I leave Paris with my teenage son on the morning of 27 May (Friday). We reach Zurich by the evening of 29 May (Sunday) to catch our flight home the next morning. I'm trying to plan the time in between. Here is my tentative plan. We plan to tour the Montreux area (including the Chateau de Chillon) on Friday afternoon. The Lausanne area sounds beautiful, but so does the Berner Oberland region. Would you stay the night in Montreux or try to push on (via Golden Pass route) to Berner Oberland region late Friday afternoon? Depending on advice to the previous question, we will either be in Berner Oberland region one night or two. Any thoughts on where you would stay in late May in this area? We won't have hiking boots, just good walking shoes. We are really looking forward to cable cars, waterfalls, etc. On Sunday, would you stop anyplace special between Berner Oberland area and Zurich? I know many places are closed. Bern and Lucerne both look interesting. Finally, at this time of year, would you be greatly concerned about reserving seats on Golden Pass trains. We aren't aiming for the front panoramic seats. I think I will end up purchasing a Half Fare Card since my son will travel free with me and we aren't doing a lot of train travel during our short trip. Many thanks for your advice.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33851 posts
Don't forget that there are plenty of normal trains making the same run with the same scenery (with a lot more frequency) as the tourist trains (for a load less money). If you only have one day in the mountains you only have one day for the weather to be bad and no days to recover, therefore it is much riskier.
Posted by
OP
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
6 posts
Thank you for your advice, Nigel. Since my posting, I have arranged for us to arrive in Lausanne one day earlier. We will head to the Berner Oberland region for two days. I agree with your concern about potentially bad weather. This plan isn't great because our time is short, but it is better than only one day.