Recommendations for Switzerland please

[userofthiswebsite]

Thinking of going to Switzerland in the Oct half term holiday with a friend for say 4 days give or take. We are not planning to ski so this is a cultural / scenic trip.

Could anyone provide guidance for an itinerary for the 'best bits' - which places to go to and how many days to allocate etc?

Thanks

We went to Geneva in May, albeit with kids so probably a different sort of holiday. I'd recommend touring a chocolate factory (I think you can take a class too), eating fondue at the pier, taking a water taxi past the jet d'eau.

The food is incredibly expensive, so we did Airbnb to keep the costs down. The buses are really easy to use, as are the trains. You can take a bus over the French border to do a cable car (and get a cheaper meal!), if you fancy ticking off another country while you're there.

Basically, go for the cheese and chocolate and you'll be fine.

Thank you Nomad86 - I certainly intend to sample the chocolate whilst there!!!!

Remortage the house. It is eye-wateringly expensive! We stayed on the German side of Lake Constance thank goodness so we could have main meals in Germany and breakfast was included in the room rate but it was really expensive for snacks etc. If you are in Geneva you can do the same with France as a pp suggested.

Think £80 odd for a Monopoly set too. Truly horrible, and probably even worse now with the £ to CHF rate being so poor.

What type of holiday are you looking for? Are you walkers, or sightseeing, or wanting to visit attractions? City or mountains?
TBH, if you are thinking October half term, you might be a bit disappointed, as it is the 'off-season' between the spring/summer tourist season and the winter holidays, and many hotels and attractions will be closed.
I love Switzerland and we spend a lot of time there, but I wouldn't go in late October.
And it is very expensive, though there are ways of getting the costs down.

Hi Faded Red

At the moment we are thinking of taking the Bernina Express in from Tirano, Italy to Chur. From there to Lucerne where we are thinking of spending a day sightseeing and a day going up Mt Pilatus. A day in Bern. We also want to get to Interlaken so we can go up to Jugenfrou (sp?). Maybe a day in Zurich/Geneva as we'll flight out from one of those airports.

I know it's expensive but I don't mind, it's just a one-off week. Can I ask you if you know particularly what might be closed in mid-late Oct? We will surely check hotels and will of course book rooms in advance of going but in terms of attractions?

I am aware that the Golden Route up Mt Pilatus is closed from 22 Oct so are going to be sure to go before that. We're going a few days before the half term week till the middle of the half term week.

Unfortunately I can't go any time in Nov/Dec and I'm sure it's ever so cold Jan onwards. My friend may not be here as well next year so I think the 'when' is kind of set in stone.

Thank you for any advice you can share.

Satsumereater

Yes, I'll change a lump sum of cash but will be taking my excellent Halifax travel credit card with me so even if I run through my cash I'll be ok. I think I'll also chuck some boxes of Special K bars or whatnot in my suitcase

Lucerne is lovely

I had a look at some of the timetable info and I was perhaps a bit pessimistic about October, as most of closures for off season maintainence appear to be more in November than October.
Have a look at the Swiss Tourist Office website - you can buy travel passes that will reduce transport costs, You can to buy them before you get to Switzerland which will make the best savings on your transport while you are there.
Also these websites have lots of useful info www.jungfrau.ch. www.wengen.com
Buying food for 'picnic' lunches from the supermarkets will help to keep the costs down a bit - Coop and Migros do good quality take out food. A flask for coffee in your rucksack (coffee bought in the uk) will save you paying £3/4 pounds a cup of coffee in cafes and restaurants.

There are 2 routes up Pilatus iirc. Engelberg and the Titlis or Rigi might be good alternatives. Mid Oct to early December tends to be when maintenance of lifts is done so do check in advance. Tbh you may be trying to pack too much into 4 days and cover too much distance. The trip from Lucerne to Interlaken is scenic. Jungfraujoch from Interlaken would easily take much of the day, especially if you stop off along the way. Basel is a pleasant city too, and flights may be cheaper.

If you haven't already, check out rail prices/ passes. We were there over summer and got the kids a rail pass which meant they could travel for free. Went from Geneva to Lauterbrunnen (near Interlaken) then on to Bern. The lake side in Geneva is lovely. Jungfrau was hideously expensive to go up, but we went have was to Kleine schnidig, which was less than half price. Lauterbrunnen is where the train to Jungfrau/ Kleine goes from is lovely- you can see loads of waterfalls in the valley and walk behind one, all within walking distance from the station. Enjoy- it's a beautiful country

I live here (just outside of Zurich) so my view may be biased. I find Geneva and Bern a little boring. Zurich is a much nicer city to spend time in. Walks around the old town, a boat trip on the lake, you can visit the Lindt chocolate factory just down the lake in Kilchberg. Spend an afternoon/evening at the Spa at the old Herrlimann brewery. If you want great mountain views try the Oeschinensee (train to Kandersteg and cable car up) mountains and a lake for one reasonably priced ticket.

As others have said, be prepared to take a second mortgage for food and drinks!

We went to Grindlewald (sp?) and got one of the rail passes so we could go to all the surrounding areas, Manlichen, Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, Murren, Interlaken etc and also up the Kleine Schiedegg. We also did the Jungfraujoch which was expensive but FANTASTIC. We also went for a huge drive one day which took all day but as the crow flies we hardly went very far at all, but we did cross the border into Italy at one point I think.

The whole holiday was AWESOME!

I have been to Geneva quite a few times (have a relative who lives there) and I have to say I think its one of the dullest places I have ever been. Some of the places around Lake Geneva are OK and have nice views, but even those places are quite dull (the most interesting thing about Montreux is the Freddie Mercury statue!)

Up to Kleine Schiedegg not up the 😆

Also aware I have probably spelt most of those place names wrong!

Lauterbrunnen is where the train to Jungfrau/ Kleine goes from is lovely- you can see loads of waterfalls in the valley and walk behind one, all within walking distance from the station.

Yes that whole valley is just stunning and there are a couple of 'tourist attraction' waterfalls that you can go right into.

I love Switzerland! Very expensive, but such a beautiful country and the Swiss people are so lovely. I went in the summer so it was warm, but I'd happily go back during any season.

I preferred Zurich to Geneva, I found Geneva a bit poncy, although the lake was beautiful. I loved walking by the lake in Zurich and up the river. The FIFA museum is also good fun if you like football.

I liked really Bern - beautiful buildings and lots of pretty flower boxes. If you walk up to the Rose Garden, you get a lovely view of the city. The Einstein museum is worth a visit too.

Interlaken is worth a trip too. I preferred Lake Brienz to Lake Thun. I'd recommend taking the ferry from Interlaken to Brienz, it's about 1.5 hours but the scenery is amazing. You can then get a train back to Interlaken (or return ferry).

Have fun and eat lots of chocolate!

Train travel is great, but check out how much of a saving rail passes will actually make (might be not much if at all).

Many hotels will give you free passes for local buses and trams, which is handy.

I'm planning a trip next year. I'm mainly going for the cheese scenery. So excited.

Here is a link to the thread I started a few weeks ago with some helpful advise

So excited, I have been dreaming of Switzerland for years. Please report back after your trip.

Lucerne/Thun/Interlaken are all very pretty & it's an easy country to travel around by train.Zurich is nicer than Geneva but probably wouldn't want more than a day there

The 48 hours in ... Travel show is in Zurich tomorrow.

Thanks LIZS will watch that.