Pre-Tour sightseeing- July 13th tour

Sue M

My husband and I will be taking the "Switzerland: Europe's Crown Jewel" tour that begins on July 13th.
This will be our 8th Tauck trip and we are really looking forward to it.
We will be arriving in Switzerland a day early, on the 12th.
We would like suggestions as to what sightseeing we might enjoy doing, prior to the beginning of the tour. We want to make sure that anything we do does not duplicate what Tauck will do once the tour begins.
Thanks!

manycruises

My husband and I were on the Switzerland Tour in 2017. You are in for a treat! We also arrived early in Montreux and went on a 3 hour tour with Emmanuel of Swiss Private Tours to Vevey, Glion, and Old Montreux. Emmanuel drove us around and we also had a lovely guide in the van who provided the narrative on the riding/walking tours involved. We ate a wonderful lunch of local perch at the restaurant DuPont in Old Montreux. It was a great way to see some of the surrounding area without exhausting ourselves before the Tauck Tour began!

Sue M

Thanks!
I went on the website for Swiss Private Tours and saw two tours under the subtopic of "Montreux, Vevey."
Neither one was exactly what you mentioned and both include a visit to the Chateau de Chillon (which Tauck will take us to).
Converting CHF to American Dollars, the excursions look like they would cost about $186 each. Is that what you paid?
The tour you described sounds very interesting but I did not see that listed.
Since our flight is an overnight flight, I figure that the day we arrive we may just stay at the hotel and relax.
The following day (the day the Tauck tour begins), we are looking to fill a few hours before the welcome reception and dinner.
I was wondering...is there much to do within walking distance of the hotel?
Their website says they are about a 10 minute walk to the center of town.

On another topic....did men wear sport jackets at the more "formal" dinners?
Thank you for your advice and suggestions. They are very much appreciated.

Buzz48

The hotel is right on the lake and a beautiful promenade runs along the lake. We walked the length of it ending up in downtown Montreux. Stopped at a bank to pick up some CHF and had a pastry (maybe two?) at a little shop across the street. The walk was about 20 minutes. There is also a city bus running from the front of the hotel to downtown. I am not sure but I recall that the hotel front desk provided or sold tokens for the bus.

There are also several boats which you can hop on and take a scenic cruise around the lake.

Some men wore a sports coat, no ties, on the first night but it was not mandatory. The farewell dinner was informal and most men did not wear jackets. It is more of a "fun" night.

You should have a wonderful time on this tour.

Sue M

Thanks for the feedback. Looks like the hotel is in a great location...leave it to Tauck!
We are looking forward to this trip. We always enjoy Tauck tours as well as getting to know and mingling with our fellow travelers.

manycruises

Swiss Private Tours will arrange a tour to your liking. We did not go to the Chillon because it was on the Tauck Tour, but we wanted to see Vevey, Glion, and Old Montreux without doing much walking on our own. You are in Switzerland and prices are quite high. I can't remember what we paid, but for us it was worth it and was an excellent tour. Emmanuel even picked us up after lunch and drove us back to the hotel. The hotel in Montreux was on the water, but unfortunately it was tired looking and needed updating. It was below Tauck's standard for hotels. The remaining hotels were very nice.

Men did not wear sport jackets and women wore pants or casual dresses. The dress was casual throughout our whole tour.

Our tour director was Kori and she was excellent! She made each day exciting and fun and was a pleasure to be around!

JohnKS

Sue,

My wife and I were on the Crown Jewel tour last year. It was great and you will have a good time. We arrived a day early as well. Rather than using a tour guide we decided to fill the day ourselves. My wife enjoys chocolate and cheese so we looked into tours at the cheese factory in Gruyere and the Maison Cailler chocolate factory in Broc. Gruyere is on the Tauck tour but the cheese factory is not. We rented a car from Avis drove to Gruyere and Broc. We enjoyed the chocolate tour much more than the cheese factory but are glad we did both. To finish our day we drove to a winery on Lake Geneva near Montreux. Another option if you like chocolate is to think about the Chocolate Train. The train was not running when we took our trip otherwise we probably would have used that option to fill our day.

Have a great trip.

John

Sue M

Thanks John! It seems like we have a bunch of options once we arrive in Switzerland.

JohnKS

Sue,

You are welcome. Perhaps one other little suggestion. You will spend some time in the ice caves in the Jungfrau mountain also know as the "Top of Europe". If your hands tend to get cold easily you might consider bringing a light pair of gloves on the trip for this excursion. Most of our group members did not bring gloves and the tour director mentioned that a pair of socks would do the trick for the little time you might need them. My wife used a pair of socks while in the ice caves and she was glad she did.

Sue M

Hi John-
I appreciate that tip...gloves have now been added to the packing list!
If you have any other suggestions or advice, keep them coming. I am sure other readers will appreciate them too.
Thanks!