[Vidhi_J]

24 August 2018 at 18:29:17 #818056

Hi everyone. My trip to Switzerland was in mid-June but finally now I’ve found time to share my experience. Even though I’ve come to learn a lot about the country but I still don’t consider myself knowledgeable enough to help out on other people’s queries. So I figured that the best way to express my gratitude and to give back to this forum for all the tons of help it provided would be to write a trip report. So here goes:

Day 1: Rhine Falls – Zurich

Reached Zurich (from Munich) by train. After check in at hotel we headed towards Rhine falls by train. We spent a couple of hours exploring and going around the beautiful circular trail as suggested on this forum. In the evening, we returned to Zurich. Walked around the old town for a bit to admire the streets and the water views over the bridges. Had dinner at Haus Hiltl restaurant – found it a bit pricey but I feel it was worth it as there’s a huge variety and everything tasted great! Night halt at Zurich hotel.

Day 2: Jungfraujoch – Lauterbrunnen – Lucerne (via Luzern-Interlaken Express)

Early morning train to Interlaken via Bern. From there, we headed to Jungfraujoch (via Grindelwald). Initially it was snowing so we had our lunch from their open counter (restaurants there are too expensive). Then we did some chocolate shopping from the Lindt outlet (great options/flavours at reasonable prices – everything we bought turned out delicious). Then explored the Ice Palace. Then finally headed to the Sphinx Terrace. It was open but the winds were crazy. It was initially cloudy so we were going to give up but the wind helped us out and cleared the views long enough for us to take pictures and get a general idea of the enormity of the glacier. It was quite breathtaking and our courage to hold out in the freezing winds paid off! Then we headed back towards Lauterbrunnen. The train journey between Jungfraujoch and Lauterbrunnen is so utterly beautiful that I couldn’t take my eyes off the scenery at all. And the intermittent receding clouds added to the beauty of the snow-covered hills and fields of wildflowers dotted with little wooden houses. We got down at Lauterbrunnen for some quick photos. We headed into the little village with the constant view of the lovely Staubbach Falls guiding us. We snapped some pictures as soon as we were close enough to the waterfall and walked back to the station in time for the next train to Interlaken. From there, we took the scenic Luzern-Interlaken Express which offers beautiful views of ice-blue lakes. Reached Lucerne and explored the Chapel Bridge and the old town area around it. Experienced the sunset and had dinner next to the shimmering waters near the Chapel Bridge. Finally headed back to Zurich to our hotel to end a very long but thrilling day.

Day 3: Engelberg – Trübsee – Mt. Titlis – Bern

Post-breakfast train to Engelberg (via Lucerne). Walked to the cable-car/gondola station to experience a bit of the beauty of Engelberg on the way (cute houses, wildflowers and a gushing river). Gondola ride offers breathtaking views. We stopped randomly on the way at Trübsee out of curiosity. We had no idea we would find such a scenic little lake there surrounded by mist, wildflowers and tall trees. And there was almost no one else there. We would’ve explored the area much more but we were running out of time so we headed back to Titlis after some time. Even though the weather had become cloudy by this time, we still enjoyed as our main purpose was to play in the snow. So we enjoyed sliding down snowy slopes on the snow toys and snowball fights. We also did the Chairlift and the Cliffwalk with occasional glimpses of the glacier or the valley underneath but they’re best enjoyed in clear weather. Then we headed to the charming capital city Bern. Enjoyed an alfresco meal at Tibits restaurant (it’s good). Then we just roamed around the town covering most major old town highlights and also the residential area across the river that was equally charming. Eventually we had to take a train back to Zurich to our hotel.

Day 4: Flawil Chocolate Factory – Golden Pass Express to Montreux

Checked out of Zurich hotel and headed to Flawil (on a tilting train that really tilts a lot!). Flawil is a cute little village on the way to St. Gallen and it houses Maestrani’s Chocolarium. We loved the walk through the country lanes of Flawil even though it was raining and the chocolate factory is also very engrossing. We did the interactive factory tour, bought some chocolate and headed back to Zurich. Then we picked up our luggage from the hotel and headed to Zweisimmen to take the Golden Pass route. We had reserved the VIP seats at the front of the panoramic train beforehand and they were totally worth it. They offer the driver’s seat view of the Swiss scenery and it feels like you’re watching the scenery in a super-widescreen theatre. The views of Lake Geneva that these seats offer are something I’ll never forget all my life. We finally reached Montreux, checked in at our hotel, roamed around the streets a little and had a nice Indian dinner for the first time after days at Restaurant Royal Palais Indien. Night halt at Montreux hotel.

Day 5: Montreux – Chillon Castle – Lake Geneva Cruise (to Lausanne and back)

Relaxed breakfast at the hotel. Roamed around the lovely streets and lakeside promenade of Montreux. Walked along the lake to the charming Chillon Castle. We didn’t have enough time to explore the medieval castle from the inside though. Then we boarded our cruise to Lausanne that offered beautiful views of the Riviera region with the endless vineyard-covered hills on one side and snow-capped mountains on the other side. After exploring Lausanne for a little bit, we boarded another cruise – this time a belle époque gourmet sunset cruise (prior reservation required for dining). We were served raclette which is a traditional Swiss cheese delicacy served with potato/onions/pickle. We loved it (with a sprinkle of pepper) and after 3 servings we had no space left for dinner. So we just enjoyed the wind and the sunset on the upper deck after that. Night halt at Montreux hotel.

Day 6: Check out and left for Paris via Lausanne

Notes:

• Because of a 35% discount being offered on the Eurail Pass (2nd class), I went for that option as it was turning out to be more economical. Otherwise, the Swiss Travel Pass might’ve suited me better. The Eurail Pass covered all of the travel that I did in Switzerland. And it offered discounts on the tickets for Jungfraujoch, Mt. Titlis and Lake Geneva cruise and so I bought all these tickets on the spot. The Eurail Pass also covers S-bahn which can take care of a lot of city transport needs even though it doesn’t cover any other form of city transport. Also, Swiss public transport is amazing and the SBB app (for Swiss public transport) is very useful in advance planning as well as last-minute change-of-plans.
• Out of the 8 VIP seats on Golden Pass Express, the best ones are the central ones as they offer the best wide-angle view, especially those in the upper row.
• All train journeys here are very scenic. I didn’t get bored even for a second on any of them.
• Some Swiss cities (like Montreux) offer you a free city transport card when you book accommodation for that city. The cards usually have other sightseeing benefits as well.
• If you have time, always walk.
• Food need not be expensive in Switzerland. Supermarkets and train station eateries offer tasty and reasonably priced eating options (and this holds true even for vegetarians like my family and me). Whenever we used to be in a hurry, we used to grab a quick bite from any such place and finish it on-the-go. We also used to keep fruit and cookies with us for small hunger pangs. Also, Swiss muesli bowls are to die for! Never had better muesli in my life.
• Our Zurich hotel was Mercure Stoller and Montreux one was Eurotel Montreux. Both were great hotels. Great service and conveniently located. Eurotel has all lake-view rooms and was recommended by this forum.
• Everything closes by 5-6pm including boat rides at the Rhine Falls. Most restaurants close by 10-11pm. So need to plan accordingly.
• SIM cards that work in EU countries don’t work here as Switzerland is not part of the EU. Swisscom probably works best and is reasonably priced in my experience.
• Safety and security are never really an issue in this country even at 12am but, nonetheless, I’d advise not to test the safety of a dark alley anywhere in the world.
• Weather can be very unpredictable. Dressing in layers helps. Plus always need to carry an umbrella/raincoat.
• Swiss locals are extremely helpful and hospitable in general.
• You can read more about my experience of the Flawil chocolate factory on this forum thread from earlier: http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/chocolate-factory-tour-broc-or-flawil
• For an even more detailed account of my trip (including pictures) and what all I loved about it, you can check the Story Highlights and upcoming posts on my Instagram account (clickhappy_nomad): http://www.instagram.com/clic khappy_nomad/?hl=en

I know this was too long but Switzerland is thrilling and beautiful beyond expectation and this forum helped me every step of the way through hundreds of my questions to make this a trip of a lifetime. This amazing trip wouldn’t have been possible without this forum and I’m extremely grateful to you all for everything. This is one of the best travel resources I’ve ever come across!

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[Roy]

25 August 2018 at 1:18:09 #894900

Vidhi J –

So nice of you to take the time to pen your trip report !

I realize you set Zurich as your base for the first half and took long day trips from there .. and later from Montreux. Didn’t this result in really long days … and wasn’t this tiring ? Reason for my question is we have 10 days in September and we are thinking of setting three places as our base (Lucerne, Wengen and Zermatt and take day trips from there) and finally last two nights in Zurich as we have to fly in and out from there. Love to get your view on this.

– Roy

[Removed user]

25 August 2018 at 6:37:07 #894901

Hi Vidhi J!

A fantastic trip report – thanks so much for taking the time to write it!

Thanks for the notes/tips as well – super useful for new members. 🙂

Happy Travels!

[Removed user]

25 August 2018 at 6:38:16 #894902

Hi Roy,

I think you have the right idea. Zurich is too far from the mountains for nice/easy day trips. Doable for sure as you can see from Vidhi though.

Personal preference in the end. Use the Swiss railways timetable to check connection times between your destination and your city base and compare with Zurich to get an idea. http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

[Vidhi_J]

25 August 2018 at 7:10:51 #894903

Hi Roy. You’re right. While Montreux is perfect for exploring the Swiss Riviera region, Zurich as a base is far if you want to explore the Jungfrau region (as you can see in my Day 2 itinerary). Our original plan was a 6-day itinerary for Switzerland with 2 nights each at Zurich, Lucerne/Interlaken (1 of the 2), and Montreux – that would’ve been ideal for this itinerary. But because of some addition in the latter half of the Europe trip, I had to cut down one day from Switzerland. And in that case, it didn’t make sense to stay at 3 different places, so I cut that down to 2 because otherwise inter-city travel with luggage and checkin/checkout formalities would have taken away the whole charm of the trip. In our new scenario (especially with the rest of our Europe trip in mind), Zurich and Montreux as bases were my only good options. So I had to prepare myself for a couple of long days to fit everything in. They were tiring but thrilling nonetheless 🙂

Although, for your case, I would advise to reconsider your idea of changing bases 3-4 times in a span of 10 days. That’s because every time you change base, you end up wasting unnecessary time in travelling with luggage and then the checkin/checkout formalities. The day of change essentially gets divided into 2 blocks so on those days it’s not possible to do a day trip kind of excursion comfortably. As Lucas mentioned, you could compare connection times between different places on the SBB timetable and decide which bases suit you the best, while still keeping the number of bases as low as possible. Happy Travels 🙂

[Vidhi_J]

25 August 2018 at 7:30:13 #894904

Thanks Lucas for your words 🙂

I loved Switzerland a lot and I’m sure I’m going to be back again soon to explore more. And even then I’ll come to this forum for guidance.

Thanks again for everything. You guys are doing a great job here!

[Emie]

25 August 2018 at 14:24:03 #894905

Thank you Vidhi J for such a wonderful trip report! We are planning a trip in October, and your information has been very insightful. We may have to do some rerouting!

[Removed user]

1 September 2018 at 21:27:35 #894906

Thanks Vidhi for your report – you don’t have to be an expert or seasoned traveller to be able to help others! Often new visitors can share their experiences in detail as you have so other new visitors know what to expect. Glad you had such a good time and hope you will be able to return for more.

Maggie

[Sandra59]

3 September 2018 at 11:57:56 #894907

Hi Vidhi J,

Thanks for sharing your experience with us fellow travellers,

Funnily enough, we also had dinner at the Royal Palace Indian restaurant in Montreux and really enjoyed it, the only problem was that it was very hot weather and there was no air-con so we were melting. Our favourite part of our Montreux stay was our day out to Gruyeres (the scenery was amazing and our visit to the cheese factory and old medieval town superb, followed by a visit to Broc for the chocolate factory)

We were in Montreux during the jazz festival which slightly took the shine off our stay as the central section of the usually beautiful ‘Chemin de Fleuri’ lakeside walk was taken over by jazz revellers, food and drink pop up bars etc. It was packed and got messy with rubbish etc.

We did walk along to the Chillon Castle which was lovely and a lot quieter.

We were in Switzerland for 14 days (from 23rd June 2018) with hotel stays in Lucerne (4), Grindelwald (3), Montreux (3), Zermatt (2) and then finished off with an overnight stay in Basel as we were flying out the next morning. The time spent in each location was just about right and we saved time by having a plan already in place for the afternoon we arrived in each location. The only thing I would have changed was having one night less in Montreux and one extra night in Zermatt.

I am glad that you had a terrific holiday in Switzerland.

Sandra.

[Vidhi_J]

4 September 2018 at 8:22:03 #894908

Thanks Emie and Maggie. I’m glad my trip report has been of help to fellow travellers. And surely I’ll be back to Switzerland for more; there’s still tons left to explore in this amazing country 🙂

Thanks Sandra for sharing your Swiss experience. It was a revelation as here I was a little upset that I couldn’t get to visit Montreux during the Jazz Fest. But maybe for a first visit, it’s better that we didn’t visit at that time. Maybe some other time I’ll visit again purely for the Jazz Fest 🙂