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Hello ,
I with my wife planning Swiss Paris from 12th – 18th October we have 5 days in Switzerland although no bookings made , we got our visa & flights booked from 12th October Mumbai to Zurich
18th October – Paris to Istanbul
We are planning 5 days to cover 3 places ( Interlaken – Lucerne & Zermatt also Jungfroujoch what’s the best itinerary advise ? We are planning to get Swiss half fare card or should we take Swiss pass ?
since just 2 of us so covering 3 places won’t be a problem I guess
Zurich airport should we plan Zermatt ? & what’s the best place to take our train to Paris from ?
any discounts on train from Zurich to Paris with half fare card ? I hear Swiss pass has some discount though ?
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Hi rufhs and welcome to MySwissAlps!
The Swiss rail passes only cover trips within Switzerland. So if you buy a ticket from Paris to Zurich there would be a small discount for the Swiss portion of the trip. The only way to know the best rail pass is to do the math – we have a web page here on how to choose the best rail pass to help you.
Zurich to Paris travels via Basel and that is as far as any Swiss rail pass would cover. So you only need to buy a ticket from Basel to Paris (and also a ticket from Zurich to Basel if you have the Swiss Half Fare Card). The Swiss Travel Pass would cover Zurich to Basel and all your other planned trips within Switzerland so no need to buy any other tickets.
It is a fair bit of train travel in 5 days to go Zurich – Luzern – Interlaken and Zermatt. Click the links here to read more about what to see and do at each town.
Use the Swiss railway timetable to plan your train tips and see the duration for each. I would be tempted to try and stay in only two towns if possible but if all three are a must-visit for you it is doable.
I would travel Zurich to Zermatt then to Interlaken and then Luzern before heading to Basel and on to Paris I think.
Thanks Lucas! Much appreciated , I know its a fair bit of train travel ,but since we are only 2 of us I guess its doable , I have closed down to buy Swiss pass need to do calculations as per excel sheet , that’s very helpful indeed , we arrive at Zurich 13.10 from there is it good idea to visit Rhine fall & go Zermatt same day or would it be too much ? could we cover lucerne without staying overnight in that case will just stay in Zermatt & Interlaken & cover lucerne ? I tried to choose itinerary advise but I guess I am late for that it showing me from 14th October onward ..
I wouldn’t try to go to the RheinFall that late in the day before heading to Zermatt no. Use the timetable in my last link to plan those trips – you would eventually get to Zermatt but very late at night (up to you though) 🙂
Covering Lucerne in one day is subjective – you can see the old town area and “main sites” like the lake, Chappel bridge, the stone Lion in an afternoon yes.
I would be tempted to just pick two towns to try and cover both areas better (and maybe do the other areas on another trip here?) 🙂
what 2 towns you would choose ? of the 3 above ?
I would go Luzern, then Interlaken or better still nearby Wengen. Then Paris via Golden Pass Line to Montreux and Lausanne.
Yes, with your limited time I would probably cut out Zermatt (unless the Matterhorn is a must-see for you). Then after Luzern look at Interlaken (a normal town with good train connections) or as Rockoyster said, Wengen (car-free village) or Lauterbrunnen could also work for you.
Going via Montreux will add about 3 hours to the trip from Interlaken to Paris (making it over 8 hours compared to a bit over 5 hours if you go via Basel) but at least you get to travel the full Golden Pass line. When checking the timetable from Interlaken to Paris add via Zweisimmen and Montreux.
So here’s my plan
12th – Zurich to Rhine fall to Interlaken overnight at Interlaken / Wengen / Lauterbrunnen ( to be decided )
13th – Jungfroujoch
14th – Interlaken to lucerne
15th- 11.26 am glacier express Chur to Zermatt overnight stay at Zermatt booked hotel + seat reservations at glacier express
16th- Zermatt to Montreux to Zweisimmen golden pass 11.44 am ( seats reserved )
Zweisimmen to Basel to Paris I am not able to reserve seats from Zweisimmen to Interlaken it’s full 🙁 so would opt regular train
I need to decide 14th plan like what can I cover in Lucerne & where should I stay overnight nearby Chur a better idea as next day I need to catch glacier express but Lucerne to Chur also manageable ..I am not really keen on Mt Titlis or it’s worth ?
Edit : any chance I could get seats Zweisimmen to Interlaken last moment ? Also it’s recommended to book Basel to Paris prior ? Or same day at ticket counter possible ?
Hi rufhs
>> 16th- I am not able to reserve seats from Zweisimmen to Interlaken it’s full 🙁 so would opt regular train … any chance I could get seats Zweisimmen to Interlaken last moment ?
No, it’s not full 🙂
If you check the timetable for the trip Montreux to Basel (or Interlaken Ost – it’s not clear to me what your intended route is), departing Montreux at 11:44 on 16 October, you will see a replacement bus service between Zweisimmen and Wimmis stations. This is because of construction work, so that will explain why you can’t reserve a seat on the train.
You can make a reservation for the trip to Basel though, on the SBB website:
http://www.sbb.ch/ticketshop/ b2c/sprache.do?en
If you are going straight through to Basel from Montreux, you can change at Spiez and reserve seats from there. If you are going to Interlaken Ost first for some reason, you can reserve seats from there to Basel.
Alpenrose
On 16th Interlaken is not at all required all I need to go is to Paris via Basel , I just wanted to cover full golden pass line doesn’t make sense though 🙂
Montreux to Zweisimmen is reserved ( golden pass ) on 16th depart from Montreux at 11.44 am arrival at Zweisimmen 13:32 I guess best is to go via Spiez to Basel to Paris
I didn’t quite understand though why I am not able to reserve seats on 16th October from Zweisimmen to Interlaken on 15th it’s available
>> I didn’t quite understand though why I am not able to reserve seats on 16th October from Zweisimmen to Interlaken on 15th it’s available
The construction works start at 22:00 on 15 October and continue until 20 October inclusive. During this time, the railway line between Zweisimmen and Wimmis is closed. The trains are therefore cancelled and there is a replacement bus service provided.
If you check this trip on the Swiss Timetable, the replacement bus sector will be apparent.
http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
Alpenrose
I guess I ll need to stay 3 nights at Lucerne ..how about covering Jungfroujoch in a day ? From Lucerne ?10-12 hrs approx ?
Hi Rufhs,
You can still travel on any of those days to Interlaken – you just get put on a bus for part of that route as of 22:00 on the 15th. Or you can take another route if you prefer. Use the timetable in Alpenrose’s post to see your options. Reservations are not mandatory on the Golden Pass line.
Jungfraujoch from Lucerne is about 4 hours each way. So yes, it would be probably 10-12 hours (usually 2 to 3 hours at the top is the average) if you started your day there.
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