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Small towns/ Switzerland
in Switzerland
As I've gotten older, I've found that I enjoy the small towns maybe more than the larger cities. What are the small towns that the Jewels of Switzerland visit? I'm asking because we have extra time at the beginning and at the end and I'm thinking about booking some tours...just don't want to go to the same places Tauck takes us.
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Lausanne itself isn't huge and has a fair number of interesting sights to see plus it's free metro pass makes it easy to get up and down that hilly city. There's several museums including the Olympic museum, a cathedral at the top of the hill with a great view, a pleasant walkable old town. There are also some nearby small towns fairly easy to get to like Montreux and Vevey. The Chocolate Train leaves from Montreux and include Gruyere (as does the Tauck tour) and a tour of the Cailler chocolate factory. You can also take ferries to several locations on Lake Geneva includes some in France like Evian and Thonon-les-Bains.
At the end of your tour there is more to see in Lucerne than is included in the tour especially if you want to see Mt Pilatus. There are ferries that run on that lake too so you might want to explore those options. The hotel concierge might be able to help. We went to stay in Zurich for a few days which also has several interesting sights. We took the train to Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls for personal reasons. It's about a 2 hr ride from Lucerne and an hour from Zurich. The falls are beautiful and Schaffhausen is a lovely small town with a nice pedestrian walking area.
Wishing you're a great tour.
I have always wanted to go to a chocolate making class. I have even heard that there are places nearby you can make and customize your own Swiss Army knife.
AnneC,
If you have added time in Geneva, Ferney-Voltaire across the border in France is an easy excursion. It is a charming little town and home to Voltaire's château which I thought was well worth the visit. The town also has an open market every Saturday. Your hotel's concierge can assist you with arrangements.
At the end of your Tauck tour in Lucerne you can catch a train back to Interlaken. Purchase a Berner Oberland Rail Pass for anywhere from 3 to 10 days duration. This will cover the train from Lucerne to Interlaken (and return) and then almost all of the trains, gondolas, buses, and lake cruises in the Berner Oberland valleys. Do not stay in Interlaken, but take the train into a number of smaller villages in the Valley. The Tauck trip passed through them on the Jungfraujoch trip, but did not stop in any of them. They are Lauterbrunnen, Murren, Wengen, and Grindelwald. All of these have hotels that are small and comfortable. Each day can be spent taking a train, bus gondola to sites in the valley. There are also a load of hiking trails that are enjoyable. We took gondolas up and hiked down, no stress and easy walks mostly all paved. We stayed in Murren which is up in the mountains and a very small village that is car free with beautiful mountain views.
We spent 8 days doing this and never needed a car. You can get more information at https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch
Anne C - If Tauck does not include the Lion Monument in Lucerne, I highly recommend visiting it. It honors the Swiss guards who perished during the French Revolution. It is very poignant and is a relatively short walk (~20 minutes) from Lucerne's center, or you can take a bus of cab. If you do go on your own, a little research ahead of time will give you a better understanding of the lion's significance. Bring tissues.
A fellow traveler on this tour did take classes at Cailler. She may chime in on this discussion if anyone is interested.
The Lion Monument is included in the Lucerne walking tour. Its very close to the Schweizerhof hotel.
Yes, that's Me who went to Cailler!! We took 2 trains and a bus and it was the most beautiful scenery along the way. We did the tour and the chocolate class at the end, it was great! This was done on one of our pre stay days.
If you're interested, please let me know and i will message you my notes on it.
It looks like the tour spends very little time on Lake Geneva. We did a brief tour of Switzerland on our own some years ago, and enjoyed the villages along Lake Geneva the most. (We did not go to the French side but our traveling companions went to Evian and enjoyed it.) We stayed in Montreux. The hillside wineries are beautiful, and one day, after cruising the lake with the spectacular French alps to the south, we took the train up into the hills of the Lavaux to a town called Chexbrex. Then we took our time walking down the switchback narrow roads through the vineyards. We had lunch in Saint-Saphorin, at Cafe' du Raisin, where we had the most delicious lake perch and a glass of crisp white wine. It was a remarkable meal mainly because it was so simple, and one of the best meals I have ever had. And the ladies there were so nice. The train connections are excellent, and the app for the Swiss trains is very helpful. Chaplin's World, the Charlie Chaplin museum, is also in the area.
I agree, once you've hit the famous cities of Europe, the smaller towns, esp. in France (I loved Rennes), are quite charming and less crowded. This is OT, but last year I spent several days in Basel (and Bern); Basel in particular has incredible museums and is a bit off the tourist track, so it's easy to soon feel like a local. And I found wonderful smaller hotels.