[Removed user]

4 January 2015 at 0:57:25 #806782

I am headed to Switzerland and the Italian lakes April 28-May 9 with my husband for our honeymoon. We have done significant research and were disappointed to find that many of the mountain towns are closed this time of year as it is in between seasons. However, we are determined not to let this get us down!

We are hoping to spend our time eating good food, relaxing, exploring the beautiful scenery and doing a few easy hikes.

Our current plans are to fly into Zurich on April 28 and go directly to Lucerne. We’ll spend a few days in the area exploring Mt. Pilatus and the town of Lucerne. Are there any other sights you would recommend around Lucerne?

From there we have a few days that we are trying to fill. Our initial plan was to head to Berner Oberland and stay in Murren. However, since most of the area shuts down during that time we’re rethinking this. Would it be worth staying somewhere not as high up and going to Interlaken or Lauterbrunnen instead? Open to any and all suggestions here!

After that we are planning to head to Lake Maggiore to stay in Stresa and then onto Bellagio for a few days on Lake Como and then back to Zurich before we fly back to the US.

As you can see our trip so far is very focused on the lakes. We certainly do not want to miss out on everything Switzerland has to offer! However, we are perfectly happy extending our stays in the other locations as well if that makes the most sense.

We will be traveling primarily by train.

Thanks for your help,

Ashley

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[Annika]

4 January 2015 at 18:24:17 #841471

Hi ashmix, welcome to MySwissAlps!

The towns will not be closed, but some will be very quiet as there’s no more Winter sports and the Summer season is still a long way out. Many cable cars and cogwheel trains will be closed indeed, so some of the peaks can not be reached. But there’s still plenty to see. You just need to plan a bit better than in Summer. Mount Pilatus should be open by the time you’re there, after a huge cable car reconstruction, but do check before you go there. The cogwheel train may still be closed, but the cable car should be operational.

There’s a lot to see in the town of Lucerne itself, and a boat ride and a visit to Mount Rigi are beautiful too. Lots of ideas can be found on the Lucerne page.

As for the Berner Oberland: it depends on what you’re looking for. Mürren is probably quiet, and trails may be closed because of snow. Lauterbrunnen is on the valley floor so hiking is no problem there. Interlaken is a lot bigger, with hotels, lots of shops etc. A pro of Interlaken is the excellent train connections to about anywhere, so it’s easy to explore a larger region.

You can consider to first visit the south (Lake Como, etc.). The later you reach Lucerne and the Berner Oberland, the better it is.

For train information and passes, please look here.

Does this help you out?