Geneva-Interlaken-Zurich by car in late December

I am heading to Switzerland with my family from 22-29 Dec. Current itinerary:

Geneva (2 days) - Chamonix (1 day) - Interlaken + Jungfraujoch (2 days) - Lucern (1 day) - Zurich (2 days)

May I ask for some advice if it will be safe to drive during this period? Planning to park the car at Interlaken and take a cable car or train up to Jungfraujoch.

Hence for the driving route, it will be from Geneva - Chamonix - Interlaken - Lucern - Zurich. Will there be any challenging mountain roads to navigate for this routing?

Thanks in Advance!

ES

Hi ES,

Welcome to MySwissAlps.

Stick to the motorways and you'll be fine. The biggest challenge might be driving to Chamonix. In December, you might encounter snow on the roads. Mountain passes are usually closed for vehicles in the winter period. Based on the route you take, you might have to take a car train to reach your Interlaken. You can find useful information about driving in winter here: www.myswissalps.com/car/winter

Hope this helps!

regards,

Anna

Thanks for the reply.

May I know what can we do on Christmas Day in Switzerland? Are there shops in certain places that are open on Christmas Day? If so, where will that be?

You suggested the car train for my trip to Interlaken. Is it due to the possible closure on the roads?

I will be setting off from Geneva. So from where (which station) can I take the car train to Interlaken? How much is the cost for the car train ride?

alternatively, can I park the car some where and take a train (instead of car train) to Interlaken?

Thanks!

Hi Edsimster,

You will find most shops are closed on Christmas Day. Some restaurants will be open for business but that will depend where you will be. Some of the shops at the larger rail stations will be open.

Our handy link regarding the car trains in Switzerland: https://www.myswissalps.com/car/cartrains

Additional useful websites can be located in the section "Information on other websites".

You should find this link useful too: information and links to advise if/when some of the more popular car routes are closed/open.

• https://www.myswissalps.com/car/trafficinfo

If coming from Chamonix, the most obvious route to Interlaken runs via Martigny and Sierre/Sion, then the Lötschberg car train from Goppenstein to Kandersteg, then onto Frutigen, Spiez and Interlaken: https://search.ch/map/Gen%C3%A8ve-Station-Stop..Chamonix-Mont-Blanc..Interlaken?mode=car&pos=564635,152827&zoom=8

For sure you can leave the car somewhere and board a train, just plan your route using the SBB timetable: https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable

Kind regards,

Yolanda

Thanks for your advice.

May I ask if I were to travel by CAR from Geneva to Tasch, Zermatt (about 3 hours drive journey), will it be a challenge to drive during the late December period? Furthermore, when I am Tasch, Zermatt, do I need to take a train to have a good view of the Matterhorn (i.e to reach the Matterhorn Viewpoint)?

Then if I were to drive from Tasch, Zermatt to Interlaken (about 2.5 hours drive journey), will it generally be a challenging drive? How do I get to Jungfraujoch (Top of Europe)? Will it be faster via a train or cable car?

Appreciate your advice (for the above trips) on whether I will need to drive via any mountain passes or will it be feasible to stick with motorways instead? I am trying to plan my driving route so that I can book my hotels.

Thanks once again!

ES

Hi ES,

It's generally safe to drive in winter if you stick to the motorways. This is possible from Geneva to Visp. From Visp to Täsch you'll be driving on mountain roads which can be challenging in winter depending on weather conditions. I would recommend you check the weather forecast and road conditions before proceeding. For your information, you can only drive up to Täsch as Zermatt is car-free resort. You can park your car at the Täasch parking garage and take the train to Zermatt. The trip takes only 12 mins. You simply must visit Zermatt and take the cogwheel train to Gornergrat if you wish to have a closer view of the Matterhorn. A safer option is to park in Visp and take the train to Zermatt.

Driving from Visp to Interlaken is also mostly flat if you follow the motorways. Depending on which route you take, you might have to take a car train to get to Interlaken. You can find information about car trains here: www.myswissalps.com/car/cartrains. To get to Jungfraujoch, the furthest you can drive is to Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. You can find details on how to travel to Jungfraujoch here: www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch/gettingthere

Let us know if you need further info.

Regards,

Anna