Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Tell me about Switzerland or French Alps in summer?

26 replies

Portofino · 22/11/2009 21:45

I fancy a change from our annual migration from Brussels to South of France. Looking for somewhere with lots for dd (aged 5, speaks en/fr) to do. Nice food, nice scenery. DH has always fancied going to the Reichenbach Falls - big Sherlock Holmes fan. I think Grindelwald is nearby.....

I quite fancy doing a 2 or 3 stager over 2 weeks. Stop off in b&b or camping on the way out and back for a few days, then a maybe a week/10 days in the middle.....any ideas? We have tent etc but don't want to spend 2 weeks in it....

OP posts:
MmeLindt · 22/11/2009 21:54

Not sure of the Grindelwald area, but we are in Geneva and there is lots to do here.

Geneva itself is worth a visit. The lake, boat trip on the lake, beach in Excenevex (only sandy beach on lake Geneva, great for DC as it is very gradual slope into lake). Montreaux is lovely, Annecy is close.

Food is fab, French influenced but also quite Swiss.

Actually, Annecy area would be a good base then you could do a day trip to Geneva. There are some great campsites on Lake Annecy. From there, you can do the Cols towards Italy, Col d'Iseran through Val d'Isere.

Original poster
Portofino · 22/11/2009 22:01

ooh that sounds interesting - thank you! Is mainly french speaking there?

Doesn't bother me, but DH can't speak any German and gets stressed

OP posts:
OhYouBadBadKitten · 22/11/2009 22:11

The French alps are my favourite place to stay in the whole world. We stayed in a campsite here last year. Utterly utterly gorgeous walks with marmots and Golden Eagles and a cable car that takes you up the mountain. Bit of a drive to shops but gorgeous fresh fresh fruit and bread for breakfast.

MmeLindt · 22/11/2009 22:12

Totally German speaking here in Geneva. You are more likely to find someone speaking English than German.

Right up to beyond Montreaux / Lausanne it is totally French speaking. German begins beyond Gruyere/Gstaad.

MmeLindt · 22/11/2009 22:13

Wah, that should say, Totally FRENCH speaking

Sorry, too much wine.

MmeLindt · 22/11/2009 22:16

DH took the DC to this campsite in the summer. They really enjoyed it. You can cycle around Lake Annecy. The town of Annecy is lovely, fab market on Sunday mornings.

Original poster
Portofino · 22/11/2009 22:40

Wow - both of those look lovely! I am feeling inspired! Now just to convince DH, who spent many years at sea, that inland is actually more lovely!

OP posts:
MmeLindt · 22/11/2009 22:43

tbh, we were land locked for so long (in Germany) that this seems like paradise. The lakes are fabulous and there are some fantastic beaches.

Both Annecy and Geneve have beaches right in the town centres. Geneve Plage is lovely, we go there a lot in summer. Or there are lots of little beaches along the shores of Lake Geneva.

Original poster
Portofino · 22/11/2009 22:47

Actually waht is the weather like? Don't care about it being roasting hot, more that it doesn't rain all the time....

OP posts:
MmeLindt · 22/11/2009 22:49

Similar to Brussels (we used to be in Düsseldorf so not far away).

Weather is pretty good, milder than in Germany I think, and not so sticky, humid. 22 - 28°C most of the summer.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 23/11/2009 07:45

We had a mix. It was generally around 20C and nice . Some utterly spectacular thunderstorms though. For me that was brilliant. They were very beautiful!

LIZS · 29/11/2009 17:45

We did a tour of our favourites before we came back to live in UK - took in Lugano, Saas Fee and Wengen. Reichenbach is near Meiringen (an anticlimax imho, Aareschlucht , a river gorge walk nearby is more dramatic and Ballenburg "living" open air museum interesting for the kids) - perhaps Interlaken would be a good stop over to visit there one day and Grindelwald/Wengen another. Also several other mountain railway trips and the lakes to explore. Most of central Switzerland is German speaking until you reach the area between Bern and Geneva(French), or south of the Gotthard pass/tunnel(Italian) plus the odd area of Romansch. However English is widely spoken in the touristy areas and supermarkets etc usually have displays in at least the 3 official languages ! Lugano is in the Italian part and has a great lake, attractions , warm climate and is near to lakes Como,and Maggiore and Milan.

Chamonix might be a good French alternative for a mountain resort amd agree Lake Annecy is also lovely - we were there in the heatwave a few years ago and made a contrats to the refreshing climate to the mountains (Saas Fee and Zermatt on that trip).

Original poster
Portofino · 03/12/2009 13:38

Ooh thanks

OP posts:
tulpe · 04/12/2009 18:23

Annecy is a beautiful place. If you base yourself there and are going to take a trip to Geneva, can I suggest you also try Evian? You can take the boat from Evian to Lausanne which my DCs love to do.

There is a fab outdoor pool (well actually 2 huge pools and one children's paddling pool) at Evian, a funicular railway, lovely strolls along the shore of Lac Leman (with plenty of play parks dotted along the path to keep DD amused).

Thonon waterfront is also lovely. There are a small selection of restaurants in a cobbled, harbour area (also with small play park......all DCs of surrounding families descend upon it whilst mama et papa enjoy the view and vino ). The town itself, however, is not particularly pretty.

There is also a beautiful abbey ruin which we visited last year up in the mountains - about 45 mins drive from Evian. Will find out the name and come back to you. It was absolutely beautiful up there and they are restoring the medicinal gardens etc around the ruin. My DCs had a ball playing there.

Yvoire is also worth a visit too.

tulpe · 04/12/2009 18:26

oh and if you go to Montreaux (which I also have fond memories of as DS1 took his first steps there ), it is worth taking DD to see Chateau de Chillon. It is a fairytale-esque castle right on Lake Geneva. Very lovely and atmospheric.

OhYouMerryMerryKitten · 05/12/2009 22:18

posting so I can re-find this thread in a day or so. Think we will try lake geneva or lake annecey this summer. We would like a campsite that is in walking distance of restaraunts.

OhYouMerryMerryKitten · 05/12/2009 22:19

sorry about spellings Annecy!!

Original poster
Portofino · 05/12/2009 22:23

Well I have booked 10 nights in Italy and we will do 3-7 days in Switzerland I think on the way back depending on how the holiday allocations falls. Some very useful hints already.....

OP posts:
OhYouMerryMerryKitten · 05/12/2009 22:29

cool. sounds very nice Port

Original poster
Portofino · 05/12/2009 22:38

Ilove holidays me! Drives DH mad, all my plotting and planning

OP posts:
sharling · 13/01/2010 20:35

We went to Adelboden in Switzerland last year for exactly the same reason. Hired a Chalet and it was a real treat to see the beautiful mountains in the summer. It was stunning. We have two small boys so did a lot of walking and throwing stones in gushing rivers. The ski trails are open as are main lifts and cable cars so there is some great walking

Only negative is the cost of Switzerland. v pricey

Have fun.

sharling · 13/01/2010 20:57

We went to Adelboden in Switzerland last year for exactly the same reason. Hired a Chalet and it was a real treat to see the beautiful mountains in the summer. It was stunning. We have two small boys so did a lot of walking and throwing stones in gushing rivers. The ski trails are open as are main lifts and cable cars so there is some great walking

Only negative is the cost of Switzerland. v pricey

Have fun.

Original poster
Portofino · 17/01/2010 21:41

I am noticing the prices! I think I am booking for 4 nights at Brienz. Easy to get to Meiringen plus Grindelwald etc. There seems to be loads to do and it all looks gorgeous. Am saving already

OP posts:
Lilymaid · 17/01/2010 21:52

Bernese Oberland (e.g. Grindelwald) is fantastic - there was a thread last year about camping in that area and whether Lauterbrunnen was nicer than Grindelwald for camping. If you like "in your face" snowy mountains it is the place to go.
We also love Samoens in France - old village about 1 hour from Geneva in the Grand Massif and not too far from the Mont Blanc tunnel. Riverside municipal campsite there and plenty to occupy children.

JiminyCricket · 17/01/2010 22:01

can't advise but we are flying to geneva and renting an apartment in morzine looks lovely

Swipe left for the next trending thread