[Removed user]

30 November 2015 at 9:43:51 #808158

Hi everyone,

I will be in Geneva on 24 Dec and start my vacation in Switzerland for 10 days. I have some questions regarding my planning and itinerary, and hope some experts can help.

My flight will arrive at 5:30 pm in Geneva, and I plan to visit the Christmas market in Rue Mont-Blanc after I lay down all my luggage at the hotel. But I am wondering if I can catch up the operating time before it closes (9 pm). Or shall I just give up this point and find some other spots?

On the Christmas day, I plan to go to Zermatt by train in the early morning and arrive before noon. Is it possible for me to visit either the glacier express or the Gornergrat between noon and the time of sunset?

One more place that makes me frustrated is Luzern, where I plan to stay there for 1 night. Since my parents want to visit either Mt. Rigi or Mt. Titlus throughout the day in Luzern, I am not sure whether I have enough time to visit one of the mountains in case of getting the Luzern-Interlaken express on 15:05 to enjoy the beautiful view before sunset. Which mountain is more worth visiting in December?

I hope the experts can help me with these problems. Many thanks.

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[Arno]

1 December 2015 at 15:45:00 #847113

Hi Peter,

The Rue du Mont Blanc connects the central rail station to the lake. If your hotel is in that area it should be doable to visit the Christmas market.

The Glacier Express is not a place to visit, but a train ride of 7-8 hours from Zermatt to St. Moritz. You could do half of the route, but not when departing around noon and with sunset before 5 PM. If you really want to pursue this you should not travel directly to Zermatt, but to Brig, take any train to Disentis, then go back to Zermatt. But that takes a long time (see the timetable), so I would recommend to plan for the Gornergrat ride.

I’m not sure I understand your Luzern question. Are you staying in Luzern that day, want to visit a mountain, and then travel to Luzern? The mentioned timetable should provide all the details to plan this. But if any questions remain, please feel free to get back to us!

Kind regards,

Arno

[Removed user]

1 December 2015 at 15:56:53 #847114

Hi Arno,

I am sorry that I typed my question wrongly. On the Christmas day, I plan to go to Zermatt from Geneva by early morning train, and visit either Glacier Paradise (instead of glacier express) or the Gornergrat in the afternoon. My question should be like this, which one is more suitable to stay and visit in the afternoon period?

For the itinerary in Luzern, my planning is to visit either Mt. Rigi or Mt. Titlis in the morning, after staying one night in the downtown, and get on the Luzern-Interlaken Express on 15:05. Is this too harsh in time to visit the mountain in a few hours? If so, what is the suggested time to stay on the mountain?

Sorry for the confusion and thanks!

[Arno]

1 December 2015 at 16:30:26 #847115

Hi Peter,

In that case please see the Gornergrat page and Klein Matterhorn page to find out what you like best. The Gornergrat trains probably run until a bit later than the Klein Matterhorn (Glacier Paradise) cable cars, but other than that either is fine.

The same applies to Mount Rigi and Mount Titlis. Either is doable if you start your day early. I’d recommend to take a look at the timetable and the mentioned pages to plan your day. Note that Mount Rigi is free if you have a Swiss Travel Pass, but both day trips are wonderful so you can’t make the wrong choice as long as the weather is good.