Which route woulyou recommend to see the panoramic views of the beautiful mountains? Based in Zurich...?

Question

I'm from Australia and will have one weekend in Zurich to explore. I was thinking of going via train on a day trip based from Zurich, to see the beautiful mountains. What would you recommend? A friend of mine suggested Interlaken, but is that really far?

Answer 1

no, Interlaken isn't that far. take the train from Zürich to Berne and then to Interlaken (this is round 2 hours).

if you like, you can also visit the top of Europe - the Jungfraujoch. take the train from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen, then to Kleine Scheidegg and finally to the Jungfraujoch (this is about 2h15).

for all train schedules use

http://www.sbb.ch/en/

some views of and from the Jungfraujoch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBPFMa1Fa...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXxFMHyV0...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es7vBqEcy...

take warm cloths with you, it's on about 11000 feet (3454m).

Answer 2

Interlaken is not that far away. However, the trip to the Jungfraujoch is quite expensive. I would only go there if the weather is really good.

Answer 3

I totally agree with hahu77. I live in Zurich and I've done this trip a few times myself. It's fantastic. You'll love it!

Answer 4

go to interlaken..... but from there, take the train up to jungfraujoch its the top of europe anda breathtaking view...the ice palace on he top is awesome... the floor to the walls  all is ice...have beenthere and love it.  interlaken is awesome..buy cuckoo clock whn there.  enjoy

Answer 5

if you just want to take a scenic train ride, Zurich to Interlaken is a good choice.  however, note that there 2 different lines to Interlaken.  One goes through Bern & Thun, the other to Meiringen & Brienz.  The Meiringen/Brienz route is really pretty... you have Lake Brienz at the foot of the Alps (almost close enough to touch).  whether you choose to go to Jungfraujoch is up to you; be warned that it would be a very long day (Zurich to Interlaken is about 2.5 hours - Interlaken to Jungfraujoch is another hour or two).  

an alternative is closer destinations like to Zug or Rapperswil.  in both, you'll also get pristine lakes alongside the Alps.  for both though, the Alps are a little further away than the Interlaken route (so not quite as breathtaking).

Luzern might be a good choice.  however, the train ride there is not particularly scenic.  once you get to Luzern, the scenery is great.  i would recommend going a little further to smaller towns around.  i like Stanstaad, about 15min from Luzern... this is the "authentic" Switzerland; no real tourists, most people only speak German, it's a real town for locals.  but the one big attraction there is the Fortress Furigen, a series of caves dug into the Alps as part of the Swiss defense against foreign attack in WWII.  now, it's just a museum.  from the train stop at Stanstaad, you'd have to walk about 20-30min to get to the fortress, but part of the fun is to figure out the way with few locals able to speak English. as you get closer to the fortress, you actually walk along a little road along the Lake Zurich, with an incredible view of Mt Pilatus (i think).  the Luzern/Stanstaad route is pretty quick (only an hour from Zurich), and you can see and experience some pretty interesting things... whereas Jungfraujoch/Interlaken is loaded with tourists.

take a look at some of my photos to make your decision...

Answer 6

Definetly go to Lucern www.luzern.ch and you can get timing and prices on www.cff.ch, hope this helps!