[Anonymous]

12 November 2019 at 17:58:23 #824446

Hey MySwiss Alps,

Greetings from NYC. First off, thank you for creating such a great site packed so many tips for travel to Switzerland.

I will be in Switzerland, arriving on the morning of 12/14 and departing on the afternoon of 12/17. I know that it is a quick trip, but we are hoping to get in as much as we can in a short time frame. We would like to see the Christmas markets, but we will not be able to make it to Bern or Basel. From what I’ve read on your site, it looks as though Lucerne may be the best bet? We were initially under the impression that Zurich would have big markets, but I’m now under the impression that’s less the case. Can you confirm?

Our initial itinerary was to stay in Zurich for the first day/night, see the markets and then head down to Lucerne and then onto Laterbrunnen and Jungfrau for the next two days. I’m now thinking we head straight to Lucerne on the train, spend the afternoon/evening at the markets and then take the train south.

With that said, what would you suggest would be the best two day itinerary for this section of the Alps? I know our time is limited, but I’m having a hard time deciphering from the website what we can realistically do in two days (and where we should overnight). Is it to much to see Grindewald, Jungfrau and Lauterbrunnen in those two days? We’d like to see the sights and potentially fit in some sledging while there if we can. I understand the amount of daylight will be working against us, but any suggestions how to navigate the two days would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance!

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[CabinJon]

Reply 1 of 6 • 12 November 2019 at 20:43:22 #925010

Wow, that’s a quick trip but any trip to Switzerland is better than none. We were there for two weeks in early October, using Zurich as our starting & ending point, but spending most of our time based in Lucerne. Since you’re getting into Zurich in the morning, I’d suggest spending the first two nights in the Jungfrau area, and perhaps the last night in Lucerne, or alternatively, Lucerne/Jungfrau/Lucerne. We left Lucerne early one morning, went to the Schilthorn(James Bond movie location), back to Lauterbrunnen to catch the train to Kleine Scheidegg through Wengen, spent a couple hours there, then back down to Lauterbrunnen, Interlaken Ost, and finally back to Lucerne. It took 12 hours total, so you can see all of those areas easily in two days.

We stayed in Grindelwald years ago, and as I recall it had plenty of hotels, probably more than you’ll find in Wengen or Lauterbrunnen, but I have no recommendations on where to stay in that region. Grindelwald had a certain ski town charm to it when we stayed there, and better train service than Wengen. You can get to the Jungfrau from either side.

However you split up your overnight stays, I’d suggest at least one night in Lucerne so you have time to see the old town, and plan your next trip. I have no input on Christmas markets. Have a great time!

[User]

Reply 2 of 6 • 13 November 2019 at 13:22:25 #925011

Thanks for much for the recommendations, CabinJon! Agreed, it is a short trip, but very convenient to get to Zurich direct from NYC for a long weekend, so we are trying to make the most of it.

I think we will take your suggestion and head straight to the Junfrau area. Good idea. I will look into hotels in Grindewald region. Thanks for the recommendations!!

Any others?

[User]

Reply 3 of 6 • 14 November 2019 at 0:31:10 #925012

(OT) and somewhat different to my trip to NYC this summer (7 nights on QM2!)

Returning to topic, don’t forget that Switzerland is a small country and the Bernese Oberland is a small part of that, and the Jungfrau area is a small part of the Bernese Oberland! As such Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen etc are all within an hour or two of each other, so you can do quite a lot in 1 day.

[User]

Reply 4 of 6 • 14 November 2019 at 0:38:09 #925013

CabinJon is right, Grindelwald is better for a short duration trip because it is directly on the faster BOB railway, unlike Wengen which requires you to change into the small size WAB railway trains.

[User]

Reply 5 of 6 • 14 November 2019 at 2:27:41 #925014

Hi tchmny-

I have spent time the several Zürich Christmas markets, and the ones in Luzern.

Zürich is head and shoulders above Luzern in that regard.

Need details? Just ask.

Slowpoke

[User]

Reply 6 of 6 • 14 November 2019 at 11:32:36 #925015

Hi Tchmny,

you can find recommended hotels in Grindelwald at http://www.myswissalps.com/gr indelwald/hotels and rentals at http://www.myswissalps.com/gr indelwald/rentals.

Have a look at http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities/christmasmark ets to get some tips regarding the Chrismas Markets in Switzerland.

Ice Magic in Interlaken starts on 14/12, so you have the chance to see it: http://www.icemagic.ch/ (I’ve found only in German, but Google Translate might help you if needed).