I traveled to Switzerland in late September 2024. For a week of the trip, I traveled with a friend; for the last 4 days I was solo. I'm a mid-60s woman. Unlike most Switzerland tourists, my friend and I did not gravitate to the mountains – we are not hikers and have trouble with heights, so we concentrated our trip on cities and towns and appreciated the mountain scenery from lower down.
We spent our first two nights in Zurich. We followed the Rick Steves’s walking tour, taking detours when we saw something to explore. We took a short lake cruise that was gorgeous and a great way to see the towns surrounding Zurich. I want to go back and see more of Zurich, esp. the history museum.
We took the train and spent a night in Luzern, again doing the walking tour and detouring at will. The Rosengart Museum was excellent. I wish we had also spent an additional night in Luzern to visit the Transportation Museum.
We rode the Golden Pass train to Montreux, with a 2 hour layover in Interlaken, where we wandered the town and had lunch. The day was foggy and rainy, but the scenery en route from Interlaken to Montreux was still lovely. We upgraded to Prestige class, but didn’t really think the difference from first class (our STP ticket level) was worth the extra money.
We spent 4 nights in Montreux, which was probably at least 2 too many. We loved the nearby Castle de Chillon, but we probably should have spent more time in Luzern and/or stayed in Lausanne or Geneva and made day/half-day trips to Montreux, Vevey and other towns along the lake. The Grand Hotel Suisse Majestic, directly across from the train station, was lovely (spring for a lakeview room) and the staff was very kind, esp. when my friend became very ill. [She recovered.]
Separately, I went on to Bern and spent 3 nights there. In my opinion, the city gets short shrift. I loved it and walked all over it. One day was rainy, but walking around town was easy since many of the streets are lined with arcades. The views from the terraces behind the Parliament building (Bundeshaus) and the Bern Minster cathedral were spectacular and great spots for a picnic lunch. The nearby town of Solothurn is beautifully preserved – some of the existing medieval city walls date to the 13th century. (It’s also where my great-grandfather emigrated from, so I’m particularly partial to it.)
I spent the final night at an airport hotel in Zurich, and wish I had instead spent the night in Zurich itself. Unless you’re staying at a hotel directly connected to the airport, you will be spending time getting to the airport. The airport hotel was an Americanized and charmless end to a beautiful trip. If you don’t have a very early flight, I suggest staying near the train station in town and taking the train the short distance directly to the airport.
Some of my recommendations:
• The STP was great. We didn’t to an accounting, but it was so easy not to have to buy tickets for most travel/attractions.
• Bring waterproof walking shoes. I had Brooks Gore-Tex sneakers and wore them everywhere.
• A sturdy travel umbrella and raincoat are helpful
• Be prepared with alternative plans if you need to pivot due to weather or other circumstances
• If you are a hot sleeper, a lack of A/C and the standard duvets may be an issue. Two workarounds: take the duvet out of its cover and use the cover as a top sheet. Or ask for a fan – the hotel had them readily available when we needed one.
• The train system is awesome – we used it constantly. One rainy day I rode the train out to the surrounding countryside just for the scenery. We were glad to have the first class STP passes when we were bringing luggage (just carryons), as there was ample room to stow them.