[Removed user]

2 February 2012 at 16:58:12 #804883

Hi,
I have been reading through some of the forums and you are wonderful in the advice that you give!
I’m wondering if you might be able to help me.
We are planning a trip in September through Italy and Switzerland. We would need to enter Switzerland from Venice. (or vice versa)
It seems there are so many interesting places to visit that we are having a difficult time working out our itinerary.
We will have 10-12 days, and so far have on our list Zermatt, Interlaken, Lucern, Bern, Zurich (from where we would fly home) and maybe Geneva or Montreux. I don’t think we have enough time to see it all! How many days to you recommend for each town? Are we better off moving around or should we base in one place and take day trips?
Do you know if it is possible to tour CERN in Geneva? Or perhaps we are better off visiting Geneva as part of a future trip to France?
We’re keen to do a mix of countryside/scenery (I love photography) and exploring towns. And the chocolate train!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much.

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[Arno]

3 February 2012 at 1:30:34 #834764

Hi ozzietraveller, and welcome to the forum!

It’s indeed quite a wish list for 10-12 days. It really depends on what you like to do. If you like to travel a lot (many train trips are beautiful as well) and settle for a first glimpse of each region, it’s perfectly possible to cover all places you’ve listed. Please check the timetable for traveling times. Zermatt is located in a secluded valley, so even one day could be sufficient for a first impression (provided that there’s clear weather). The other places offer a lot of attractions, museums and so on. You could easily spend a week in each place. An alternative would be to pick 2 or 3 towns as a base, e.g. Interlaken, Montreux (Chocolate train, CERN), and Zurich. Photography requires good weather, so some “spare days” would be practical as bad weather is not uncommon in the mountains.

Yes, you can visit CERN. Here's some information.

I hope this gets you started!

[Removed user]

8 February 2012 at 7:03:36 #834765

Hi Arno,
Thank you for your comments.
We’ve refined our plans and now our itinerary looks like this
D1 – Arrive Zurich in the morning. City sigfhtseeing
D2 – Day trip to Mt Pilatus
D3 – Day trip to Lucern
D4 – Day trip visit Lichtenstein and Maienfeld (Heidiland)
D5 – Travel from Zurich to Spiez in the morning, cruise on lake Thun and wander through towns
D6 – Visit Interlaken, Grindewald
D7 – Junfraujoch
D8 – Spiez, Lake Brienze and Ballenbery open air museum
D9 – Travel to Bern, spend day sightseeing in city
D10- Travel to Geneva in the morning, sightseeing
D11- Visit CERN in the morning, then Chillon Castle and Montreux in the afternoon
D12 – Train to Montreux to catch Chocolate train for day
D13 – Day trip from Geneva to Chamonix/Mt Blanc?
D14 – Fly out from Geneva

Is this a do-able itinerary? We’ve tried to provide some contingency time to allow for bad weather (we will be travelling in September). For example Days 2-4 are interchangable.

We looked at a day tour to Heidiland and Lichtenstein, but it seemed quite rushed. We have found that we can catch a train to both places which would give us more time to look around. Do you know much aboiut Heidiland? If we catch a train to Maienfeld, is there a bus or some way to look around and visit?

I’ve heard about an Ice Hotel, but I can’t seem to find where it was. Is there anything you can recommend?

Also, do you know if it will be Ice Hockey season? Whats the best way to get tickets if so?

I know Chamonic/Mt Blanc is over the border, but do you have any thoughts/recommendations of how we might visit for a day trip?

Thank you so much for your time. Your help is really appreciated. SO excited to be planning this trip!

[Arno]

9 February 2012 at 10:32:08 #834766

Hi ozzietraveller,

Yes, your itinerary is doable. Day 11 is a bit much perhaps, and day 4 as well, depending on your exact plans. Heidiland is a region with Maienfeld being the most important village for the Heidi theme. Heididorf.ch offers information about it. Maienfeld can be reached by train. Please use the timetable for details.

There are indeed several ice hotels. This one on the top of Muottas Muragl can be booked online. Some others are here.

Chamonix can be reached by train via Martigny. There’s a bus as well but I would suggest to take the cog train. The train is covered by most Swiss rail passes. From Chamonix you can take a gondola up the Mont Blanc (Aiguille du Midi).