This site has been a great help for previous trips to Italy and the UK. We have time off in late November (11/24 to 12/4) and are seriously considering Switzerland. We will also be bringing our 3 year old twins. Are we nuts? Has anyone been to Switzerland this time of year? We live in Northern US so we can handle some cold. We are contemplating basing ourself in one area and using the buses, trains and other mass transit to see the country? I would enjoy hearing any suggestions about a city/village that might serve as a good base and any sights you would recommend.
We have been in Switzerland in October, but no later than that. You could look into when the ski slopes open, to judge the weather.
You can definately use trains/buses to see everything, but be sure the town you pick is centrally located. Some of the mountain towns are on a spur line and it takes awhile to get to the main line. Because of this, you might consider Interlaken or Lucerne as a base - these are larger towns and on the main train line.
But, it would be lovely to be up in the mountains (unless you find out there is a lot of rain in November). Grindelwald is close to lots of interesting places and has good transportation.
Note that the transportation might not be as frequent that time of year - trains and buses may not run as often.
You could also consider staying in the warmer part of Switzerland - Lausanne or Montreux on Lake Geneva.
Thank you for the reply, Pauline. My original thought was to rent an apartment in Luzerne or Zurich and use that as a base to explore via train, boat bus. Have not had much luck finding apartments in those cities but there is a lot to choose from elsewhere. I just need to figure out what cities/villages are on train lines. We are also interested in Lausanne and will look into that. The more we read the harder it is to decide.
Grindelwald is tempting but with our timing might be a risk. At the very least a day trip is in order.
As for what we want to see and do, mountains are high on the list as are train and boat trips. With the kids we can't be too ambitious, but it's enough just to be in Europe and in a new country to explore!
Your site is definitely one of the best. Thanks for all your hard work.
As a final note, off the top of your head can you think of any novels set in Switzerland?
Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain is set in Davos. I loved the novel, but it moves very slowly. That is all that comes to mind immediately - can anyone else think of some?
Thomas Mann lived in Switzerland and is buried near Zurich, but I am not sure if he was Swiss. Patricia Highsmith, the mystery writer (Strangers on a Train), lived in the Ticino region.
The movie 5 Days One Summer with Sean Connerey is set in Switzerland.
On the Switzerland - Trip Planning - Guidebooks page I have listed some books from Bergli Press (bottom of page) which are interesting books about life in Switzerland.
Have you contacted the tourist office for Zurich and Lucerne? They should have all the apartment listings. It might be harder to find vacation rentals in the cities though.
Just found an apartment in Luzern/Lucerne on both Drawbridge to Europe and Interhome sites that might suit. Not much soul, but child-proof and in the center of town. The more I hear about Luzern, the more I'm leaning on staying there.
As for my ? on books set in Switzerland, John LeCarre's Night Manager is set in Zurich. Also read that the movie "Red", from the Red-White-Blue trilogy by a Polish director's name I can't spell, is set in Geneva. I've got that on tape somewhere . . .
We spent three days in Luzern in late October a couple of years ago when our daughter was about six. We stayed at a hotel in the old part of the city and found this a good base for exploring. Our daughter still remembers "the lion." We especially enjoyed the boat trip across the lake and then the little train up to the top of Pilatus. We were far above the clouds and it was spectacular.
My first visit to Luzern was in early December and I don't remember the weather being a problem. Just be sure to take warm clothes (including hats and gloves) and shoes/boots that are appropriate if you do have snow!
We have also visited Munich, the Bavarian Alps and Salzburg in December and enjoyed being there at that time of year.
Last thought-- good for you to travel with children!!! So many people stay at home, but as long as you make your plans with the children in mind, you should be fine. I think the apartment is an especially good decision since you are traveling with children. I'm curious what apartment in Luzern you found-- we are potentially looking for a place next summer and I haven't had much luck on the internet...
And w/3 yr olds in particular, Switzerland (we lived in the Montreux/Vevey area with our small child for 7 yrs) maintains excellent public playground/parks, as well as Ski resorts have children specific entertainment: Leysin for instance has an inner tube snow track just for small children.Restaurants of the pizzaria type often have childrens corners with pencils, paper, etc. The Migros chain of grocery stores also most often has a children's corner near the cafeteria. Overall, it is beautiful, clean, and everything works, and as with the discussion going on on Italy: ways to save money, always think ahead, take your own bottle of water for example, because it is also exceptionally expensive.
Thank you for the info and most of all the encouragement. Its always a bit scary taking the kids abroad but so far it has always worked out great. An added plus has been that one of our twins with developmental delays made huge strides during past trips to Rome and England. One of our twins has had developmental delays.
The trip is officially booked. All we need to do is finalize Lucerne reservation and then start looking at fun day trips.
Thanks again - I'll make a full report when I return in early December
I know that your trip is all set probably, but just to throw my opinion in... I have been to all the cities mentioned and have to say that Luzern, Bern and Lausanne are the nicest... size, culture and view-wise. Montreux is pretty small and seems like one long street to me, which is a layout I don't tend to prefer. It also seems more like a seasonal place, esp. for the jazz festival, whereas Lausanne seemed a bit more lively to me... It is a little bit hilly, though, whihc is a cosideration with twin 3-year olds. Actually Bern can be hilly and Luzern, too.... Luzern and Bern are conveniently located. I was not impressed with Geneva nor with Zurich, although I have heard plenty of good things about Zurich from others.
If you consider the time you are going, I would imagine there is only skiing or cutural events in cities (advent) going on. I have never been in the winter, but if it is anything like Germany or Austria, there are tons of Christmas markets and concerts to keep you occupied and even content inthe cold winter air. It has already snowed a few times here in Munich so be prepared!
"Many a trip continues long after movement in time and space has ceased." (John Steinbeck)
Posts: 372 | Location: Back in Seattle! | Registered: 07 February 2004
My friends who live near Solothurn emailed me this morning. Winter has arrived! 'Fairy' snow yesterday, and a huge dump all around their area last night.
Hope you and your family enjoy your trip - you will love Luzern
Posts: 62 | Location: Sydney, Australia | Registered: 22 July 2003
Just checking back and glad to see more replies and weather updates. Thanks very much! We leave next week and so far things are shaping up well (i.e kids are not sick -touch wood!) We're combining a 4 day train pass with 7 days of car rental. Sarah - Apart from a weekend in Koln meeting friends (and the Xmas market), nothing is set in stone, so thanks for your input. Bern and Lausanne are definitely on our list! We would also love to visit Ticino but perhaps thats getting a bit too ambitious
One other note on traveling with your kids. As in many cities in Europe there are large pedestrian only areas, Lausanne's is in the center, so though it's hilly you can visit markets etc. without worrying about traffic. I can agree about Montreux to some extent, though going lakeside puts it into another perspective, the real exceptions are the Jazz and the holiday season when the normally staid Swiss pull out all the stops. Both Lausanne and Montreux have beautiful lakeside promenades and there will be holiday markets (as well as afore mentioned playgrounds) set up along there in the form of charmeing mini-chalets with handcrafts etc., as well as in the other streets. Montreux (Lakeside) and possibly Lausanne have enormaous fantastical moss (growing on wire) animal figures which the kids love, as well as a small-train ride. It's a beautiful place this time of year. Lugano (Ticino) is also worth the trip, if time allows, once again a fab playground lakeside, one of the nicest. Watch for mountain pass road closures at this time of year , they'll be posted, and/or ask locally which would be the best route. Bonne route, bon tour!
I thought those of you who offered advice might be interested in a greatly delayed summary of our trip.
The main highlight of course was how well our kids did and how well we were treated wherever we went. We could have been in Italy for all the smiles and attention they received. From a smoky little bar where the regulars spent a half hour giving us directions to a less-smoky place, to a chic cafe in the KKL center in Luzern where the waitress introduced the kids to thai fusion, we were always treated with patience and kindness. I understand this is not everyone's experience with Switzerland, but we have been pretty lucky on all of our trips and this was no exception.
Not completely lucky. Our flight was delayed in Amsterdam 13 hours so we arrived at 1:00 am in Zurich and of course the luggage was lost. This didn't faze the kids and the silver lining was that we ended up in a hotel near the airport that had a great winter rate ($120 for 4 bed family room) and was steps away from a train station. We stayed here on the home as well.
We ended up staying in Luzern in the Utoring Apart-Hotel. We booked through interhome.com and with the winter and last minute discounts, the price was about $60.00 per night for a large 2 bedroom apartment with kitchen and balcony! We were near, if not in, the center of town and a five minute walk from the bridges leading to Luzern's old town, where the kids could run wild.
We ended up using a car for most of our travel as the kids are not at the age where long train trips are any fun (for the parents). We attempted to visit Interlaken/Murren and environs but fog and ice prevented us from ascending any higher than the main highways. When one of the kids threw up as Dad was negotiating a hair pin corner, we decided to spend the rest of the day in Bern, which was very nice. We also visited Neuchatel and much of the area in and around Luzern. We did not cover as much ground as we planned, which is always the case, but what we did see we enjoyed. On one of the clear days we took the boat from Luzern, ascended Mount Rigi and descended to Weggis. Note to parents - the restaurant at the top of Mount Rigi has the best "chicken strips" I've ever tasted.
It was a great trip, although traveling with two 3-year olds has its limitations. On the flight home, the Sunday Telegraph had an article on Luzern and of all the things it listed to see and do, we had maybe seen/done one or two of these things.
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