[Removed user]

8 August 2011 at 5:52:15 #804573

We are a first timers to switzerland family of 5 (4,12,14) coming from Paris by car into Switzerland. We would love to do a few activities – International clockwork museum(or any other clock factory), glacier garden(worth seeing?), see some mountains (jaunfraubahn or Mt Titilis or any other ), cheese and chocolate factory, some trekking and hopefully snow sledding. Can you kindly suggest where are the 2 bases to stop for the 5 nights? I know some places eg Wengen disallow cars, and Mt Titilis may be closed. Also, will we need snow chains during this period? Also what kind of passes will be necessary since we have the car.
We are open to any suggestions. Many thanks!

Effortlessly learn from the questions and answers in the forum. Receive a daily e-mail with new discussions. Sign up

[Annika]

9 August 2011 at 6:47:56 #833759

Hi abelina, and welcome! Looking at the acitivities you’re listing, I’d say that staying in or near Lucerne and Interlaken would be a good option. You can always choose to look for a smaller town nearby (such as Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen, which both allow cars) if that appeals to you. The Glacier garden (which is definitely nice, although I’d personally prefer to get out on the lake or to a viewing point if weather is clear) and Titlis are in or near Lucerne. The Jungfraujoch can easily be reached from Interlaken. There’s snow up there all year round. Only the cheese and chocolate factory would require a long day trip from Interlaken, if you want to combine both using the Chocolate Train leaving from Montreux. But it can be done, if you don’t mind leaving early and returning late. The timetable provides further details.

Since you’ll be traveling by car, the Swiss Half Fare Card would be a great supplement. If offers a (mostly 50%) discount on trips such as the Jungfraujoch, Titlis, the Chocolate Train, and nearly all other train or cable car rides you may want to make.

[Removed user]

9 August 2011 at 10:58:18 #833760

Many thanks Annika for your kind suggestions. May I know what are the possible lakes that I can take a look at in Interlaken (is it to take a boat?). I just checked that Titlis is closed from 7-25 Nov, do you have another mountain to suggest where I can do simple snow activities eg snow tubes etc. Also, is the open air museum at ballenberg recommended?

[Annika]

10 August 2011 at 3:46:41 #833761

Hi abelina. Boat trips can be made over lake Lucerne, lake Brienz and lake Thun. You could check whether Pilatus or Rigi are open at this time of the year, as an alternative to the Titlis. Unfortunately, the Ballenberg museum is closed in November. There are lots of indoor museums though, such as the Swiss national museum in Zurich.