| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Wed January 14, 2009 12:49 PM UTC
it depends on where you want to go and what you want to see
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Wed January 14, 2009 12:50 PM UTC
Lausanne and around its lake, wonderful in May :-)
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Wed January 14, 2009 01:10 PM UTC
Thanks for your replies,
I think I'm leaning towards Lausanne.The only problem though is day trips.I've thought of two,one taking a boat from Thun down to Interlaken,the another being a day travelling to both Bern and Luzern (if staying in Lausanne the last day will be spent on lake Geneva).
Is one day enough to visit both Bern and Luzern?
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Wed January 14, 2009 01:27 PM UTC
One day for both Bern and Luzern? One day is not even enough to visit one of them.
I never understood what people find about Lausanne. The city is nothing special. Ok there is the lake and several beautiful smaller places in the surroundings, but to see these I would not stay in the city but in one of the smaller places in the surroundings.
Four nights make three full days. You cannot see everything on so short a trip. Either 3 days on Lake Geneva or 3 days in and around Bern and/or Luzern.
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Wed January 14, 2009 03:03 PM UTC
Just some additional food for thought. My wife and I recently spent 4 days in Switzerland. We spent 3 nights in Lauterbrunnen (about a 20 minute train ride from Interlaken) and 1 night in Luzern. We initially spent an afternoon in Bern after a morning train ride from Paris. We just walked the city (if you go try to avoid Monday's as a lot of stores were not open). We did not go to any museums in town, but saw the Bear Pits and Clock, really not that special. We enjoyed our time around the Interlaken area, spending a day going up to the top of one mountain (Schilthorn), hiking in the Alps and then walking around the Interlaken area and spending some time paragliding. Luzern was a much more interesting city then Bern in my opinion and we could have spent more then a day visiting, although you can do a quick walk through in a day as long as you don't visit any museums. I have additional information on my Swiss sites that you may want to check out.
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Wed January 14, 2009 08:04 PM UTC
Fully agree with Kathrin.
If you want a wonderful lake, a beautiful city and fantastic mountains Luzern (Lucerne) is the place to go. Plus, if you absolutely want to visit Bern it is not really far away. I find Bern very beautiful and unique.
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Thu January 15, 2009 10:00 AM UTC
Thanks everyone,
Ok,I now think I have a plan for my Swiss trip.
Day 1
Arrive Geneva airport.Check in at Bern for 4 nights.
Day 2
Morning train to Thun(2hrs there).Then take a boat ride to Interlaken(1 hr there),followed by a train to Grindelwald(2 hrs there)then late train back to Bern.
Day 3
Restful day in Bern.Maybe an easy day trip.Any recommendations?
Day 4
Morning train to Luzern.Spend the day there then get a late train back to Bern.
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Thu January 15, 2009 10:09 AM UTC
Thanks everyone,
I think I now have my trip sorted out.
Day 1:-Arrive in Geneva airport.Check in for 4 nights in Bern.
Day 2:-Thun,Boat to Interlaken,Lauterbrunnen,late train back to Bern.
Day 3:-Day in Bern(perhaps an easy day trip from there.Any suggestions?).
Day 4:-Full day in Luzern.Catch a late train back to Bern.
How does this sound?
Once again,thanks for your help.
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Thu January 15, 2009 06:22 PM UTC
On day 3 I would just stroll around in Bern. The city is very beautiful, with very interesting horizontal doors to underground shops - apart from many great buildings, cathedral, etc.
If you think you should do a half-day trip you could consider one of the lakes in the French speaking eastern region, like Bieler See (Bienne), Murtensee (Murat) or Neuchâtel. They are just a stonethrow from Bern.
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Fri January 16, 2009 02:51 PM UTC
Thanks once again,
Ok,I have decided on my itinerary,I just need to ask one more question.Would it be better for me to get a 4 day swiss pass for this trip or would it work out cheaper just to pay for each ticket when I get there (the swiss pass works out at 153 GBP,which works out at 254 CHF).
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Fri January 16, 2009 05:47 PM UTC
The only way to really figure this out is to total up what you will spend on point to point tickets and compare them to the Swiss Pass. Another option which is available to you is a 1/2 price Swiss Card. This card is good for 30 days. Even though you may only use a card for the 4 days you are there it may pay for itself. My wife and I both got a Swiss 1/2 price card, but we also went up to the top of Schilthorn (3 cable cars and mountain train). That trip alone almost paid for the 1/2 price card. You will really need to take a look at all 3 options and then decided what is the best for your itinerary.
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Fri January 16, 2009 05:52 PM UTC
Check out this link on my Swiss VT page. http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/f8615/483/9/#1931375
The links are still valid to explain a little more about the 1/2 price Swiss Card.
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Wed January 21, 2009 09:13 AM UTC
Thanks everyone for your replies.The trip is now sorted!
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| Bern |
Re: Bern or Lausanne? Posted: Sat January 31, 2009 02:28 PM UTC
Definitely take the pass. It will be way cheaper than paying full fare for every leg of the journey. Plus since it's valid on all swiss trains, you're very flexible: If you don't like a place particularly, just leave mid-afternoon and go someplace else. If you buy return-tickets, you can't change your mind that easily. And in the pass local busses and streetcars in Berne and all other cities are included as well.
Enjoy!
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