[Anonymous]

10 April 2017 at 5:14:38 #811336

Hello,

I will be arriving in Geneva on 5th May and departing to italy via train on 10th May.

Planning to stay 1 day in montreux and then head to lucerne for next 4 nights. Is it good base? Please suggest if any other alternate base options.

Also, where can i exchange euro to swiss france in montreux and lucerne. Please suggest any bank/exchange house which offers best rate. Any idea whats approx exchange rate ?

Should I buy swiss francs here in UAE or wait until i arrive in switzerland. We do not wish to use credit card so please help me with the names of bank/exchange outlets

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[User]

Reply 1 of 4 • 10 April 2017 at 7:56:33 #861186

Hi Snehap and welcome to MySwissAlps!

Montreux and Luzern are very popular places to base yourself – but it depends on what you want to see and do! Check the town links above if you want to see what there is to do in the area.

I often use a credit card or just withdrawal money from a bank ATM when needing Swiss Francs. Most currency exchanges give similar rates if you need to exchange money – another member may have specific recommendations however.

Have a look at our information page on the Swiss Franc. Another website I use frequently is http://www.xe.com.

If you are planning on traveling by train, which I strongly recommend, have a look at the Swiss Travel Pass to cover your trip.

Regards,
Lucas

[User]

Reply 2 of 4 • 10 April 2017 at 9:35:23 #861187

Hi Snehap

Exchange your Euros at any bank or any train station currency exchange. However, I have noted that the Travelex brand seems to have very bad exchange rates wherever I go.. There are a lot of them in Switzerland.

Exchange rates are competitive because there is so much Euro denominated business with Switzerland.

Also, in major tourist destinations, such as you mention, you will almost always be able to pay in Euros. The prices of meals and hotel rooms, for example, are often given in both Euros and CHF. Some machines – such as ticket machines – that accept currency in addition to credit cards will accept Euros, but that is not so common.

Exchange rates are likely to be better at banks than at hotels or restaurants, but once in a great while they are the same or even better if they have not updated their rates recently.

Personally, i find that ATM’s of major banks give very good rates, and with some credit cards these days, there is no transaction fee + good exchange rates. So, that is what I do for modest sums or pocket cash. And, I pay witha credit card that has similar low costs. Much safer than carrying a lot of cash. Even Switzerland has some petty thievery these days….very uncommon, but, still….

Slowpoke

[User]

Reply 3 of 4 • 13 April 2017 at 6:14:57 #861188

Thank you guys for your wonderful suggestions.

Any currency exchange website can you please recommend to check their rates online and decide whether i should carry SOME swiss franc from UAE. or exchange euros to francs in swiss. Basically want to know exchange rates .

Have read lucerne station has western union . Please can someone let me know where can i view exchange rate and i shall check here for the same day.

Thank you

[User]

Reply 4 of 4 • 13 April 2017 at 7:02:30 #861189

Hi Snehap-

I use Bloomberg’s site to check FOREX.

http://www.bloomberg.com/mark ets/currencies

I crosscheck against:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/bus iness/market_data/curr ency/default.stm

They rarely differ by even an insigificant amount.

Slowpoke