Switzerland

HOTELS

Zurich - Boutique Hotel Wellenberg
The location of this hotel was perfect - right in the Old Town and easily walkable to everything. The room was spacious, not super high end, but there was a breakfast buffet with outdoor terrace and a nice family leisure room which we enjoyed. No air conditioning, but plan for this throughout Switzerland. If AC is important to you, be sure to check before you book!

Lauterbrunnen - Breathtaking Waterfall Apartment NR2
This was an apartment style accommodation that we found on Booking,com. It was our splurge hotel for this trip, and we were not sure it would be worth it. But we really wanted an incredible view of the waterfall in Lauterbrunnen and it did not disappoint in that regard. In fact, the photos did not do it justice and we ended up wishing that we had stayed in this apartment for our entire 5 nights in the valley (we only stayed 2 nights). The host met us in person and was very personable and tried his best to make us feel welcome and accommodated, and it was a short walk from pubs and restaurants and all of the transportation in Lauterbrunnen, with the added bonus that it was very spacious and modern. Again, no AC, but it was cool enough at night.

Murren - Eiger Guesthouse
I am torn about my feelings with this hotel as the staff were so lovely, the restaurant downstairs was great, and although the rooms were small they were super clean and modern and recently renovated with lots of storage to be able to organize. There was a balcony with a mountain view, but it was a bit obstructed by the train station across the street. Had we known, we would have opted to stay a bit further into the actual village of Murren which was a 7 minute walk away. I would probably recommend this to anyone looking to stay in the quiet car-free village of Murren. I think it would have given us a more authentic Murren experience.

Zermatt - Matterhorn Lodge Boutique Hotel & Apartments
Matterhorn Lodge is in our top stays of all time in terms of hitting each mark out of the park - location was absolutely perfect, it was the largest and best laid out room for a family we have had in Europe (apartment style with full kitchen). The children loved having their own beds rather than sharing a pull out sofa, and we loved having the kitchen and our own bedroom with balcony. Each balcony view looked straight at the Matterhorn! It had a very high end feel throughout the hotel with no small detail spared, from the monogrammed towels to the furnishings to the decor. The staff was friendly and kind and helpful with planning activities. The breakfast was fantastic, and the unmanned spa with hot tub, saunas, and cold plunge after a long day of hiking was the cherry on top! We absolutely loved our stay here and want to go back and experience it during ski season, as it was set up nicely for skiers as well.

Gruyeres - Hotel de Ville
While there was nothing wrong with the apartment style room, I would not recommend staying a night here. Gruyeres is a medieval car-free city and it was difficult to get our luggage from the parking lot outside the city, across the cobblestones and up the stairs to this hotel. Also, Gruyeres is quaint and beautiful and worth a quick stop if you are in this area, but I do not think it deserves a night stay. It is strictly a tourist town, and it shows.

TRANSPORTATION
Absolutely use the Swiss rail system to get around, it is lovely and impeccable and flawless and was so enjoyable.  Purchase the Swiss Travel Pass (we did first class) and it will cover all rail, boats, museums, and most trams and some lifts.  Keep in mind that in places like the Lauterbrunnen Valley and Zermatt, the gondolas that go to the top (Shilthorn, Jungfraujoch, and Matterhorn Glacier Paradise) will be an extra charge but you will get a discount if you have the Swiss Travel Pass.  But if you are spending a lot of time in areas where you need to take a lot of trains and lifts you will benefit from this pass endlessly.   You do not need to book most of your train travel in advance, only designated scenic routes.  The only one we booked in advance was the panoramic train from Lucerne to Interlaken but only because we were traveling on a Swiss holiday and it was projected to be busy.   Before you travel, download the SBB train system app which you will use to plan your train routes while there.  It is a breeze and you can save your journeys in advance with the times you want and so you will know which track to stand at, etc. We did have a rental car for two days of our trip and regretted it. You really don’t need one, and it was so much more enjoyable when we did not have the car!

 OTHER TRIP NOTES

The Bernese Oberland area is what you think of when you think of visiting the Swiss Alps.  There are numerous places to stay within this area, all with advantages and disadvantages.   We stayed 2 nights down in the valley in Lauterbrunnen in an apartment style accommodation with a balcony facing the Staubbach falls waterfall and it was incredible.    We then moved up to the car free village of Murren for 3 nights.  While we loved the charm of Murren, I might not suggest staying here if you are looking for more convenience - a definite yes if you are there to be adventurous.  But keep in mind that it makes getting everywhere else in the valley take longer.   The village of Wengen would be a great choice or Lauterbrunnen itself if you are looking for the most accessible places in the valley. Grindewald is stunning (but again it’s a bit out of the way).  A great blog  post I read to get the pros and cons of all of the villages, as well as hotel recommendations of all scales is:   Where to Stay in Jungfrau Region

Include Lucerne on your list from your journey from Zurich to the Valley or Zermatt.  You only need a few hours there to walk around, but it is a stunningly beautiful Swiss city and the main old town and covered bridges are only a 4 minute walk from the train station.  We stored our luggage in a locker and walked around here on two separate occasions while en route to other places.   If you do a one night stay here you can take a boat ride on the lake, go up Mt Pilatus or Mt Rigi, which we didn’t do but seems lovely.

 Plan for 3 nights in Zermatt if you have the time – factor your travel day + two full days to go all over the area and see things, especially if one of the days doesn’t have good weather and good views of the Matterhorn.  This area is more upscale than the valley, with so many more hotel and restaurant choices.  

We did a short foray up to the French Swiss area on Lake Geneva and it was so vastly different!   If you don’t have time for this don’t fret, our favorite parts were in the mountains.   Do not stay in Gruyeres like we did – its charming, but the entire medieval town (no cars) is purely a tourist town and no locals really even live there.  I didn’t love that, despite it being beautiful.  Worth a pass through for a couple of hours but not an overnight stay – its more of a hassle than its worth o get luggage in and out.  You may want to consider Lausanne if youre going to head up to this region.   Also, the train ride back from Montreaux to Zurich if you’re doing round trip flights from Zurich to fly direct is supposed to be one of the most scenic, known as the Golden Pass Express.

If you have children, and love outdoor adventures, you will love this trip! We did this trip as a family of 4 with our 10 year old and 8 year old. The alpine parks in the valley and in Zermatt were not to be beat! We actually could not believe how well the mountain activities were set up for families in that way. Each park was better than the next - photos below are of the parks at Mannlichen, the Flower Park at Allmendhubel, and the Wolli Adventure Park Sunnegga above Zermatt to get an idea of what I mean. The fun activities like ziplining, paragliding, mountain bikes, trotti scooters, etc. was fun for everyone.