-
Introduction
Switzerland is one of those countries that you can never get enough of. Every season is tempting and has something different to offer. We recently spent 6 days in Switzerland in September and now think that this is our new favourite season in Switzerland!
Of course,we loved the winter and summer in Switzerland summer in Switzerland, too.
Overview of 6 days Switzerland itinerary:
Day 1: Geneva
- - UN Headquarters
- - CERN
- - Lake Genevan
Day 2: Zermatt
- - Matterhorn Glacier Paradise
- - Sunnegga
- - Zermatt’s Old Town
Day 3: Interlaken
- - Jetboat Ride
- - Hoheweg
- - Harder Kulm
Day 4: Jungfraujoch
- - Ice Palace
- - Observation Deck
- - Alpine Sensation
- - Lindt Chocolate Heaven
- - Trummelbach Falls or Grindelwald
Day 5: Aletsch Arena
- - Bettmeralp Village
- - Aletsch Arena
- - Brig
Day 6: Zurich
Here’s a deep-dive on what we did on our 6 Day in Switzerland itinerary.
-
Day 1: Lucerne
Having arrived at Geneva airport early morning at 6:00 am, we decided to see the city before heading to Zermatt.Depositing the bags and freshening up at the airport, we started our tour with the help of our Swiss Travel Pass,which we had luckily pre-purchased.
One must most certainly look at the Swiss Travel Pass as it offers various discounts and benefits and free access to all public transport in the whole of Switzerland.Also,kids under 16 years travel free when their parents hold the pass.
Our first halt was at the UN Headquarters (30 minutes from Geneva airport). Since we knew exactly what we wanted to cover in the day,we had pre-booked a guided tour on their website. That was clearly a good decision.
The next halt was at the CERN (40 minutes), one of the most respected Scientific research centres in the world, is known for its LHC (Large Hadron Collider) experiment.They offer free guided tours that are really interesting.
Last halt - Lake Geneva (35 minutes). Unfortunately,we did not have time to do a cruise, but ideally that would have been perfect.We spent some time along the promenade and had to make do with a long-distance view of the amazing Jet d’Eau, but the day in Geneva was worth it.
We had to return to the airport, collect our bags and head off to Zermatt
Travel time Geneva airport to Zermatt:3.55 hours with one change at Visp.
We had booked an apartment in Switzerland; so we picked up some food along the way to it and decided to call it a night.
Travel tip:
Zermatt is car-free, so try and book a hotel or apartment that offers a pick up from the station (our apartment offered this as a complimentary service but some charge a nominal fee)
If you can stretch your accommodation budget, please do it here. Nothing can compare to waking up to a view of the Matterhorn.
-
Day 2: Zermatt – Matterhorn and Sunnegga
We had heard so much about aiming for the best views of the Matterhorn that we decided to go to two of the famous viewing points. The first was the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise.
Of course, another major reason to choose this was the snow.The Matterhorn Glacier Paradise promises snow all year round.
A walk through the centre of the village had us passing by stores,souvenir shops and cafes with their fresh croissants and intoxicating smell of coffee.
We had booked our excursion tickets in advance at the discount with Swiss Travel Pass.
We changed 2 cable cars before we reached the peak via some glorious views.In hindsight, it would have been nice to try one of the Swarovski Crystal cable cars have transparent floors that allow you to get a vertical view as you go higher.
On top,we felt enveloped by the snow. After some time of being in the outdoors and clicking photos,we headed to the Glacier Palace.This is literally 15 metres below the glacier's surface and has some ice sculptures, and an ice toboggan run.A quick lunch at the restaurant, and we were ready to leave.
Once back down,we walked into Zermatt’s Old Town (Hinterdorf, which literally means rear village) and decided to head to Sunnegga,our next scenic viewing spot for the Matterhorn and the surrounding mountains.
The Sunnegga-Rothorn valley station is a comfortable 10-minute walk away from Zermatt train station.
Just hop on to the funicular that takes you to the top in under 5 minutes.There is a Wolli Adventure park by the lake where kids can cool off and have some fun for families with little kids.
Of course,the main reason to be here was the view of the Matterhorn,and we were truly rewarded with that!
A perfect way to end the second day of our 6 days in Switzerland.
-
Day 3: Zermatt to Interlaken
A hugely popular Swiss town for tourists and a base for many sightseeing options and activities – this is Interlaken.
A 2.30-hour train journey with 2 changes brought us into Interlaken by lunchtime.We had the option of taking an apartment but decided to go with a hotel to cover breakfast.There are a lot of hotels close to both Interlaken East and West stations.
Not knowing how much we could cover on this day,we had only booked a jetboat in Interlaken ride.
We were picked up from our hotel and taken to the jetty.All geared up with life jackets, we were ready for our ride along with another few passengers in the same boat.
Zooming at high speed with 360-degree spins in the shimmering lake surrounded by stunning green mountains was really an experience.Later, we headed back to Interlaken and spent the evening in town walking around the main street – Hoheweg.
However,if you wish and have enough energy left,you can ascend to Harder Kulm to indulge in one of the most breathtaking views of Interlaken from atop.A funicular railway that’s more than 100 years old takes you on the cliff at 1322 m above sea level.
On top,bask in the astounding view of Interlaken and Switzerland's three most popular mountains – Eiger,Monch,andJungfraujoch.Many people include Harder Kulm in their Switzerland tour package as it doesn’t take much time.
That pretty much will sum up your itinerary on day 4.
-
Day 4: Interlaken - Jungfrau
One of the main reasons for the popularity of Interlaken is the Jungfrau. A visit to Jungfraujoch starts from Interlaken Ost station. When we visited, there was just one route to follow. But as of the end of 2020, there is a new route which takes you by cable car part of the way. One can now choose from one of the 2 routes to the top of Jungfrau - Top of Europe.This is the highest train station in Europe!
Route 1 – The original route. Train only
We exchanged our Jungfrau tickets at the counter at Interlaken Ost station and started our journey. With 2 train changes at Lauterbrunnen and Kleine Scheidegg, we were at the peak station in roughly 2.10 hours.
The route is very scenic, and on the last journey, the train stops a couple of times for people to get off for a few minutes and enjoy the views of the glacier, take photos and also get acclimatized to the height.
Route 2 – The new route. Train and Cableway
This route goes from Interlaken Ost to Grindelwald by train, then by cable car to the new Eigergletscher station and then again by train to the peak. A person saves roughly 40 to 50 minutes on this route. Hopefully, we will do this the next time we are in Switzerland
Jungfrau is snowbound throughout the year. So, we decided to have some fun in the snow and then went to see the Ice Palace and have a bite at one of the restaurants. Before leaving, we went to the Lindt Chocolate Heaven, and no one can be faulted for going overboard.
On the way back down, we had a choice of visiting Grindelwald or the Trummelbach Falls from Interlaken. We decided on the latter since we had heard so much about these glacial waterfalls.
On reaching Lauterbrunnen, we took a bus which takes you close to the falls. There is a lift that transports you up into the mountain, and from there, there is a series of steps and pathways that allow you to get different views of the chilly falls. These falls are actually caused by the melting waters of the Jungfrau, Eiger and Monch mountains. There is a nominal fee to enter, but we were delighted we visited.
This day was the best day in our 6 days Switzerland itinerary.
-
Day 5: Interlaken – Aletsch Arena
The Aletsch Glacier is the largest in Europe. To get a great view of this sea of ice, we visited the Aletsch Arena.
A train ride of 1.30 hours transported us to the Betten valley-station. From there, we took the cable car to the car-free village of Bettmeralp. After a short exploration of the village with its lovely chapel and lake, we continued by gondola to the Bettmerhorn.
At the peak, there is a viewing platform from where you get stunning views. The Aletsch Glacier is 23 kms long, listed under the UNESCO World Heritage Site and holds around 11 billion tonnes of ice.
With exhilarating views of 4000m peaks including Matterhorn, Jungfrau and Mont Blanc (Europe’s highest mountain, located in France) the Aletsch Arena was a real treat.There are a couple of other points from which you can reach the peak, but from Interlaken, we thought this was convenient.
Depending on the season, there are various activities offered on top. Try your hand (or elgs) on a Glacier Walk, toboggan run, skiing, or even yoga.
We spent some time in the interactive museum “Glacier World” at the Bettmerhorn.
On our way back, we decided to stop by Brig for a quick tour of the town. Brig is home to the stunning Stockalper Palace and grounds. You can take guided tours to learn the history of this structure built between 1658 and 1678.
And with that our second last day of 6 days in Switzerland came to an end.
-
Day 6: Interlaken – Zurich
An early start by train got us into Zurich via Bern in 2 hours. We had an evening flight, so we pretty much had the full day to spend it visiting the Rhine Falls.
After leaving our luggage at the lockers at the lower level of the Zurich main station, we took the train to Neuhausen Rheinfall station and then reached the falls.
We walked along the falls and then took the lift,which takes you to a level from where you can really feel the thunder of the falls.There is a nominal fee of Swiss Francs 5 per person for the falls.
You can also take a boat ride to the centre of the falls and climb up to its centre's huge rock formation.We decided to give this a skip.There are various boat ride options,and they cost between 10 to 15 Swiss francs.
On return to Zurich, we collected our luggage and headed to the airport. We wanted to reach the airport early to do some shopping.
Instead of buying things and carrying them around, we stock up at the huge Migros grocery at the airport just before boarding the flight.
Zurich airport has a huge selection of outlets. All kinds of watches, jewellery, apparel, sports brands, chocolates and more are available.
Well this brings us to the end of our 6 days Switzerland itinerary.
While we agree that it may seem a bit fast-paced for some; we definitely tried to make the most of every minute that we had, and it was so worth it!
Travel tips:
- - Keep in mind that your best travel companion for Switzerland is the Swiss Travel Pass. Mountains, museums and all kinds of public transport are at your fingertips, thanks to this pass
- - Mountains like the Matterhorn and Jungfrau are snow-clad all year round. Carrying a jacket, sturdy pair of shoes and goggles is wise.
- - If you think that the thinner air at the peak may make you woozy or light-headed, chew on some sour sweets en route to the top.
- - Switzerland is fairly small. If you think checking in and out of hotels and moving from place to place is not for you, you can even base your stay in just one central place, such as Interlaken or Lucerne, and cover the country from there.
