3 week Switzerland itinerary incl.panoramic trains
A traveler is planning a 3-week trip to Switzerland, starting in Zurich and visiting places like Lugano, Zermatt, Montreux, and Lucerne. They are looking for advice on improving their itinerary and managing their accommodation changes, as they will shift hotels 8 times during their stay.
- Consider minimizing hotel changes by selecting fewer bases if possible, while still covering scenic locations.
- The Swiss Travel Pass can simplify travel and offer savings on multiple rail journeys across the country.
- Stick to your original plan if you want to experience all scenic trains, as they provide unique views even outside designated routes.
AI-generated summary-
Hi- I would love to know if you have any improvement on this 3 week itinerary.
Day 1- Arrive Zurich
Day 2-4- Lugano
Day 5 – Lugano to Chur (Bernina Express)
Day 6 – Chur to Zermatt ( Glacier Express)
Day 7–8 Zermatt
Day 8- Zermatt to Montreax
Day 9- Montreaux
Day 10- Montreaux to Wengen (Golden Pass)
Day 11- Day 13- Wengen
Day 14 Wengen to Lucerne
Day 15 – Day 17 -Lucerne
Day 18 – Lucerne to Salzburg, Austria
.
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Asking a question ‘can you improve on that’ is almost impossible given that there are 1000s of different ways to see Switzerland by train in 18 days.
The itinerary as listed is perfectly good. I can’t see how it could be ‘improved’
If I count correctly you have 8 changes of accommodation in 18 days. If you are comfortable with that then the itinerary looks fine. You will certainly touch on most of the major tourist destinations.
Hello TMKA,
I think your itinerary is absolutely do-able, if you’re fine changing accommodation so often, as stated by Rockoyster.
I believe figuring out travelling times between your planned bases with the below timetable will help you get an idea of how much travelling you’re planning. Make sure you read how the timetable works, as it’s a fabulous tool for planning:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metableYou will find helpful input of the cities/villages you’re visiting by typing them into the search bar of this page (careful, it’s Montreux!).
For the panoramic trains please check below links:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/be rninaexpress
– http://www.myswissalps.com/gl acierexpress
– http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpassPlease get back to us anytime for further input and maybe also read the following link, it might be supportive for you to get the best rail pass:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpassBest and enjoy planning your stay here in Switzerland.
Steph
Thank you so much for your help. We agree 8 different hotels is quite a bit. Do you have have any suggestions on how we can minimize the hotel changes but see the same sights? We do want to do all the scenic train trips. All the best.
If you must do all the “scenic” train trips then I don’t think you have much choice but to keep moving.
When are you travelling? Some places may be more or less appealing at some times of year.
If I was to drop anything it would be Montreux and add a day to Zermatt and a day to the Jungfrau Region. But it depends on season.
http://www.myswissalps.com/be sttimetovisit
We are planning on going the first 3 weeks in September.
That makes it tricky. Montreux is fabulous in September. Follow here (Montreux report to come).
Hello TMKA,
As said by Rockoyster you will most probably have to stick to your initial plan to cover all the scenic trains.
Maybe the "8 day Grand Train Tour of Switzerland from Zurich" is an option for you to consider, as it offers a package covering practically what you’re planning. Alternatively any other rail holiday from below link might be worth looking into.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ra ilholidays
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities/scenictrips/t rainBest and get back to us anytime for further support.
Steph
Oh Steph, a Viator tour? *palm hits forehead*
Hi Mate, 🙂
YES, an entirely organised tour can be very helpful for travellers who for whatever reason don’t have the time (or whatever) to do detailed planning…
I’m aware that lots of the forum members prefer individual travelling and planning, but this doesn’t apply to everybody!
As a moderator am here to provide ALL the options I see to a request, keeping back my personal opinion sometimes!
Hope for your understanding!
Cheers,
Steph
Thank You all. Are we doing too many “scenic trains”?
Also, we want to visit Yvoire, France which is the reason to visit Montreaux.
Hello TMKA,
That’s a tricky question to answer. I tend to say that it’s the scenery which is scenic, not the train, so if you travel by train and cover the areas that appeal to you, you will have more than enough “scenic” train rides, even if they’re not labelled as such!
Enjoy planning and feel free to get some guidance by checking below links:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ge ttingstarted
– http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/practical/howtotra vel
– http://www.myswissalps.com/wh eretogoBest,
Steph
Montreux(not Montreaux) is not the best base for Yvoire, as Yvoire is right at the south west end of the country. Also after early September the boat service to Yvoire is weekends only, and even then you can’t reach Yvoire from Montreux by boat so you would have to train to Lausanne and then get the boat.
The fact that you want to do Yvoire as well everything else on your itinerary is an indicator that maybe you are trying to fit ‘just one too many things’ into your trip. Many people find that after one trip to Switzerland they can’t resist coming back again – so you might consider saving something ‘for next time’
Yes, personally, I think so
Try not to focus too hard on the so called ‘scenic’ trains. Nearly all railways in Switzerland are scenic in some way – if you don’t see high mountains you will see other icons of Switzerland such as lakes, rolling pastures, farmsteads, cows etc. – so you will rarely be disappointed with any Swiss train trip.
Many discussions on this forum are about the ‘classic’ tourist sights of Switzerland and ignore the very many typically Swiss places and regions that are missed by many tourists. With a long trip like yours you have the chance to see some things travellers with less time will miss. I recommend you take advantage of that.
There are some great places to see away from the Alps, to list just a very few of the possibilities:
Jura mountains
The ‘northwestern’ lakes (Bielersee, Lac de Neuchatel) with their vineyards etc
undulating ‘Swiss plateau’ scenery
many regional architecture variations (some very classic huge farmsteads in the ‘lowland’ area for example
Spa towns
Roman towns
Castles in the northwestern Swiss area
etc
Sorry Steph. I blame the cabernet sauvignon.
Thank you again for all of your help. Question:
1. Based on the above itinerary- do you think we should spend one more day in Montreaux & delete a day in Lucerne? I am wondering if we may get to the point that we have seen enough mountains & would like different scenery.
Thanks again!!
That’s something you’d have to decide for yourself. Some people just can’t get enough cable cars and mountains. I recently spent a week in the Bernese Oberland and never ran out of things to do.
Hi TMKA,
I would stick to your original plan. If you run out of things to see in Lucerne after 2 days or just want something different, it’s central enough to make day trips to other Swiss cities/regions without travelling too far.
But it really depends on your itinerary. Would 1 day be enough to cover all the sights you want to see in Montreux? Ditto in Lucerne. If you plan to visit Rigi, Pilatus and Titlis on separate days, 3 days is just about enough to cover them all. Helpful links below!
- Lucerne: http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne
- Montreux: http://www.myswissalps.com/mo ntreux
Regards,
Anna
Well we just want to experience the lakes, mountains, countryside and medieval cities, old towns– cities, museums do not interest us. If that helps & if you have any suggestions, we can change our itinerary in any way.
Also, If any of you ever visit the NYC area, I will gladly plan a wonderful trip for you. Thanks !! All the best!
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