September Swiss holidays – what to expect

  • martywisco
    Participant
    4 posts
    30 June 2018 at 20:25:01 #816988

    My wife and I plan to arrive in Geneva on late on Saturday Sept 15th- we will stay in a hotel near the airport that night. I recently discovered we will be present for the following Holidays:

    Sunday September 16 Swiss Federal Fast All regions except Geneva.

    Monday September 17 Bettagsmontag Bern, Neuchâtel, Vaud.

    We had planned to stay in Vaud on Sunday night (Lausanne or Vevey), and take the Golden Pass from Montreux to Jungfrau region (Lauterbrunnen, Murren) on Monday and stay there several nights. I’d like to know how these holidays would effect our trip.

    1) Will train schedules be different than a normal Sunday/Monday? Are trains likely to be more or less busy because of the Holidays?

    2) We would probably plan things like this for Sunday: Olympic museum, Chateau de Chillon, boat ride. The castle is apparently open as usual. What about other usual tourist sights? Will most restaurants be open? Grocery stores?

    3) Same questions for Jungfrau region on Monday.

    Thank you, Marty

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    Snowman
    Participant
    825 posts
    30 June 2018 at 21:31:15 #889844

    1) The days you mention are standard sunday and monday. There could be a bit more passengers on the Betttagsmontag.

    2) As the Bettag is a public holiday on a sunday (yes!) hardly anyone notices. Some people avoid “binging”, but restaurants would be run as on any sunday. If you want to follow the local traditions, order a piece of plum pie for dessert. That’s all. Tourist sights also like on any sunday. Maybe a few more people attending church service? Grocery stores are usually closed on any sunday. There are exceptions, in the large railway stations, in petrol/gas stations, and in tourist areas like Ouchy near the Olympic Museum.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    1 July 2018 at 7:49:22 #889845

    Hi Marty and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    Do note, that while everything may be operating as per a normal Sunday….that still means a lot of places are closed – so check ahead before going somewhere for the day (tourist attractions are usually open). Trains, boats etc aren’t affected and you can check schedules now for your dates: https://www.myswissalp s.com/timetable

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