurich and have 6 days. We would like to get out of zurich via train. A night train to another city/town would be agreeable. There are several teenagers with us... What would you suggest?
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9109 posts
City Night Line has direct overnight trains to Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg, and Amsterdam. From Basel Switzerland, there is an overnight to Prague. www.citynightline.ch
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
When are you traveling and what kinds of things do you enjoy?
Can you return home from another city?
Posted by
Everett, WA
1297 posts
What time of year are you going? Do you prefer big cities over more quiet, rural areas. For me, I love Switzerland and could easily fill 6 days there. My favorite area is the Berner Oberland (Lauterbrunnen valley), but I also enjoy other parts of Switzerland. However, the Berner Oberland is best from June-October (beautiful scenery and hiking) and in the middle of winter (skiing) I would also consider visiting Munich and Salzburg-two wonderful cities.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19232 posts
Why take a night train? They go a long ways. There is a lot of stuff to see around Zürich. Besides the Berner Oberland, there is Luzern and Bern. Get Rick's guidebook on Switzerland. He likes the lakes along the French border (Murten, Montreux). You are really close to the southern Black Forest, the Rheinfalls at Schaffhausen, Lake Bodensee, Friedrichshafen (Zeppelin museum), Lindau. I think you could even get down to Lugano without a night train.
Posted by
Ohio Valley, USA
123 posts
I am thinking about travelling to Zurich from Munich in December. I think I read that it takes 3.5 hours to get there. I really want to spend some time in an Alps area...we were going to go to Fussen and see the castles but I am not thinking Zurich instead.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19232 posts
Find European rail schedules on the German Rail query page. Zürich to Munich takes just over 4 hours by direct Eurocity train.
I love Munich, but if you expect it to be "in" the Alps, you will be disappointed. I would not call Zürich exactly in the Alps either. If you want to be "in the Alps" go to the Berner Oberland or to Oberstdorf and Kleinwalsertal.
Posted by
OP
Denver, co
2 posts
We are going mid June and have to fly back out of Zurich. We like adventurous things...Trams or mountain lifts with some hiking may be fun. We thought about going by night train to make the most of travel time and the time restraints. We thought about a two country rail pass to Italy or Austria, but not sure if should just see places in Switzerland.
Posted by
jakarta, indonesia
3 posts
Hi Kellie - if you only have 6 days (I say actually only 4 if exclude arrival and departure days); I suggest to focus in Switzerland itself. Zurich itself is just a city; and it will be more exciting to go to Lucerne (excursion on the lakes, go to Mt Titlis), then go to Interlaken where there are a lot of gorgeous small villages you can visit.
You were saying that your group likes adventure stuffs? In Interlaken there are a lot of tours offering crazy stuffs from paragliding, bungee jumping, sky diving etc. (do research first which operators are safe - casualties does happen).
If you do want to see a castle, rather than going up to German, you can go to Montreux and see the Chillon castle. So that way you will focus on the journey itself and less time to travel.
Posted by
Redding, CA, USA
1568 posts
With teenagers, I would also suggest Interlaken. As the previous posted stated there are many activities for teenagers. It is safe enough for them to go off alone all day and not worry.
There are hostels in Interlaken which would save money on lodgings that can be spent on the activities.
A day trip to the Lauterbrunnen Valley is just minutes away.
http://www.interlaken.ch/index.php?id=53&L=3
Info on Interlaken:
Info on Lauterbrunnen Valley:
Interlaken Hostels:
http://www.hostelz.com/hostels/Switzerland/Berne/Interlaken
Lauterbrunnen Hostels:
http://www.hostelz.com/hostels/Switzerland/Berne/Lauterbrunnen
We spent 6 days in Lauterbrunnen and loved it.
There is so much for teenagers to do in this area.
Posted by
Atlanta
3261 posts
Pontresina, Switzerland is about a 3.5 hour train ride from Zurich. It's a smaller village near St. Moritz with amazing hiking trails going in every direction. You can even take a chair lift to hiking trails in the Alps. It's close enough to to northern Italy that you could take a train there for lunch or dinner. Pontresina