Swiss Alps with young kids

Posted by Andrea (Burlington, Canada) on 04/24/09 08:19 AM

Hello. I will be travelling from Florence to Paris by train at the end of July with my 3 kids (ages 8, 8, and 4). We will have spent 3 weeks already in Rome, Florence and Venice and have a home exchange lined up near Paris for 3 weeks after this. Instead of just training direct from Florence to Paris, I would like to stop in Switzerland for a few days as I love to hike and want them to see the mountains, but I'm not sure if the hikes that everyone talks about are appropriate for little ones. They're good hikers as we regularly go out for 2-3 hours but we've never been in mountains before. Is it worth trying to get to Grimmewald to the big places or would we be better off doing day hikes from Lausanne or Bern? I want to be able to get to one place and stay there for 3 days and then move on to France.

Thanks.

Posted by Beatrix

Calgary

04/24/09 12:29 AM

2297 posts

we spent a week in Switzerland when the kids were 8 and 10 years old. Their favourite activities included:

Ballenberg Open Air Museum
http://www.ballenberg.ch/en/Welcome
Taking the funicular up the Niesen and hiking a bit up there. We've never been in a funicular so that was quite exciting.
http://www.niesen.ch
going to the Museum of Transportation in Luzern
http://www.verkehrshaus.ch

Our base was a vacation appartment in Emmental, not very touristy and very rural. Cheap but it requires a car. If you don't have a car a base close to Interlaken may work better.

Posted by Michael Schneider

New Paltz, NY

04/24/09 12:32 AM

9110 posts

Interlaken has the official Swiss Rail Museum. It's three floors of working model trains...your kids will love it!

Posted by Larry

Elk Grove, CA, USA

04/24/09 11:20 AM

6898 posts

Two thoughts. 1) Get a free Swiss family card before you leave. Here's the scoop from Rick Steves. "The Swiss Family Card is just for families traveling together. And Switzerland is indeed an ideal place to take your family. The Swiss Family Card allows children under 16 to travel free when accompanied by a parent. It is valid with all Swiss Travel System products. Probably the best part of all about the Swiss Family Card is that it is free! Just request it when you purchase your Swiss Pass."

I would suggest getting these cards from the Swiss train site (www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm) before you travel as I don't know if you can get this card in Florence. Tim from Knoxville is more knowledgable about this card than I am.

2) CLICK HERE to see a list of hiking trails in the Bernese Oberland. Each trail has a map and description on the level of difficulty.

Posted by Rebecca

Vidalia

05/22/09 08:39 PM

113 posts

There's a fairly easy trail from Gimmelwald down to a river and back. Also, you could go up to Murren (my pick for where to stay b/c the views are spectacular) and take the easy hike along the train path; it's scenic and fairly flat with great views, and a nice cafe at the end of it with yummy ice cream treats. AND you can catch the train back to Murren! The kids should love the cows with their big bells - try to catch the alpenhorn players; one lives and teaches in Murren. Take them to Switz, it will be so different from the other places.

Posted by pat

victoria, Canada

05/22/09 09:49 PM

11507 posts

Our RS family tour stayed in Wengen, and serveral of us took our kids hiking above Wengen.. the youngest was 7, and she had NO problem with hikes we did.. Rather level, wide paths( compared to what we are used to here on west coast , we thought is was very easy).

There is one hike in particular that would be easy for even a 4 yr old. You pass by meadows with cows and goats,, ( wearing their cowbells!),, and the views are spectacular.

Posted by Tim

Knoxville, TN, USA

05/23/09 05:41 AM

7209 posts

Yes, definitely take the kids and stay in the alpine villages. I agree that Muerren is my favorite and has many easy trails for everyone including kids. Your kids will probably best enjoy the little hike down from Muerren to Gimmelwald. You'll pass plenty of cows, goats, sheep and usually a cat or 2. When you arrive at the village of Gimmelwald you'll see lots more animals and little places to buy bread, cheese, eggs. There's also a playground with swings and slides in Gimmelwald right at the gondola station.

When you're finished in Gimmelwald hop on the gondola - free to your children with the Swiss Family Card - and be whisked back up to Muerren in about 5 minutes.

Personally I think Muerren is ideal for children. I would also recommend the apartment at the Chalet Fontana www.chaletfontana.ch for your family. It's got a full kitchen and private bathroom AND breakfast is included in the main breakfast area provided by Denise who is a wonderful hostess.