Request for advise on Green Regions of switzerland

Hello,

I traveled from Tirano to St Moritz. We have seen enough snow (due to this year's early snow). We would like to visit greener regions in the next one week. Se are here in St Moritz for one more night. So, we plan to go to Chur (hoping thta it will be still green) on 17-Oct. Any other suggestion?

Next, we have one day at Zermantt on 19-Nov. So, we do not have much choice, I guess. We may go to Matterhorn. Is there is better 'Green' area that we can go to and return to Zermatt by evening?

We will have two days (20,22) at Interlaken. One option would be to go to Jugfrau and Lucerne. Any other suggestions?

On 23-24 we will be at Geneva. We will do the city tour. We may think of Lusanne for 22nd. Any other suggestions?

Your inputs will be valuable.

Thanks!

Hi deepakgh,

Good to hear you're enjoying Switzerland right now. Generally, the lower regions will have less snow and will thus be greener. The area around Chur is lower than St. Moritz in the Engadine, so depending on exact weather conditions, chances of green nature are higher there.

I'm a bit confused by your travel dates, as you indicate that you'll be in Zermatt on November 19. Do you happen to mean October 19 instead? Assuming you do, you will probably be traveling directly from Chur to Zermatt, right? If you travel via Andermatt, you'll get to cross both higher and lower (greener) regions. From Zermatt, you can quite easily travel to the lower Rhone valley and visit Brig and Sion and their surroundings. But to be honest, I'd personally want to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Zermatt if weather is clear, even if there's snow. It's truly beautiful. Tips are mentioned at myswissalps.com/zermat t.

As for Interlaken: the mountain tops south will have more snow than the regions around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. A boat trip over these lakes (please follow the inserted links) may be a good alternative. Lucerne too is located at a low altitude and will be relatively green. The same goes for Geneva and Lausanne. Please see myswissalps.com/geneva for tips. Generally, Montreux is more attractive to tourists than Lausanne.

I hope you'll enjoy the rest of your stay in Switzerland!

<<"We would like to visit greener regions in the next one week. ">>

The amount of snow depends a lot on the altitude.

Weatrher reports in the newspapers often list the altitude at which the temperature is zero degrees, as an indicator of the snow line.

Although Switzerland has regions of low altitude, even in those regions you will find some mountains and higher elevations.

Each of the main lakes is at about 400 meters above sea level. Those with a west-facing shore usually get a lot of sun, although, of course, less in the winter.

That includes Lake Zürich - from Rapperswil northward; Lake Luzern around Weggis, and Lake Geneva arround Montreaux. Geneva tends to be warmer than, for example, Zürich.

The region of Switzerland known as the Mittelland (or the Berner Mitteland) stretching from Geneva to Lausanne, Neuchatel, Biel, Bern , the area north of Luzern, Solothurn, Aarau, Zürich, Winterthur, Schaffhausen is generally, but not completely hilly or level, rather than mountainous.

map.search.ch/

The Rhone Valley around Brig may have little snow. You'll see as you pass by Brig and Visp on your way to Zermatt.

The southernmost canton (the Ticino) is warm in the Winter, with palm trees. Locarno is my favorite; many like Lugano or Ascona.

There are many webcams for Switzerland, and the morning weather report on SF1 TV shows pictures of main cities.

www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/service-aktuelles/webcams.html ?lc=nl&cc=&city=787&cha nnel=0

en.swisswebcams.ch/

For example-

www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/destinations/holida y-destinations-in-switzerland/geneva.htm l

www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/destinations/holida y-destinations-in-switzerland/geneva.htm l

Use the map and the timetable:

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

Slowpoke

Thank you Annika and Slowpoke. This is exactly what I was looking for!

Today we traveled from St Moritz to Chur and returned. On our way, we stopped for coupel of hours each at Teifencastel and Filusur (spellings may not be correct). Both were very nice, small towns/villages and this is what we were looking for and enjoyed the most.

Thank you very much,

<<"Both were very nice, small towns/villages and this is what we were looking for and enjoyed the most.">>

Glad to here it.

I prefer to stay in those smaller towns, vs. the cities.

With the map and the turntable, plus dta from My Switzerland, you can find such villages along your route in the next days. Nice thing about the trains... Hop off, hop on.

<<"Next, we have one day at Zermantt on 19-Nov. So, we do not have muchchoice, I guess. We may go to Matterhorn. Is there is better 'Green'area that we can go to and return to Zermatt by evening?">>

You might enjoy Brig.

Or, if you have time, take a train up to Ausserberg and walk around. Caution - the village is on the side of the hill, and most of it is well above the train station.

<<""We will have two days (20,22) at Interlaken. One option would be to go to Jugfrau and Lucerne. Any other suggestions?">> Wengen is a nice village, and the walk along the floor of the Laterbrunnen Valley is pleasnt, with some spectacular waterfalls not far from Lauterbrunnen.

Mürren is nice, and many people ( with a copy of Rick Steve's guide book in their pocket) visit Gimmelwald, just below Mürren. The center of Thun is compact and attractive.

www.myswissalps.com/th un

Most people go up to the jungfrau....where you will see plenty of snow. ;-).

.<<"On 23-24 we will be at Geneva. We will do the city tour. We may think of Lausanne for 22nd. Any other suggestions?">>

The smaller villages along the lake, such as Nyon, may appeal.

Take the lake boat to Yvoire: www.yvoire-france.com

The lake front and lakeside walk at Lausanne are attractive. Take the funicular down from the train station to Ouchy (by the lake.)

Further afield, the following small towns in the region are attractive, and might be considered alternatives to Lausanne, if you are tired of cities:

Gruyeres (full of tourists, but still nice), Murten, Avenches, Romont.

Slowpoke.

WOW !

This is GREAT HELP, Slowpoke !

This is what I was looking for !!

I went to Matterhorn (Gortengrat). So, I am thinking of skipping Jungfrau. Visitign Jungfrau takes away one full day. I am not sure it is worth it (as I have been to the mountain already) and it is likely to be a cloudy days (for next two days 20th and 21st). Instead some of your suggestions are more attractive.

I plan to go to Breinz by boat, stopping at couple of places on the way on 20th.

On 21st and 22nd, I will consider your suggestions and plan.

Thanks !!!

<<"This is what I was looking for !!">>

Thanks. Glad it was helpful.

<<"I plan to go to Breinz by boat, stopping at couple of places on the way on 20th.">>

Brienz,not Breinz.

Walk the main street as far as Jobin, at least, (on the uphill side.)

The shop and the museum (small fee) are a nice Swiss experience.

Consider the funicular (short) up the the Hotel Giessbach if open for a spot of tea, as you cruise the lake.

Not sure you can do it, for many reasons, but check out the Brienzer Rothorn Bahn.

www.brienz-rothorn-bahn.ch

Have fun on the 21st and 22nd.

I've suggested things that are more usual for a 3rd or 4th time visitor to Switzerland. Hope you can find your way to some of them.

Slowpoke

Hello Slowpoke,

Thanks once again :-) !

We went to both the lakes. In the morning, we went to Brienz. On our way, we stopped at Giessbach. It was beautiful!. We had tea and walked by the road to Brienz. This too was very refreshing. I wish there was a walking trail from Giessbach to Brienz. Anyway, we enjoyed this the most.

Tomorrow (21-Oct), we plan to go to Jungfraujoch. On 22-Oct, we plan to take a short (2-4 hours) Bike (or e-bike) trip to Murren or Gimmelwald. Yet to plan this section and yet to find the routes. Just have to make sure my wife can do this comfortably. We plan to come back by 4:00PM and take evening train (say around 5pm to Geneva) on 22-Oct.

Apart from enjoying the trip, I am also happy to interact on this forum on daily basis and get very good help. This is amazing. I truly appreciate this.

Warm Regards,

Thanks !

Hi Deepakgh -

Glad that things are working out well for you.

<<"On our way, we stopped at Giessbach. It was beautiful!. We had tea and walked by the road to Brienz. This too was very refreshing. I wish there was a walking trail from Giessbach to Brienz. Anyway, we enjoyed this the most."">>

There is a trail partway....from the base of the hill to the campground to the town. I agree that a trail would be nice for the upper part. Walking on the road is not fun.

<<" We plan to come back by 4:00PM and take evening train (say around 5pm to Geneva)on 22-Oct.">>

I see that you are using the flexibility of the Swiss Transport System to good advantage. Until you have usedi t, it is hard to believe how helpful and easy to use it is.

When in Geneva, please keep in mind Yvoire, across the lake. It is in France, and I don't know if you need a visa....A beautiful village, full of flowers in the summer. I'd expect to find flowers there still.

Slowpoke

Hi Slowpoke,

Thanks for your advise regarding Geneva:

<<The smaller villages along the lake, such as Nyon, may appeal.Take the lake boat to Yvoire: www.yvoire-france.com>>

We went to Yvoire and Montreaux from Geneva. Both these places were very nice.

Thanks once again for all your inputs which were very useful, as we were interested to do things on our own and explore smaller places as much as possible in our first trip.

It was a memorable trip for us, visiting from India.

Deepak

You are welcome.

Glad you found Yvoire... I tended to ignore it for many years, because it is in France. ;-)

Slowpoke.