Switzerland with Kids

Dave, just a hint that your children will travel free with the Swiss Family Card as long as they travel with one parent with a valid ticket. Not a Swiss pass or card - just a valid ticket. Children 15 and under can travel free everywhere on Swiss transportation. Ask for the Swiss Family card when you buy your other Swiss transportation tickets in Switzerland. The SFC should be free for the asking when buying Swiss tickets online but they may charge for them when you buy in Switzerland. I'm sure on this one. I don't think you can get the Swiss Family card in Provence. You might have to consider buy a ticket to an entry point in Switzerland (i.e. Geneva) and get the card there as you purchase other Swiss transportation tickets. Or, you could book tickets well into Switzerland, i.e. Avignon/Lucerne and not get the opportunity or cost reduction for your children from the Swiss border to Lucerne.

Thanks

Switzerland is very children friendly. Lucerne and Murren are my suggestions.

We were just in Zermatt a few weeks ago and it would be great with your kids! You can take the funicular rail up through the mountain to Wollyland park, an outdoor area where they can run around and do all sorts of fun things. Take them to Zermatt Glacier Paradise and stand on top of one of the highest mountains around and, if it's clear, you have a direct view of the Matterhorn. You can see mountain climbers on the surrounding peaks of ice and snow and watch the summer skiers. They have an area for sledding for kids. Then take the elevator through the rock and under the glacier...there are beautiful ice tunnels they have carved that are all lit up. Lots of ice sculptures and an ice slide for kids tunneled through one side of the glacier. Get a nice family photo for your Christmas card in front of the Matterhorn. If you take the lift up to the trail closest to the Matterhorn, and then hike up a ways, there are lots of super cute black-faced sheep roaming around that your kids would love. Bring $$$ though...we spent the day there and for the three of us, dropped about $600 on parking, the train up into Zermatt, lifts, and food. One of the most expensive desinations I've ever been to but spectacular!

Thanks Jim and Anita!

We were with our three teenage boys in Switzerland earlier this month. I think we were out of the way if you are coming from from Provence, but just in case...We took the Bernina Express train - a Unesco Heritage train - from Tirano, Italy across the alps to Chur where we spent one night. The highlight of Switzerland was taking a cable car up the mountain to the top. For our kids, who hail from the flattest part of the USA, it was extraordinary to see that view. So if you can find a cable car in one of the towns you mention, I would highly recommend doing a day on the mountain. Tip: Switzerland is freaky, freaky expensive ($6 U.S. for a can of pop) so plan carefully. I would limit your time - if any - in the big cities - maybe find a pretty lake vacation spot along Lake Zurich. We took a train along that lake and saw some wonderful looking little towns with lots of kids and families vacationing along the shoreline. Have a great time.

You've got some pretty long hauls getting to and from the Swiss Alps; play around on bahn.com to see how long various train trips are. For instance, Aix-en-Provence to Interlaken (rail hub for Muerren and the Lauterbrunnen valley) is 6.5-7 hours; Interlaken to Salzburg is 7.5 hours. Lucerne, Muerren, and Zermatt are all great places. Zermatt is more isolated geographically and would add a couple hours of backtracking if you left from there to Austria. And you could end up like me, spending 24 hours in Zermatt and never seeing the Matterhorn due to cloud cover.