Hello,
We will be in Switzerland for about 4-5 days around mid-July. What are the best things to see in this time frame? We are mostly interested in seeing mountains, natural beauty, castles, etc. Less interested in cities\museums. Also if you have some suggestion around a small swiss village where we can spend some time that would help.
Note that we are about 8 people and will preferably travel by a van.
Thanks,
Suyog
Spent a few days in Geneva, a few in Lucerne and anther year a week in Lugano. Also visited Jungfrau on a day trip from Basel. All interesting. Lucerne has some mountains with a trip up Mt Pilatus being worth while. Lugano not as mounainous, but is scenic. All three are on lakes and lake steamers are great for day trips with good scenery. We were not overly impressd with Geneva itself, but cruising Lac Limon (or Lake Geneva) was most enjoyable with many small towns accesible by boat.
Thanks a lot for a quick reply.
I too will be in Switzerland in mid-July and highly recommend Lauterbrunnen Valley and surroundings. Take the cog railroad up from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen and then the cable car up to Mannlichen and hike over to Kleine Scheidegg - a more beautiful view of Eiger, Jungfrau and Moench cannot be seen.
The hike is very easy and takes about 1.5 hours then you can have lunch at Kleine Scheidegg and train back down to Lauterbrunnen. Then another great day can be spent on the opposite side of the valley by going to Stechelberg and up to Gimmelwald, Muerren and Schilthorn again for a wonderful mountain high. If you go up early to the Schilthorn I highly recommend the James Bond Breakfast in Piz Gloria Restaurant on the Schilthorn - well worth the price and the view is spectacular. Enjoy the area around Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen Valley - avoid Grindelwald, as your much better views of mountains are in the Lauterbrunnen Valley and besides the people in Lauterbrunnen Valley are more casual than in Grindelwald. For a castle you might want to check in the town of Thun which is close to Interlaken. Bottom line for spending time in small Swiss village is that you should stay in the area of Lauterbrunnen/Stechelberg/Gimmelwald and Muerren. If you happen to be in the area of Lauterbrunnen on a Sunday I highly recommend the Sunday brunch complete with folk music at Restaurant Winteregg which is located right above Lauterbrunnen.
I agree with Wes. Last summer I did a ridge hike that started in Kleine-Sheidegg and it was amazing. Spectacular views.
