[Removed user]

19 April 2018 at 8:03:23 #815418

Hi,

We wud b travelling from Paris to Geneva(booked train tickets) on 7th, spend the day in Geneva, reach Montreux by late evening.

8/5-cheese factory at gruyere & chocolate factory at broc, evng stroll in montreux

9/5-chillon castle & lavaux vineyards

10/5-zermatt-trip to Matterhorn

Travel to lucerne on 11th taking Golden Pass route

Plan to visit Mt Titlis, Pilatus, Chapel Bridge, Transport Museum & boat ride on d lake during 3 full days in lucerne

leave for Zurich airport on 15/5 morning for flight back to India

My queries are :

1) will it b worth going to Zermatt as glacier paradise wud b closed till 11/5 for maintenance work

2) after reading the forum, seems grindlewald & surrounding areas r worth a visit too..shud v skip staying at Montreux & stay at Grinlewald instead, keeping Lucerne itinerary as planned ?

3) I wud b travelling with my husband & 11 yr old daughter. She is keen to visit choc & cheese factory. In case, v stay in grindlewald, is it possible to plan a day trip to Gruyere & Broc from there ?

4) any idea if the cog wheel to pilatus will open by May 12 or 13…again is it worth making a visit to pilatus if cogwheel is not operational or trip to rigi wud b better ?

Thnx

Shalini

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[Removed user]

19 April 2018 at 18:28:52 #882665

Hi Shalini and welcome to MySwissAlps!

1. Oh yes, you can still go up Gornergrat in Zermatt.
2. Grindelwald is great if you are looking for more mountain scenery – Montreux is a nice change of pace though.
3. It is quite far but doable if needed! Use the timetable to plan the trips out.
4. The timetable shows it is starting up May 1 this year – earlier than usual!

[Removed user]

20 April 2018 at 1:01:55 #882666

Thanks Lucas for ur response.

Im still confused whether to choose Montreux or Grindlewald,as the other base besides Lucerne 🙁

My daughter is keen to visit cheese&choc factory as well as First in Grindlewald.

Queries are :

1) in ur post u stated that gruyere & Broc is doable from Grindlewald. But if v keep base as Montreux, then is a trip to First also doable from there or the former trip (gruyere & Broc from Grindlewald) wud b any less tiring ?

2) We would b doing Golden Pass from Montreux to Lucerne…are reservations needed from Montreux to zweisimmen & I guess we will hv to take a bus somewhere in this route, am I right ? Full coverage of this route won’t b possible if v change our base from Montreux to Grindlewald? Our trip as of now is from Paris -> (by TGV)Geneva -> Montreux (Stay 4 nights)->Golden Pass route to lucerne (stay 4 days)

3) Will there be snow at First Grindlewald during May 8-15 ?

4) I’m finding it difficult to plan a trip to lavaux Vineyards from Montreux. We want to do wine tasting & may b an hour of hiking. Where shud v begin & end our trip for that ,where shud v stop for wine tasting?

5) which one to choose between Matterhorn & schilthorn..what’s ur take on d 2?

Thanx again for all ur help 🙂

[Removed user]

20 April 2018 at 3:37:06 #882667

Hi Shalini,

As a new member, you appear not to be aware of the forum rules, which you can find here:

http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/rules

One of them states:

Avoid “text talk” (for example: “r u” instead of “are you”)

Happy planning!

Alpenrose

[Removed user]

20 April 2018 at 5:13:36 #882668

I apologize for that. I will take care in my future replies. Thank you for letting me know about the rule.

[Removed user]

20 April 2018 at 5:46:09 #882669

>> Thank you for letting me know about the rule.

No worries 🙂

Alpenrose

[Removed user]

20 April 2018 at 6:25:54 #882670

Hi Shalini,

Thanks for avoiding the “text talk”. Some of it is hard to understand – especially for non- native English speakers that are on our forums. 🙂

1. I’d avoid going out so far from Grindelwald to the Gruyeres or vice versa from Montreux to First but it is up to you. Use the timetable link I gave you to see your travel times to help you decide if you and your family are ok with it.
2. The most direct route to Grindelwald is to stop the Golden Pass route at Interlaken and skip the last section to Lucerne. You could do a day trip to Lucerne another day to do that route section. You are correct that there is a small bus section on the Golden Pass route (for about 10/12km) so reservations aren’t possible.
3. Maybe. 🙂 It is at 2100 meters so I would think probably there will be some snow yes.
4. If you have time for a 2 hour hike, I recommend the Lutry to Epesses hike in Lavaux. I haven’t visited any wineries there but have a look at Tourism Montreux: https://www.montreuxri viera.com/en/P456/unes co-listed-lavaux-vineyard-terraces
5. Well you can’t visit the Matterhorn whereas you can visit the Schilthorn. In Zermatt you have the option of going up Gornergrat to get some great views of Zermatt. Personally, if I’m planning in Titlis and Pilatus already then I’d choose Zermatt and Gornergrat (and hope for good weather).

[Removed user]

20 April 2018 at 15:33:48 #882671

Thank you so much Lucas. I’m sure your inputs will help me plan better.

1) How are Mt Pilatus & Mt Rigi different..I mean how different will a trip to these two places be? One has Meadows etc enroute & other had Rocky terrain, as far as I have understood.

2)If I have to choose one, which one should it be ?

3)Is planning a visit to Maggenhorn castle from Lucerne a good idea? Will it be an ideal replacement if we skip a visit to Chillon Castle in Montreux ?

Thank you for your patience and time.

Regards

[Removed user]

20 April 2018 at 17:27:47 #882672

Hi Shalini123,

1. Yes, that is about right! Rigi seems to have more things to do there…hiking and summer activities. Pilatus is more about the views and being higher up.
2. See above to help you choose
3. If you don’t manage to get to Chillon then that would be a good replacement I think – and it isn’t far from Lucerne.

[Removed user]

21 April 2018 at 0:13:35 #882673

Personally I thought your original itinerary was fine.

Wherever you go you will enjoy Swizterland. Don’t think you have to go to Grindelwald just because everyone else does. The Gruyere area and Lake Geneva, Montreux, Chillon and the vineyards are excellent.

As has recently been discussed on another thread, you will get plenty of great mountian views in western Switzerland, in Zermatt and above Montreux (Rochers de Naye http://www.myswissalps.com/ro chersdenaye)

[Removed user]

21 April 2018 at 1:42:59 #882674

>> Is planning a visit to Maggenhorn castle from Lucerne a good idea?

The castle is open on Sunday afternoons from April until October 2018.

The most direct ways of getting there are by boat or bus:

• Boats take 44 minutes, and between 21 Apr and 25 May only run on Sundays.

• Bus #24 from Luzern railway station to the stop Lerchenbühl takes 30 minutes, then you have a 15-minute walk from the bus stop to the castle.

>> Will it be an ideal replacement if we skip a visit to Chillon Castle in Montreux ?

Unless you believe that “if you’ve seen one castle, you’ve seen them all”, I would not regard visiting Meggenhorn Castle as a “replacement” for a visit to Chillon Castle in terms of what you will see, experience and learn.

However, if it fits your itinerary better, then it makes sense to visit Meggenhorn instead of Chillon, with the understanding that it is a completely different style of castle, originating from an entirely different era in history.

• Meggenhorn Castle is about 150 years old.

• Whilst the Chillon Castle you see today is the result of “several centuries of constant building, adaptations, renovations and restorations“, the first written mention of Chillon Castle dates from 1150 – over 850 years ago.

Alpenrose

[Removed user]

22 April 2018 at 10:50:36 #882675

Many thanks to Lucas, Alpenrose666 & 1960man for your valuable suggestions. I understand that my original itinerary is good enough but after reading so much praise about the Bernese Oberland region, I am trying not to miss it on my visit.

So have chalked out the following itinerary. Please let me know if this is really better than the original itinery (in my first post on the forum)? I have to freeze it at the earliest as I have very little time left.

May 2-arrival in France from India. Leave for Geneva on 7th morning..TGV booking done. Can this train booking be changed now if we want to reduce a day in France? Are there any cancellation & rebooking charges?

7th May-reach Geneva & transfer to hotel in Montreux (2 full days in montreux-cheese, chocolate factory, chillon castle, vineyards, stroll in town)

10th May-travel to hotel in grindlewald by golden pass route. Stroll in the evening (2 full days – Trip to First on day 1, Trip to lauterbrunnen, murren area on day 2)

13 May-travel to lucerne via golden pass , stay in lucerne (1 full day in lucerne)-13th May half day -pilatus/rigi….14th May-trip to titlis..next day to Zurich to catch flight to india

My daughter is keen to play in snow, be on the ice flyer & see the ice sculptures which are all possible only in titlis…but what if weather on 14th goes bad…can I fit it anywhere else as it is must do on our list ? Is playing in snow possible on Schilthorn or it just has a viewing deck?

Please help me finalise my itinerary at the earliest.

[Removed user]

22 April 2018 at 13:04:05 #882676

Hi Shalini,

• If you’ve booked and paid for the ticket to Geneva then there would be a cancelation fee and you need to re-book if you are coming a day earlier. Check with the retailer you bought it from
• Titlis is your best chance for snow. You’ll see it around Schilthorn but maybe not be able to play in it there no.
• Otherwise looks good!

[Removed user]

22 April 2018 at 15:55:07 #882677

Thanks a lot !!

[Removed user]

23 April 2018 at 2:52:54 #882678

>> Is playing in snow possible on Schilthorn or it just has a viewing deck?

The Schilthorn is mainly just a viewing deck rather than a location for snow-based activities, although there is a short walk from the main viewing deck to another smaller viewing deck away from the main building.

People ski down from the Schilthorn in the winter, but it’s not really a snow-play area. Other snow activities are really at the Skyline Snowpark at the midway station Birg (2,700 metres above sea level).

There is still some snow around, but the season is pretty well over for this winter. It’s possible that access to the Snowpark area is not permitted after it closes for the season, but I’m not sure.

Alpenrose

[Removed user]

24 April 2018 at 19:02:43 #882679

Thank you Alpenrose !!