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Hello.
I’m 32, from Canada and currently in Munich. I’m travelling with a Eurail global pass and planning to take a morning train tomorrow to Zurich to drop off my luggage and then explore for the day (day#1) and then return. The following day (day #2) I was planning to leave Zurich and travel in Switzerland while planning to make my way to Brussels possibly by a night train?
My questions (in order of importance):
– Recommendations for making my way to Brussels via train while maximizing sights along the way? (Would night train be the best option? Should I travel back to Zurich for this? One consideration is the luggage during the journey as I would hope to not have to lug too much around and could leave things at a hotel in Zurich and come back for it)
– Recommendations for
day trip from Zurich?Right now nothing is booked and so things are very flexible. I appreciate any and all comments/ tips!
Thanks.
Sean
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Hi Sean and welcome to MySwissAlps!
So you are returning to Munich after visiting Zurich or are you staying the night?
How much time do you have in Zurich for exploring? Do you want to see the city or travel to the mountains in Switzerland (that would be an all day trip for the most part)?
If you are looking to just explore Zurich, look at our suggested activities here: http://www.myswissalps.com/zu rich/activities
If you have a full day or thereabouts, and want to go to the mountains, the closest option would be Mt. Pilatus near Lucerne: http://www.myswissalps.com/pi latus
As for trains to Brussels, there are no night trains that I am aware of (at least from Zurich). you can check train schedules from Zurich on the Swiss railways timetable here: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
The Zurich – Brussels day trains via Strasbourg were withdrawn a few years ago, sadly. There are few traditional night trains left in western Europe, as high speed trains make them uneconomic. It now takes over 7 hours even by high speed train as you have to travel via Paris
Thanks for the reply. I will be staying overnight in Zurich tonight for at least 1 night, possibly 2 so at a
minimum I will have todayafter noon when I arrive and most of the day tomorrow. I’m much more interested in seeing the mountains than the city. I also wanted to mention that with my Eurail pass I can travel on the Glacier Express and Golden Pass for free. While these seem interesting, I am quite interested in photography and I’ve heard the other local trains allow you to open the windows and take better photos. Is this correct?I can also travel on BLS boat services on Lake Brienz and Lake Thun for free.
All of the trains covered through my pass are listed here: http://www.eurail.com/en/get-inspired/top-destinations/switzerla nd-train/swiss-railway-companies-included.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, that is too bad.
I was looking for someway to combine my westward travel towards Belgium with sightseeing of the mountains, but it sounds like may be difficult. Would it be advisable to use Zurich as the base and do all travel from there for day trips and then onward to Belgium?
I think for a 1 or two night stay I’d stay in Zurich for simplicity now.
I’d head to Lucerne to get some nice mountain visits in. See here: http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne/activities (Lucerne is just over an hour by train and has several mountains in the area to visit).
And then find a train on to Brussels from Zurich when you decide to leave.
You can’t combine ‘westward travel to Brussels’ with mountain scenery as the journey takes too long. Once you are in the north of Switzerland, you are north of the high mountains. On the way to Brussels you would see a few bits of a few of the lower mountain ranges (Jura, Vosges then the Ardennes) but they are nothing like the high Alps. A quick look at a geological map would help understanding of where the upland areas are in central Europe.
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