Venice to Switzerland?

What you are asking for (in one day!!!!) is quite a long journey to geographically remote places which by its very nature will take all day. Most people will break their journey at one or the other and not try to do both in one day. Assuming that you are speaking of using public transport, and only including a 2 hour stop in Interlaken - much shorter than will allow you to do anything - if you are on the train in Venice at quarter to eight you can be in Lausanne by quarter after seven in the evening. What exactly have you planned to do in Interlaken? Interlaken is the jumping off place to go up to the Alps of the Lauterbrunnen Valley but it is certainly not in the mountains. The name, Interlaken, means between the lakes and it is situated between the two lakes, Lake Thun and Lake Brienz at lake level. To get to the mountains requires a cog train up into the valley, and if you want to go up into the mountains to Muerren or Wengen or Grindelwald it is further up by train or cable car. If you want to go up to the summit (well nearly) on Jungfraujoch it is another train. Going to Interlaken and saying you have been to the mountains is like saying you are going to Long Beach and saying you have been to Mount Wilson. The route is Venice - Milan - Spiez - Interlaken Ost - (via Spiez) - Bern - Lausanne, changing train at each place named. For an extra couple of hours you can have the very scenic route into Interlaken by cog train over the Brunig Pass routed Venice - Milan - Arth Goldau - Luzern - Interlaken Ost - (via Spiez)- Bern - Lausanne. I wouldn't try to do that all in one day for all the tea in China.

Tammy, One of the quickest routes from Venezia S.L. to Interlaken Ost is a departure at 07:50, arriving at 14:38 (time 6H:38M, 2 changes at Milano Centrale and Spiez, reservations compulsory on the first two legs). While that's a bit of a long travel day, that would get you to Interlaken at a fairly decent hour. Given the fact that it's a long trip, I wouldn't be too concerned about "scenic". I travelled from Milan to Interlaken (via Spiez) in late September, and it was quite scenic enough for me. If you buy the ticket in Italy, they may only be able to provide passage as far as Spiez. You'll probably have to buy another ticket from there to Interlaken (that's what I had to do). Buying a ticket in Spiez is very easy. Were you planning to stay at Interlaken, or somewhere in the Lauterbrunnen Valley? If you're planning to travel farther than Interlaken, be sure to specify your final destination when you buy a ticket in Spiez. Happy travels!

Unfortunately, it does take a good deal of the day to get to Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen from Venice. No shorter way. Ken shows a good run that we have taken to get to Lauterbrunnen. It's 2.5hrs to Milan where you will change trains. After a 1hr wait time, it's 2.5hrs to Spiez. You'll get some Alps scenery on this part of the run. Then, you have a 12-minute change time at Spiez which is quite common there. Finally, it's a 25-minute train ride into Interlaken. Hopefully, you will be taking the 22-minute ride on the train into Lauterbrunnen. There, you will see the Alps on steroids. A tip while you are standing in the Spiez train station. Since the Swiss really like their Swiss Francs in Interlaken and the Lauterbrunnen Valley, it's nice to have some. Just run around the back of the Spiez train station (it's not large) and there used to be an ATM there. Bingo. You have Swiss Francs.

Unfortunately the Spiez route is not as scenic as the route via Luzern, as it goes through two very long tunnels, which go under the alps and bypass that scenery. You will get to Lauterbrunnen faster so you can start enjoying the scenery there, however. The Luzern route (via Arth-Goldau) also goes through a few tunnels, but they are much shorter, and you get to see some nice alp scenery in between. It does take 2+ hours longer, however.

Hi, You are absolutely right about needing several days. I did not express myself correctly earlier. I'm going to Interlaken and then probably Grimelwald for a couple of nights, then I will go on to Lausanne for 2 nights also. I'm not sure if it would be better to go to Lausanne first and then the alps or vice versa. I was hoping to figure out the best route to the two destinations. I will be heading to Zurich for 1 night and then on to Munich after the two stops above.

Thanks for the help and information.

Tammy, you mention going to Grimelwald for a couple of nights. There are two similarly named places which are very different from each other and it may help to get the name right. There is no "Grimelwald". The small village on the side of the mountain between Lauterbrunnen and Muerren is Gimmelwald. The larger town below the Eiger and First is Grindelwald. They are very different. Both very nice but very different.