Visiting switzerland?

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Jean-Paul J

Hi there,

I have created a day-by-day (and sometimes minute by minute) itinerary for you. Hope you will enjoy this!

DAY 1
Arr. in Geneva at 08:00. You should pass customs in under an hour & be past baggage claim by 09:00. Head to the railway station (follow posted signs) and take the 09:27 train to Geneva Main Station. You will arrive in Geneva Main Station. I would suggest placing your baggage in one of the large baggage lockers, located in the main passageway to platforms (there is, however, a slight cost).

You then have an hour to explore the city (I would head to the lake and walk along the Quayside)

You should be back at the station to take the 10:36 train which leaves from Platform 4. Get off at Montreux and board the "GoldenPass Panoramic train" which leaves at 11:45 from platform 5. You will pass along one of Switzerland's prettiest railway routes. You will arrive in the town of Zweisimmen at 13:32. You switch trains one more time and board the train leaving from platform 7 at 13:37, which will bring you to Interlaken. Make sure to get off at Interlaken Ost (and NOT West).

Book a hotel (I am not sure of your price range. Just use the map link below and you can look for hotels based on their location and their "star" rating). Take a well-earned rest in Interlaken.

DAY 2
After some well-earned sleep and a hearty breakfast, head to the train station. I would take the 10:05 train going to Lauterbrunnen. When you arrive in Lauterbrunnen you switch trains and take the train heading to Kleine Scheidegg. When you arrive there, you switch yet again and take the train up the Jungfraujoch. You should be at the top of the world at 12:22. Here you can dine at the "Top of the Glacier" restaurant or head out onto the mountain and have a little walk. You can also explore the ice palace, carved out of the glacier. You have two hours to wander around the Jungfrau, before heading down again.

You should head down on the 14:30 train. You'll be at the base at 15:20. Catch the connecting train to Lauterbrunnen, which leaves at 15:25, where you will change to take the 16:33 train to Interlaken. At Interlaken you will take the 17:01 train to Spiez (arrival 17:22). You then board the 17:36 train to Visp (which leaves from platform 3). You will arrive at Visp at 18:02. You then (finally) board the train to Zermatt, which leaves from Platform 3 at 18:10. You pull into Zermatt at 19:14.

Head to your Hotel and eat some delicacies from the Valais. Enjoy a nice rest.

DAY 3 (only here?)W

Wake up to look upon one of Switzerland most pretty towns. Almost no cars (except for locals and Emergency Services) and have a nice hearty breakfast. Today you take a historic journey: the Glacier Express! The train leaves Zermatt on the dot at 10:00. It's a journey of 8 hours of magnificient views, 291 bridges and 91 tunnels. You pull into St. Moritz at 18:00. And yet again you are off to bed for a well-earned rest.

DAY 4 (last day in Switzerland, sob!)

Leave from St. Moritz with the 11:04 train. You will arrive in Chur 13:03. Visit the capital of Switzerland's largest canton (known for its Religious heritage and the GraubÃ¼nden Museum of Fine Art, home to works of many famous Swiss artists). Have some lunch (and try out some of GraubÃ¼nden's delicacies, like air-dried meat or some fine cheese) and then take either the 14:09 train (if you want to have a quick look around ZÃ¼rich) or take the 15:09 train to head to Geneva Airport (with a change in ZÃ¼rich, but no time to visit. Oh well).

If you choose to visit ZÃ¼rich, take the 14:09 train from Chur main station. You will arrive 15:23, giving you exactly just under one hour to visit Switzerland's biggest city. Take a stroll along the Bahnhofstrasse, known for its shops, banks and restaurants, or head to the Limmatquai, to gaze upon the river Limmat as it heads to the lake. If you want to be at Geneva Airport by 20:00, then you MUST take the 16:32 train from ZÃ¼rich. According to the National Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS) website, the train to Geneva leaves from platform 17 in ZÃ¼rich HB at 16:32. You will then arrive in Geneva Airport Station at 19:24. You should be at the check-in desks for 19:30.

If you choose, however, to skip ZÃ¼rich and stay a little longer in Chur, then take the 15:09 train from Chur to ZÃ¼rich, where you will need to connect with the 16:32 train, which (at the end of it all) gets you to Geneva at the same time, just not having visited ZÃ¼rich.

And thus ends one of my longest answers. Ever.

I hope that this has helped and I hope that you will enjoy my beautiful country and that you visit again and again!

JPJ

EXTRA EXTRA: I would (as stated by a previous user) take advantage of the special 4-day pass offered by the National Railways for foreigners. When in Geneva Airport station, head to the ticket desks and ask them for this ticket. This will allow to travel everywhere on the Swiss network for four days on the same ticket! As the previous user also stated, this should cost 260 Francs.

lananas1988

That's a lot to see in only four days, but the best way to plan your travel would be to go onto sbb.ch/en It's the Swiss train systems website and it has all their routes, and time schedules on there. You can also find out how much it would cost on the website too.

amilo

Have a look here: http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/content/experiences/
I think it's exactly what you're looking for.

vitaminpez

After arriving in Geneva, go to the train station. As a foreigner you can purchase a "Swiss Pass." They have one that is valid for 4 days (conveniently enough for you). The first link below gives some info on the Swiss Pass and has a link where you can see the travel lines that are valid for that ticket. You can get on and off of the trains as often as you like with this ticket and for you would be very economical.
The second link will take you to where you can purchase a ticket (you can also purchase them in person at the train station, but you this way you can see how much you can expect to pay.) Just click on the last link that says Swiss Pass then click on the option that best describes you (Youth, Adult, Family, etc.)
It looks as though a 4 day pass for an adult is 260 swiss francs.
Print out the travel routes and you can plan your route in advance!

Good luck and enjoy! Switzerland is really a beautiful country. Try to enjoy as much as possible in your short time there.

Source(s):
http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/artinfo/46.html
https://www.sbb.ch/mct/wi/shop/b2c/tree....

Lived in Switzerland.

MISS USA angel in waiting

You need to visit the small towns not the big cities and tourist attractions. I would not advise going to the french speaking section they are not the true swiss

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