7 Days in Zurich, Jungfraujoch, and Geneva advice
Ivan is planning his first trip to Switzerland with his wife for 7 days in late June, after a week in Iceland. They’ll explore Zurich for the first three days, visit Jungfraujoch, and then spend three days in Geneva. He needs advice on hotel luggage policies, the best travel passes, and fitting the Golden Pass route into their itinerary.
- Most hotels in Zurich will store luggage until check-in, and train stations also offer storage options.
- The Swiss Travel Pass is recommended as it provides discounts and access to many museums; the 25% promotion is a great deal.
- To enjoy the Golden Pass route, plan your travel from Interlaken to Geneva creatively, as it's a beautiful option.
- Book hotels with flexible cancellation policies as June is not high season yet; it will be manageable to find accommodations.
AI-generated summary-
Hello,
Just looking for some tips and advice based on my following itinerary:
My wife and I plan to be in Switzerland (first time) for 7 days in late June after a 7 day stopover in Iceland coming from Canada. We are both in our 40’s and fairly active.
Day 1 to 3: We will be flying into Zurich, plan to stay and explore the city for 3 days. I’m looking at staying in the Old Town area (between the train station and Lake Zurich) in a mid-range hotel that includes breakfast and free cancellation. We plan to walk/transit everywhere exploring museums, churches, Uetiliberg Mountain etc.
Day 4: Leave early to final destination of Jungfraujoch. Explore, hike etc. Maybe stay the night in Interlaken.
Day 5-7: Train to Geneva and spend next 3 days here similar to Zurich part of the trip in terms of exploring and such.
Day 8: Flight back to Canada
Questions:
1. Plan to come into Zurich early. Do most hotels allow luggage to be tucked away until coming back to check in later or should I consider storing them at the train station? I guess this goes for Day 4 in Jungfraujoch and Day 5 in Geneva?
2. What pass to get? I’m thinking Day 1-3 I only need the Zurich pass. Day 4-5 maybe the Swiss Travel Pass? Day 5-6 the Geneva City Pass? Also just saw the 25% off promo for the Swiss Travel Pass. Is first vs second class travel that much of a difference? I see a lot of resources on this site with timetables and such. Thanks but still confusing for me for the time being.
3. Can I fit the Golden Pass route between Day 4-5?
4. Looking to start probably booking now for hotels and such with a good cancellation policy. Is it usually pretty busy in mid-late June?
5. Any advice, tips, or suggestions on any part of my itinerary is much appreciated!
Ivan
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According to your itinerary, Day 5 would start in Interlaken after an overnight stay, and tourists travelling from there to Geneva usually go via the Golden Pass (Interlaken – Spiez – Zweisimmen – Montreux) then onto Geneva along Lac Leman (Lake Geneva). As such you would ‘automatically’ include the Golden Pass!
You are right! I see that now!
Hi Ivan and welcome to MySwissAlps.com!
For a hotel in Zurich, have a look at Hotel Adler (you can find more recommended hotels at http://www.myswissalps.com/zurich/hotels). At http://www.myswissalps.com/zurich/activities you can read about the top things to do in Zurich.
I definitely suggest staying overnight in Interlaken. The Jungfrau region is so wonderful it worth the overnight! 🙂
Now back to your questions:
1. It depends on the hotel, you can ask them. At every railway station you’ll find luggage storage. More practical tips: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/practical/luggage
2. The ‘Swiss Travel Pass promotion: 25% discount’ is great, see the details at http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/swiss-travel-pass-25-off-until-11-december-2021. The differences between the first and second class are explained here: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/practical/2nd1stclass. I travel on the 2nd class I think it is fine. Note, that with the Swiss Travel Pass you can enjoy over 500 museums for free, so that is really a great deal. Maybe the 4 or 8day Swiss Travel Pass would be the best for you. To make sure you can compare the prices with our downloadable spreadsheet at http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass. If you are staying in Geneva in a hotel, you are going to get the Geneva Transport Card, which allows you free travel within the city: http://www.myswissalps.com/geneva/travel.
3. About the Golden Pass: yes, you are going to travel there anyway, see: http://www.myswissalps.com/goldenpass.
4. June is not high season, but if you choose a hotel with free cancellation, you have nothing to lose. Try these:
- http://www.myswissalps.com/geneva/hotels
- http://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken/hotels
- and for Zurich I’ve already mentioned above
I hope these help,
Ildiko
Hello Ivan,
I can warmly second Ildiko’s recommendation of Hotel Adler in Zurich. I have stayed there. The location near the station in the Niederdorf district is perfect, the rooms are nicely decorated, the service is no-nonsense.
Now to your questions:
1. Yes, hotels as a rule will keep your luggage in storage until check-in time. Don’t haul your luggage to Jungfraujoch, you should be able to put them in storage at Interlaken Ost train station, or at your Interlaken hotel if you are staying there overnight.
2-4. See Ildiko’s answer, I have nothing to add.
5. In Geneva you may stay at Hotel Bel’Esperance in the Old Town (I don’t know it personnally, but a Forum member stayed there some time ago), or at the Ibis Styles in Carouge (a modern hotel, each room is decorated by a local cartoon artist). Depending on your tastes, you could stroll along the lake (either bank, and you can come back with the Mouette Genevoise lakeboat, ticketing like the Geneva Public Transport, ask the hotel if they give you a pass). For sightseeing you could go to the Red Cross Museum, stroll through the Old Town, visit Carouge (Geneva’s equivalent to NY’s Greenwich Village), or take the train to Russin and hike through the vinyards, or make a relaxing cruise on the Rhône River (you will forget the nearby city!). For nightlife try Carouge, its numerous restaurants like Via Roma (Italian) or Le Vieux Carouge (cheese fondue), and the famous Chat Noir night club, but there are many other places.
Enjoy the trip!
Snowman.
Pl check what you will do in Zurich for 3 days. One day in Bernese oberland is too rushed. I stayed in this region for 7 days. I still want to come back to this area someday since I could not completely explore
Hi Ivan,
I’ve also heard great things about Hotel Bel’Esperance (https://www.hotelscombined.com/Hotel/Hotel_BelEsperance.htm) and ibis Styles Geneve Carouge (https://www.hotelscombined.ch/hotels/ibis-Styles-Geneve-Carouge,Carouge-c81227-h3415343-details). 🙂
Take care,
Ildiko
I just wanted to thank everyone for you contribution! There’s so much to read thru!
I’ve never used http://www.hotelscombined.com but seems like some of the prices are less than expedia.ca and booking. com. Awesome!
First time in Switzerland so just wanted to see the 2 biggest cities first with a trip to Jungfraujoch to get a taste of the mountains. We are also coming from Iceland and will be camper vanning it around the country so that’s probably a good amount of outside time before we get to Switzerland.
Some questions:
1. Staying in the old town area in Zurich….is it pretty safe to walk around at night after dinner / late night drinks?
2. Same question in Geneva? Is it better to stay on the side where the train station is or the other side of the water in the old town area?
Thanks!
Ivan
Are you going to camper vaning in Iceland? That is amazing, one of my dreams 🙂 We usually travel in Switzerland with our campervan and it is wonderful too, great experience! 🙂
Now back to your question, Switzerland is safe in general, so yes, you can walk around at night. Of course you should be still aware of the normal precautions like do not leave your bag unattended or always close your bag while you are walking etc.
Please read this older thread too regarding too: http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/how-safe-is-switzerland.
I cannot tell you which part of Geneva is safer, hopefully @Snowman can help us out.
Take care,
Ildiko
Hi Ivan,
Regarding Zurich, we are talking of the Niederdorf district where hotel Adler is located. In the evening, there are big traffic jams there. Pedestrian traffic jams, that is. As Ildiko says, the place is safe. There are good restaurants there, and for night entertainment I would recommend Casa Bar on Münstergasse, not far from Bodega Espanola where you could dine (first floor) or just have a glass of wine or two (ground floor – If you are American, the Swiss first floor would be your second floor!). Zurich is a small city, at least the downtown area, and you could just cross the Limmat River and visit the other old town (Altstadt), between the river and Bahnhofstrasse. Safe, and with nice dining opportunities. Another nightlife area is the Langstrasse, it’s reputation is not as good as Altstadt and Niederdorf, but a close relative of mine goes there every now and then and is still alive!
Geneva is smaller yet, and, like Zurich, has a good public transport system (for tickets, network map etc. the best is to ask your hotel clark). The Old Town (Vieille Ville) is safe. I mentioned our (sort of) Greenwich Village in Carouge, we also have a (sort of) equivalent to the Bronx which I will not recommend here, but, let’s say you might as well prefer “the other side of the water” (with reference to Cornavin, the main train station). In the Old Town or in Carouge, under the normal precautions mentioned by Ildiko you should not expect problems when you stroll at night.
Welcome,
Snowman
Hi Ivan! Since you’ll be exploring Switzerland by campervan, this page might be of interest: http://www.myswissalps.com/car/caravancamper.
Yes Ildiko and I’m using: happycampers.is/
Thanks Snowman for all the Zurich recommendations.
So just to clarify about Geneva, I’m sure both areas are fine but you suggest staying in the Old town side vs the train side of the city right?
No Camper Van for Switzerland this time but that’s a possibility in the future. Thanks for the link!
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