A central place to stay for a long Swiss trip

My husband and I are interested in staying in a home or an apartment for a month or longer and wanted a suggestion on a good “central” place to stay with the availability to drive or take the train to see more of the country. We are even considering staying two weeks in one location and two weeks in another to see as much of the country as we can. We have already stayed in Lucerne, Lake Thun and Brienz and would like to see other cities. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Hi malto,

For self-catering options and longer stays, we have a page listing various rentals here: www.myswissalps.com/rentals

Please click on the additional links for more choices from interhome and e-domizil.

Hope that gets you started. Let us know if you need more information.

Regards,

Anna

Hi Malto,

One or two of the below regions would give you a very different experience from the Bernese Oberland and Central Switzerland where you've been already:

• Ticino: www.myswissalps.com/ticino
• Lake Geneva, particularly the eastern part: www.myswissalps.com/lakegeneva
• Valais: www.myswissalps.com/valais
• Graubünden: www.myswissalps.com/graubunden

This list of centrally located towns might be helpful too: www.myswissalps.com/centraltownsalps

Once you have narrowed down your choice, you can look into apartments through Anna's link. All of the above pages have links too.

For further help, please feel free to post.

Hi Malto -

When we tried a similar approach, we found that using one central location led to the feeling that we were repeating substantial parts of the journeys as we went back and forth. We did, however, find it convenient and comfortable to have a "base" for several days.

For us, using public transportation, one week stays worked well. There is enough variety in customs, languages, cuisines and other local features, that we found that getting to know any area was more satisfying if we slept and ate in it for a few days, at least. We liked easy hikes...you might pick a location that favors your preferred activities.

We tended use Luzern as on such a "center."

Because the major central towns are more expensive, we tried to stay in villages outside the centers, but close to the centers by frequent trains. On such village is Sachseln. However, we always stayed on the lake front or close by, at least a day or two, because the ambience of Luzern itself, aside from to substantial tourist density, is worth a stay downtown.

In the Bernese Oberland, everyone has their favorite "center." I prefer Wengen...car-free; less "commercial" than some of the towns. Grindelwald is much more commercial, and is accessible by car. I preferred to be away from the town itself. I did not find any location that I strongly preferred in Grindelwald, though.

Slowpoke.

In 2019, we spent 6 nights in Bern, 10 nights in Montreux and 4 nights in Lucerne . We had been to the Bernese Oberland and Zermatt on a previous trip. For a long stay, I especially recommend staying anywhere along Lake Geneva for beautiful views, wide choice of towns and easy access to rail. The smaller towns have less frequent rail service, but Montreux, Vevey and Lausanne are very convenient. Also, the food and culture are very different from other areas of Switzerland. Bern would be nice for a week, centrally located to get places that might take longer from the Lake Geneva area, such as Basel, Fribourg and Zurich.

Malto,

My wife and I spent 3 weeks in Lovely Switzerland and visited much of the country. We spent 2 wks in Interlaken and stay at the Bayul Apartments. directly outside the apartment was a bus pick up that took you to the two main train stations located in Interlaken. A third station was accessible thru a third bus just a 3 min walk away. we accessed most of the country by rail with the longest trip being approx 1 1/2hr. The apartment was a short 10 min walk to downtown Interlaken where ferries were available as well as other buses.

Just a thought, but I absolutely love Bern. Train connections are awesome and the station is fantastic. I stayed in an Airbnb in the Old Town and it was just fantastic. Love everything about Bern. Great outdoor markets, restaurants, safe, friendly, etc.

Good luck,

Carol

Yes Bern can be a good option. I also evaluated. The only issue was cost of accommodation. I felt it a bit pricy

<<""I felt it a bit pricy.">>

It is, but the dense network of frequently served rail lines can put you in less expensive accommodations that are only a short ride from Bern. Many of the towns have good inns, too.

Bern is a good ton for all kind of explorations, but of the two, I enjoy the scenery more in/near Luzern. Choices.....;-)

Slowpoke

I get what you mean @Schroffchetan. For anyone looking for budget accommodation in Bern: this selection may be of help: www.myswissalps.com/bern/hotels. Under 'Filter results', set the price category at 'Low'. Alternatively, this budget hotel list may come in handy: www.myswissalps.com/hotels/budget.

Hi Ho.

What a delicious problem to have, where to spend a chunk of time in Switzerland. I guess it all depends on what you are trying to do - visit cultural centres, go hiking/skiing, explore different regions to sample the local foods, etc. For myself, I do (did) a lot of hiking and a bit of climbing and paragliding and could quite easily spend a month in Grindelwald. I know Slowpoke prefers Wengen and it is a stunning location, but it's not accessible directly by car and unless you are a mountain obsessive both places are probably slightly too out of the way. The same applies to other locations such as Lauterbrunnen and Mürren or Zermatt. My idea of a "Base"is somewhere you can leave your big luggage while you are off for a few days adventuring so Interlaken might be a good fit with all it's transport connections. It's probably on a par with Thun, just a bit closer to the hills. Of the bigger towns, I'd probably go for Lucerne or Bern, if your budget allows. Bern especially has excellent rail connections, it doesn't seem to matter where you are travelling in the country, the train always seems to go through Bern.

Viel Spass!

Alan

Hi Alan -

<<"the train always seems to go through Bern.">>

Well, it is the capital...and one aspect of planning the rail routes is to make sure Bern is accessible...for all languages and cultures. Switzerland as a governmental and societal policy makes an effort to keep the diverse cultural groups connected in various ways, and good public transport is one of them.

Slowpoke