Base for South & South West Switzerland?
A traveler named Denandshazza is planning a trip to Switzerland, spending one week in central Switzerland and another week in the south, particularly around Sion or Nendaz. They seek advice on whether Zermatt and Lake Geneva are worthwhile visits and what scenic spots they shouldn't miss.
- Consider staying in both Zermatt and Lake Geneva for a balanced experience, as each offers unique scenic activities.
- Utilize the Swiss Travel Pass for easy train access, especially to Zermatt.
- Look into self-catering accommodation options as they prefer those over hotels, especially for shorter stays.
- Don't miss the boat ride on Lake Geneva and visiting Chillon Castle; both are highly recommended.
- Explore dramatic landscapes in the Zermatt area, which aligns with your preference for scenic beauty.
AI-generated summary-
Hello
Back again seeking advice from you wonderful people.
After we have spent a week in central Switzerland an area I am familiar with to a certain extent and seeing things I missed last June I then want to spend a further week in South/South west Switzerland on the route back to the ferry to UK.. I am thinking of staying in Sion or Nendaz as a central point for Zermatt and Lake Geneva area. Does this seem a good plan? Are Zermatt and Lake Geneva good places to visit and are there any “must see” things we should try not to miss. Once again thanks look forward to receiving your comments.
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Hi Denandshazza,
Yes, I think Sion would be a reasonable center point for you. It would depend I suppose on which area you will prioritize on your trip. Lake Geneva (Montreux or as far as Geneva) or Zermatt.
Depending where you decide to visit/activities you do you may want to split between Montreux and Zermatt and have 2 bases to explore from.
The timetable will show you travel times to your destinations (once decided) to help you choose the best base town(s) for your itinerary: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
To get some ideas on what there is to do in the Valais (Zermatt) region look here: http://www.myswissalps.com/va lais and for South-West Switzerland (Lake Geneva) look here: http://www.myswissalps.com/so uthwestswitzerland
If you do take a base in Montreux or nearby you could also poke up to Neuchatel area as well. I started a thread about tips for that area here that maybe peaks your interest: http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/day-trip-to-neuchatel-region-tips-requested
Thanks for all this helpful detail. I think you may be right and we may be better staying in both Zermatt and Lake Geneva. Studying your links and the fact we like scenery rather than towns we may be best to split the last week 4 days in Zermatt and 3 in Lake Geneva or maybe even 5 in Zermatt? Reading the links the Lake Geneva area may not offer us a lot as we are not really ones for exploring towns however I feel a trip on the lake would be a must. Have I missed any more scenic things to do on the Lake Geneva area? I will mention we will have our car. The only thing that may be the decodond factor on wheyhet we do stay on the two locations is of we can find self catering accommodation that will do less than one week bookings as we do prefer that to hotels.
Hi Denandshazza,
We’re planning to add more tips to our Lake Geneva section. You may also want to consider the train trip up to Les Pléiades, and Mont Pèlerin is certainly an option as well. Indeed the boat ride is not to be missed, and a few hours at Chillon Castle. There’s the train to Rochers-de-Naye too, and several walks in the vineyards and elsewhere. You’ll run out of time quickly 🙂 You’ll find more details through Lucas’s links and we’ll be adding more details there in the coming months.
Should you have a problem finding accommodation, then feel free to post to the Accommodation forum once location, budget and dates are fixed.
Thanks again will check it all out. Possibly not vineyards. I am still swaying towards Zermatt as we like our scenery dramatic rather than gentle. Hence why we love Switzerland. It has dramatic in buckets.
If hiking in dramatic landscapes is key then Zermatt will keep you happy.
Another thought is Brig (http://www.myswissalps.com/br ig) as a gateway to the Valais region (if you don’t spend all your time in Zermatt itself). See here of activities in the region: http://www.myswissalps.com/va lais/activities – it would be a little easier and quicker from brig rather than down in Zermatt if you want to explore more areas.
Another nice trip from Brig is up to Kandersteg and the Blausee: http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/blausee-and-brig-2-days-1-night
Good suggestion by Lucas to consider Brig. From there it would also be possible to do a day drive to the Nufenen pass, then Gotthard and finally Furka. Definitely dramatic scenery there! I am assuming you’ll be there in summer, with a car as you said. For Zermatt you can easily leave the car in Brig and take the direct train up to Zermatt.
Yes have finally decided we are after all going to spend the whole week in the Zermatt area will definitely look at Brig may be better as O imagine it is smaller I would ideally like to stay somewhere of a similar size to Brienz. As for Lake Geneva we can drive up for a day as it is only a couple of hours from what I can see. Just got Brig up on lap top now….looks lovely
Yes do plan to utilise trains going to get a half fare pass again
Going on June by the way 5th to 22nd
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