[Dreamcatcher]

11 February 2020 at 13:15:37 #825189

Hi, I am planning to spend 9 full days in Switzerland possibly from 8-16 Dec 2020 and wondering what could be a good itinerary. I am also considering getting the 8-Day Swiss Rail Pass. Here’s my wish list: city, mountains, lakes, scenic train rides, gondola ride, cog-wheel ride, cruise, villages, nice cafes and simple food and anything that’s unique and exclusive. Exclude skiing, winter activities and exotic food. Thank you very much.

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[Snowman]

Reply 1 of 7 • 11 February 2020 at 15:25:59 #930006

Hi Estherl,

Congratulations for wanting to visit Switzerland, you will see it is a country full of variety.

Maybe you could arrive in Geneva (will you be jet-lagged?) and spend your first night there. The landscape at the lakeshore is awesome, even in winter. The Old Town is small, worth visiting. then, depending on your tastes, you could visit the district of International Organizations including the Red Cross Museum, or the Reformation Monument, or the charming city of Carouge. Or just go on to Lausanne, where there is a chance that you can do a lake cruise (such opportunities are rare in winter).

Other cities worth visiting are Zurich and Basel (Switzerland large cities besides Geneva), Bern (a charming capital city), Olten (its old town is a secret gem), Bellinzona, Locarno and Lugano (in the Italian part, south of the Alps). Or Sion (charming old town with castles on two hills) if you travel between Lausanne and Zermatt.

Besides Lake Geneva, you could see Lake Thun and Lake Brienz (if you go to Interlaken), Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano in Ticino, or Lake Lucerne. There are many others.

You could then go to Zermatt and have your cogwheel train trip to Gornergrat, then your scenic train ride could take you to St-Moritz on the Glacier Express. Gondala rides are available there.

There are nice cafés everywhere. To mention a few: Le Marché in Carouge, Bodega Española in Zurich, Altes Tramdepot in Bern, Galicia Bar in Olten (near the rail station), Bodega and Stadtbad in Olten (Old Town).

Simple local food is cheese fondue (in the French part), or Roeschti (in the German part). Don’t regard Italian restaurants in Switzerland as “exotic”.

Now I am sure other specialists will give you additional useful advices. Have a good time!

[User]

Reply 2 of 7 • 12 February 2020 at 7:08:55 #930007

Hi Hadassah and welcome to MySwissAlps,

Please note, we don’t create itineraries. You can best do that yourself because you know your interests, budget etc. We are happy to help though.

Have a look at these pages too, to get to know Switzerland:

Regions in Switzerland: http://www.myswissalps.com/regions
Towns in Switzerland: http://www.myswissalps.com/wheretogo/towns
Mountain tops and lakes in Switzerland: http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/naturalsites
Panoramic train routes: http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/scenictrips/train
Practical information: http://www.myswissalps.com/aboutswitzerland/practical
Best time to visit: http://www.myswissalps.com/besttimetovisit
Weather in Switzerland: http://www.myswissalps.com/weather

These will help you to start your planning and compose your itinerary:

http://www.myswissalps.com/plantrip
http://www.myswissalps.com/plantrip/doityourself/composeitinerary

Feel free to post your tentative itinerary with any questions you have left.

First time travelers usually are interested in Zermatt (http://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt), Lake Lucerne (http://www.myswissalps.com/lakelucerne) and the Jungfrau region (http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfrauregion).

Make sure, to read about the panoramic trains too, here is a list of them: http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/scenictrips/train.

If you already know your travel plan then you can choose your rail pass. You’ll find a helpful chatbot and a useful guide with a calculation spreadsheet, which helps you to choose your rail pass in 5 steps at http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass. The downloadable spreadsheet also includes links to the “Where it’s valid” page for all available passes, be sure to study it carefully.

Happy planning,

Ildiko

[Dreamcatcher]

Reply 3 of 7 • 12 February 2020 at 7:28:56 #930008

Thank you very much Snowman, I will be sure to read up on the places that you have recommended. Thank you!

[Dreamcatcher]

Reply 4 of 7 • 12 February 2020 at 7:32:26 #930009

Thanks for all the helpful links, IIdiko. Whoah! There’s quite a lot to explore. I’m sure I’ll enjoy reading about this wonderful country!

[User]

Reply 5 of 7 • 12 February 2020 at 7:34:13 #930010

Your welcome, let us know if you have any a bit more specific questions.

You know what they say: planning is half the fun of travel. 🙂

Ildiko

[Dreamcatcher]

Reply 6 of 7 • 12 February 2020 at 7:47:57 #930011

Certainly, IIdiko. And couldn’t agree more about planning being part of travelling. In fact, the journey starts from now 🙂

[cam223]

Reply 7 of 7 • 13 February 2020 at 20:21:45 #930012

In Zermatt, the Gornergrat train ride is comfortable and the village has great shops. We were there a year ago in early December. Very picturesque. In Zurich, the Christmas market had nice merchandise–there’s one in the train station and another on the waterfront. I would recommend that you make dinner reservations no matter where you are going since there will be a lot of visitors and many restaurants are small and take reservations months in advance. Many people visit each year and make their plans well in advance. You can always cancel your reservations if you change your mind or itinerary.