Visiting Switzerland

Good day

We are visiting Switzerland for the first time from 8 - 15 October 2011.
We have a great need to experience the local living of the country, any suggestions on where to stay and which places to visit? We would like to see some of the major tourist attractions, but there is so much one miss about the way the local people live, can you help with suggestions.

Regards
Mariette

Hi Mariette,

My suggestion would be to rent an apartment or home. That's much closer to the local way of life than an hotel. You could cook your own meals and shop at the local stores. In most cases, renting is only possible for a full week, usually Saturday to Saturday. That would mean you would stay in one place during your holidays. Which is fine if you pick a location that is centrally located and has a rail station with a least one train per hour, so that you can do day trips for a week. I would personally pick a smaller town as I think city life in Switzerland is not that different from other western cities. This map and the timetable help you select a place.

Does this get you started?

It might be too late now, but you could try to do a home exchange? It is kind of a weird idea but my family and I did one and like Arno said do train day trips. Their train system is wonderful! Also defiantly see Berne and try the golden pass. Also another cute, but kind of touristly town is Gstaad.

Hi Mariette, I agree with Arno that an apartment is a good suggestion for experiencing Swiss life. We have just returned from two weeks in an apartment in Thun which has excellent rail links to many places you would enjoy visiting. It is a pretty city and not too touristy; there is a market on Weds and Sats where you can buy lovely fresh fruit and veg and the Coop supermarket is excellent too for finding a good selection of foodstuffs. Enjoy your stay. Maggie