Golden Pass in December – towns to stop at?

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    4 October 2017 at 0:16:29 #813422

    I’m interested in taking the Golden Pass Line and getting off/on for a fun full day of travel between Luzerne and Montreux. I would be making this trip on December 28th. I’m having difficulty figuring out when I can make these reservations and if they are needed ahead of time for five people. What is the best site to use as when I’ve tried entering in the first part Luzern – Interlaken on Dec 28 it shows no trains available for reservation? Thanks so much for help/suggestions.

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    4 October 2017 at 0:47:42 #870547

    Hi, and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    The current timetable is only valid until 9 December 2017. The timetable for the period 10 December 2017 to 8 December 2018 will be released online on 18 October 2017 (Swiss time). After that, you should have no difficulty in completing your reservations.

    Reservations are not compulsory on any part of the Golden Pass, but are usually recommended on the sector between Zweisimmen and Montreux, as that can get very busy.

    I’m not sure how busy it will be on the Golden Pass route on December 28, but the Christmas period is high season in the alps. As you are travelling in a group of 5, reservations are probably a good idea to ensure that you can all sit together and choose as many window seats as you want.

    Golden Pass reservations

    reservations.mob.ch/re servation/reservation/ reservation/reservatio n/reservation/reservat ion/reservation/reserv ation/reservation/rese rvation/f?p=151:1:10351785712221 46::NO:::

    Alpenrose

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    4 October 2017 at 0:55:43 #870548

    Thanks so much for explaining the new schedule is coming out! If we wanted to spend a little time in Interlaken before taking the next train to Zweisimmen would there be a fun area to wander and things to do? Just curious if we want to spend a fun long day seeing the sights as we go along these three train routes what you might recommend? I didn’t think there would be enough time to go up the Jungfrau.

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    4 October 2017 at 2:44:07 #870549

    >> If we wanted to spend a little time in Interlaken before taking the next train to Zweisimmen would there be a fun area to wander and things to do? Just curious if we want to spend a fun long day seeing the sights as we go along these three train routes what you might recommend? I didn’t think there would be enough time to go up the Jungfrau.

    Interlaken itself has the least to offer of any town in the Jungfrau Region in my opinion. It’s a good transport hub and has a lot of shops, restaurants and hotels, but has little charm. Personally, I would give it a miss.

    The Golden Pass trip one way will take over 5 hours, plus 2.5 to 3 hours if you take the fast way back (i.e. the default route suggested by the Swiss Timetable). Going into the beautiful Jungfrau Region, even to one of the villages, would probably take too much time. Sunset is at 4.45 pm, so you would want to make sure you see the whole of the Golden Pass route before then. You definitely wouldn’t want to miss a daylight descent into Montreux from high on the mountain!

    If you do want to get off somewhere, I would suggest somewhere like Gstaad. Gstaad is a glamorous resort characterised by chalet architecture and luxury boutiques – very popular with socialites and celebrities in the Christmas/New Year period! You could stroll along the pedestrianised street “Promenade”. There is a village map here that will show you where the pedestrian area is:

    http://www.gstaad.ch/en/gstaa d/maps-village-maps.html

    Gstaad is at an altitude of just over 1,000 metres, so snow would not be guaranteed in December, but when I went through there on the Golden Pass train in December 2011, it was under deep snow, so you should be prepared with suitable shoes and clothing to enjoy spending time outdoors.

    Getting off at Gstaad would mean you would need separate reservations Zweisimmen-Gstaad and Gstaad-Montreux.

    Alpenrose

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    4 October 2017 at 17:28:48 #870550

    Thanks for your thoughts on Interlaken. Gstaad does look beautiful. We won’t need to take the return train trip back to Luzern as this will be our day to travel from Luzern to Montreux where we will be staying for two nights. That’s why I wondered whether it would be worth stopping at one of these train stops along the Golden Pass route to do something during the day.

    We aren’t planning on skiing but a cable car ride might be gorgeous in the winter. I’m not sure how long that would take us to do and if we’d have time on this travel day on the 28th. If not, do you think it’s worth trying to do a cable car ride either on a day we are in Luzern or a day when we are in Montreux? We’ve got two nights in each of those cities which allow us one full day to do whatever we’d like.

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    5 October 2017 at 9:22:05 #870551

    >> Gstaad does look beautiful. We won’t need to take the return train trip back to Luzern as this will be our day to travel from Luzern to Montreux where we will be staying for two nights. That’s why I wondered whether it would be worth stopping at one of these train stops along the Golden Pass route to do something during the day.

    If you do decide to stop off at Gstaad, there are luggage lockers and a left luggage service at the station. Details here:

    http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/railway-stations/further-stations/station.1399. html

    You can plan your stop and ongoing journey with the Swiss Timetable

    http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

    >> do you think it’s worth trying to do a cable car ride either on a day we are in Luzern or a day when we are in Montreux?

    Definitely, if the weather is suitable, I wouldn’t miss this for the world!

    From Luzern, both Titlis and Pilatus can be accessed via cable car/gondola. The Rigi also has a cable car option for part of the way:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/ti tlis

    http://www.myswissalps.com/pi latus

    http://www.myswissalps.com/ri gi

    I’m not aware of any cable cars in Montreux. The mountain transport there, as far as I know, consists of trains and funiculars. They should all be operating when you are there.

    Les Avants-Sonloup funicular (train from Montreux to Les Avants, then funicular to Sonloup)

    http://www.goldenpass.ch/en/g oldenpass/offer/view?id=8

    Funicular Territet (Montreux) to Glion

    http://www.mob.ch/en/goldenpa ss/offer/view?id=9

    Les Pléiades (train from Vevey)

    http://www.goldenpass.ch/en/g oldenpass/offer/view?id=85

    Funicular railway Vevey-Mont-Pèlerin

    http://www.mob.ch/en/goldenpa ss/offer/view?id=10

    Alpenrose

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    5 October 2017 at 14:05:17 #870552

    Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions and links! You have been so helpful.

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