Visiting a scenic town in Switzerland before flying home

I didn't chip in earlier on this one because I thought somebody who had walked more around the area might have better information than me. I've changed trains there several times, usually not leaving the station but a few times we have had time to walk to the Manora restaurant a few blocks away, and we have changed trains onto the FO (now the MGB) along the Glacier Express to Disentis and the Oberalp. I was never impressed by the town. It is basically a flat railroad town. Taking the Glacier Express improves the views after a while...

Read what Rick Steves says about Brig in his Switzerland book. Quote: "Finally, you will arrive in Brig, an ugly industrial town with good connections to other train lines". Hardly a nice recommendation.

I'm trying to understand your timeframe. Is your flight back to the States the same day you are thinking of going to Brig? Or, the day before your flight? I have never been to Brig but it looks beautiful on their website: www.brig.ch If your flight is the following day, I, personally, would rethink the train schedule and do the following. Take an early train from Milan to Lauterbrunnen. Then take a 1/2 hr. bus from the Lauterbrunnen station to Stechelberg and catch the Schilthornbahn lift either up to Muerren or Gimmelwald, depending on your time. Both are beautiful towns to walk thru with beautiful views of the Jungfrau. A walking tour thru Gimmelwald is given in the Rick Steves' Switzerland tour book. Then, continue onto Geneva. Have a great trip!

It sounds like you are doing this all in one day,,departing Milan early in the morning and flying out from Geneva that evening. What time is your flight? And what time of year is your trip? Without knowing the details, I will suggest a place IN the Alps that is a very short detour from Brig. Ride the train 15 minutes east to Bettendorf. There you can Ride a cablecar up to Bettmeralp, a pretty little village with great views. Ride the Bettmerhorn gondola up to the peak for views of the Aletschergletscher. Or stay on the train from Brig to Fiesch, and from there you can ride cablecars to the top of the Eggishorn and look down onto the glacier and all the way to Konkordiaplatz and the Jungfrau.

Daryl, As some of the others have mentioned, it would help to have some clarification on your timeline in order to provide the best suggestions.

Thank you so much to everybody for all of the good information so far. I will check these suggestions out first thing in the morning. We are arriving in Geneva at 6:55AM on Saturday, and are not flying out of Geneva until 10:30AM on Sunday. We are thinking we'll probably make our way to Geneva at the end of the day on Saturday so we sleep close to the airport.

Oops! We arrive 6:55AM on Saturday in Milan (Milano Centrale) train station.

We will be traveling first week in December.

Lake Como. Easy train ride from Milan and close to the Swiss border, so almost could be considered Switzerland. We loved this place...it is sooo relaxing. There is plenty of information about this in the RS guidebooks.

Another thought....if you wanted to get close to Geneva before starting to explore, there are several options right there around the Lake.

Stop in Montreux and go either to the Chillon Castle or up to the Rocher-De-Naye.

Daryl, The suggestion from Mark to stop in Montreaux is one option that might work. If you're able to connect with the 12:25 departure from Milano Centrale to Geneva, it arrives in Montreaux at 15:24. You could stop for an hour or so to have a look and then take a later train for the short trip to Geneva (about 55M). However, keep in mind that darkness will fall early at that time of year, and most "scenic towns" will be covered with snow in early December, so you may not see much. I doubt that you'll be able to get to Milano Centrale much before about 08:30, so that will have a bearing on which rail trips are possible to Geneva. As you'll be arriving in Milan at 06:55 on Saturday morning and departing on a flight from Geneva at 10:30 on Sunday morning, that doesn't allow much time for sightseeing. Cheers!

Mark, Thanks for the additional information. I missed the fact that you were travelling from Rome via train rather than arriving by air at MXP. As you'll be at Milano Centrale early, you'll have lots more rail options to choose from, and will be able to get to your Alps location while there's still daylight. Cheers!

Taking overnight train from Rome Friday night, so arriving at Milano Centrale at 6:55AM. Thank you for great suggestions. I should have been more clear. We are looking to get into the Alps to spend some time on Saturday before heading to Geneva. Denise & Lola, thanks for suggestions on getting into the Alps. I am doing some research this morning.

Good point Ken. Even an hour or two staying in Montreux is nice. It has an interesting European turn of the century "Belle Époque" atmosphere and the view over the French alps is impressive (if the weather cooperates).

The earliest you'll arrive in Geneve from Milano is after 12:00; you'll only have a few hours of daylight left, and you've got an early - and looong - day ahead of you. There's no sin in simply going on to Geneve...It's not like Geneve is ugly or has nothing to hold your interest. Just a thought in case you find that you're killing yourself trying to make something happen! At the end of a trip, sometimes simple is better ;-)