Easiest alpine town to get to from Innsbruck?
A traveler is helping their friends plan a Swiss Alps trip after visiting Vienna and Innsbruck. They need advice on easier destinations from Innsbruck that offer a good Swiss Alps experience, as they only have 3 or 4 nights for their stay. Chur is suggested as a nearby option that allows for great day trips into the Graubünden region.
- Chur is a fantastic base for exploring the Swiss Alps, with quick access to many day trip destinations and only 3 hours away from Innsbruck with one train change.
- The Swiss Travel Pass can be a great option for unlimited travel on the rail network, making it easier for their friends to explore multiple locations.
- Consider the time of year when planning, as it may affect what areas are best to visit in Switzerland.
AI-generated summary-
I have some friends who want to see the Swiss Alps after spending a few days in Vienna and Innsbruck. I’m trying to help them figure out where to go in Switzerland, and it looks like all the towns I’m looking at (Wengen and that area, St. Moritz and that area) are awfully far by train, with several connections. Are there any easier places for them to get to from Innsbruck, but still get a good taste for the Swiss Alps?
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Hi Juliekzp,
Welcome to MySwissAlps! Chur is a small city: 3 hours from Innsbruck with one change. It’s in the north of the Graubünden canton (http://www.myswissalps.com/gr aubunden), and makes a good base for several day trips. Whether this is the best option depends on their plans. How long do they want to day, what do they want to do, where do they travel next?
Thank you! They only have 3 or 4 nights, then fly home to the US (probably from Zurich). So I was hoping to get them a quintessential Swiss Alps experience (they don’t need to see everything!) in just one place. My original thought is take the train to Interlaken and then maybe stay in Murren or Wengen. But that’s a 6.5 hour train ride with 4 changes.
From what I’m reading, I’m thinking I’d like them to get a little more into the mountains than Chur – maybe Samedan or Pontresina? Looks like those would be about 5 hours from Innsbruck. Is it worth an extra 1.5 hours to go to the Wengen area? They have never been to Switzerland.
You’re welcome! The St. Moritz area is wonderful and includes Samedan, Pontresina and other smaller villages: http://www.myswissalps.com/st moritz. It takes about 4 hours with two changes. The best choice also depends on the time of the year they are going: http://www.myswissalps.com/be sttimetovisit.
There are many wonderful areas in Switzerland. If travel time is important to them, I’d pick a place in the east of Switzerland.
Stick with Chur, easy to get to from Innsbruck (one change at Buchs SG).
I don’t think you need to go south of Chur for a base.
Chur is a good place to stay, especially as a good jumping off point if departing from Switzerland via Zürich airport. Chur is in the Alps (surrounded by medium high mountains) has a very nice nice old town, parks, river, castle etc and you can do day trips all around Canton Graubünden easily from the main station as it is a nodal transport hub. Using the ‘national railway’ of Graubünden you can easily do day trips to Arosa, St Moritz, Disentis/Oberalp/Andermatt, Scuol (fabulous castle), Davos etc – all are high Alps destinations with lots of Alpine views on the way.
Davos.
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