Next month we’re going to be in Switzerland for a week before heading to the Amalfi Coast. We’re flying into Zurich and then going to Lucerne, Wengen (in Jungfrau region), and then Zermatt. Probably one night in Geneva. We’ll be with our kids (6 and 4 years old). Would love to hear recs for restaurants (particularly any with interesting wine lists), activities, stores, day trips, etc. We have lodging mostly set. Thanks very much in advance.
The food halls in the upscale department store in Zurich was amazing. (Can’t remember whether I went to Jelmoli or Globus). The Swiss cheese was so good, I brought some onward to France! Look for cheese by Rolf Beeler.
It’s been a while since I went but Caduff’s Wine Loft in Zurich was da bomb in terms of wine. Food was great too - food was pricey, wine had some real treasures. No real list, you go into the basement and pick something out. When I went, many burgundy treasures at fair values (the older the wine, the better the price relative to today).
Wengen - cog wheel train to the Jungfrau through the face of the Eiger. Simply a must.
Where you staying? Alpenrose? The food there is excellent.
Murren on the other side is beautiful.
Trümmelbach Falls are incredible, waterfall inside a mountain
Rick covers some of the bases
In Zurich: BÜ‘S RESTAURANT BAR & BÜTIQUE - https://buetique.ch/
Lucerne: Restaurant Red at the KKL center: Lucide
For the kids (and the adults), the amazing Verkehrshaus (transportation museum) Verkehrshaus der Schweiz - Das Ausflugsziel in Luzern - Verkehrshaus der Schweiz
In Zermatt, on the mountain, Adler Hitta. Or Restaurant Blatten.
Where are you staying in Zermatt? Highly recommend the Mont Cervin Palace.
In terms of restaurants, not sure what’s open in the summer but the two best mountain ones are Chez Vrony and Findlerhof. Both are an easy 20 min walk down from the lift station at the top of the underground train station or a strenuous walk up from town. There’s also several restaurants at riffelalp.
There are loads of restaurants in town so it depends what you’re looking for but the obvious ones are:
Grill Le Cervin
Joseph’s Bar
Whymperstube
1818
Ferdinand
It’s a wonderful town with stunning views and a lovely atmosphere.
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Great coincidental thread, Batman!
Also heading to Switzerland at the end of August. One night in Zurich after flying in, then a few days in Verbier for a wedding. Fly out of Geneva to Madrid.
Any reccos for Verbier and/or Geneva?
I was at Caduff’s a number of years ago and loved it. Sat at the counter and the chef prepared venison he had hunted that same day. I went into the wine cellar, poked around and came up with an older Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo for under 100 Euro, as I recall.
Verbier is nothing like as good a food destination as zermatt but I have friends who live there so I’ll ask and revert.
This is great stuff (this post and all of them). We are indeed staying at the Mont Cervin Palace. Looks like a great spot.
Bayview at the Marriott President Wilson (upscale & pricey)
Ate at Brasserie Lipp, standard solid French.
We stayed at MCP in feb half term this year and absolutely loved it. Our half board package included a dine around plan with c. 20 restaurants included where we could have dinner. 2 were in the hotel and the rest were around town or on the mountain. Great idea that we took full advantage of! Don’t know if your stay has the same deal or not. Only the 1st 2 mountain restaurants I listed above were not on our dine around plan but I’d certainly visit them regardless at the very least for lunch.
PS concierge at the mcp should be able to help with what’s open and getting reservations. More tips:
Gornergrat train is a must.
Take the train into town when you first arrive in zermatt and pre-order pick up from there with the hotel in one of their little electric shuttles.
There’s a decent italian restaurant (great pizzas) with a nice terrace outside at the top of the cable car to trockenersteg. Great views from there but even better views if you take the next cable car right to the top and then go up to the viewing platform. You can see mont blanc amongst other things from up there.
PS if you pm me your email I can send you the write up for all the dine around restaurants we were given.
We’re planning to visit Switzerland this summer. It’s a sort of HS graduation gift for my son. It will be me, my wife (in our 40s), son and daughter who is 16. My son is definitely more interested in the Alps than the cities. We’ve watched the Rick Steves stuff and a place like Gimmelwald is right up our alley I think. Planning probably 9 or 10 days. What’s the best the place fly in and out of – ideally with direct flight from Chicago? Has anyone done the hiking from village to village where someone else moves your stuff while you hike?
We visited Switzerland for the second time in August. We flew in/out of Zurich and took the train immediately to Zermatt when we arrived. After 3 nights there, we took the train to Wengen for another 3 nights. We spent a rainy afternoon in Gimmelwald one day. We did all of the scenic trains the first time we visited in 2018. Have not done the hiking.
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In summer 2019 we did an 11-day self-guided inn-to-inn trip in the Bernese Alps (the kind where they transport your luggage from inn to inn) which was wonderful. We used Alpine Hikers ( Self-guided Classic Bernese Oberland Traverse - Alpine Hikers ) but met folks who used other less-expensive outfits such as InnTravel or Distant Journeys and they were all equally happy. We flew to Zurich, took a train to Lucerne for 3 nights, then took trains to our starting point, and afterwards took a bus and then trains from our end point to Zermatt for 3 nights, finally a train back to Zurich to fly home. Fantastic trip and the train travel was quick, easy, and reliable.
My favorite part was our night at Obersteinberg, a rustic inn perched high over the Lauterbrunnen valley with great views, on a farm where they make cheese. No electricity, just a candle in the room and a porcelain washbasin. Can only get there by trail, so for that night we carried a spare set of clothes and our toothbrushes.
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This sounds amazing. How long was your total trip?
17 nights.
Bump. Will be in Zurich and Lucerne late September. Any updated places to eat/drink?
Have stayed in Murren and Wengen a few times. The Eiger Hotel in Murren is wonderful. Great views of the Eiger, Jungfrau and Sisters. They had barbecue and buffet on Friday or Saturday for the three times I’ve been there (July) on a deck in the middle of Murren (it’s small); game meat. A Chinese restaurant was great. Got it to go and ate on our balcony. The Eiger House is run by the sister next door and is less expensive but not quite as nice.
Hotel Regina in Wengen was run by a German family and was nice. Great views (as is everywhere in this area). Nice restaurant in the hotel and great bar.
Both cities had a music/dance show given by the locals I enjoyed. Outdoor movies in Wengen. My favorite hike is the cog station before going into the tunnel for top of Jungfrau. Hike back to Wengen. 2-4 hour slight downhill hike. Whoa pretty. Hike Murren to the bottom of the middle Murren train station is also great too. Trimmelbach falls is stunning. Both are little villages, but Murren is more remote and stunning. I liked going up to the 007 restaurant above Murren more than the top of the Jungfrau.
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We will be in Switzerland in June, flying into Zurich, then traveling to Interlaken, Grindelwald and Lucerne. We will be biking, hiking and kayaking mostly. Does anyone have any winery recommendations in those areas that are worth it? Maybe a hired driver/tour guide too?
Restaurant recommendations in addition to those already mentioned would be great too.
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