Switzerland

The village I lived in was very small and quiet. Beautiful nature and good train services. As others have said though, ruinously expensive with unimpressive food. Not my choice of location.

We treated ourselves to a hotel in Geneva one time - the slats didn't fit bed and DS1 spent the night on the floor

Geneva is a very Inernational town with lots of VERY rich expats. It is not real Switzerland, and it has ridiculous prices to match.

Even in Montreux, which is a Victorian tourist throw back full of very rich people, lots of small cafés in lovely back streets will serve you a great lunch menu for a reasonable price.

If you go to Switzerland, you need to be a bit savvy and avoid tourist traps. Just as in London or other touristy parts of UK. We would all know not to go and eat at Covent Garden.

I was on holiday in Annecy in France a few years ago. One of the included excursions was a lake cruise docking in Geneva. Fortunately, our hotel provided a good breakfast and allowed us to take away a piece of fruit, a pastry etc. for later in the day. These came in really handy when we saw the cafe prices although a group of us did have a coffee. The jewellers shops were on a whole new level - I even spotted a diamond encrusted Nokia mobile phone of all things.

Interlarken no Larks were seen! Interlaken

I went to Interlarken when I was 21, that's a long time ago now! Although it was August it felt cold, we (ex boyfriend and I) had driven up from Italy I just remember a lot of very low clouds and eating fondue with melted cheese and potatoes, it was delish and then being given some Schnapps afterwards which went straight to my head. I'd like to go back sometime and see more of Switzerland.

It’s been a few years since I toured Switzerland, last October we did visit Southern Germany and Austria, it was a city break trip, Salzburg and Vienna with a drive through the mountains in between. We were surprised how pristine everything was neat and tidy, not just the tourists areas, the UK is scruffy in comparison.

Doodle dh and both sons have done that but our girls were too scared and someone had to stay with them!!

DH had done the same thing with his brothers and parents years before

We’ve been a couple of times with the motohome. We made sure we were stocked up with food and drink.
The only thing I missed was a sense of humour, that was a bit thin on the ground ?

We have visited friends in St Gallen a few times by detouring our journey back and forth from Scotland to Southern France. Enjoyed our time with friends but I thought the area very dull although lunch at restaurants on the edge of Lake Constance were very pleasant. To my delight, I realised during a visit, we were not too far from Heidi’s House, yes, I knew it was a tourist attraction but due to my collection of Heidi books as a child, I just had to go there. GDs were very impressed.
Only other area we visited was St. Moritz which we did enjoy.

My now ex wife was based in Geneva for many years. I spent a week every month there. We had an apartment near the lake and it was fabulous. Unless you are earning swiss wages.....forget enjoying life there. It was ruinously expensive. I couldn't even afford a cup of coffee. My pastime was walking to the botanical gardens with a bottle of water and an occasional bread roll.....so pleased not to have to put up with this relative poverty any more !

Kitty we did that trip too but also went out into the glacier and walked to Monchjoch. It was some years ago, I doubt we’d even make it more than a few yards now.

We’ve been to Switzerland many times but not for a few years now. We love it. Stayed in Wengen. Would love to go again.
Sitting on the terrace in the cafe overlooking Kleine Sheidegg
Looking down the valley. Nothing like it. The air is so clean and it’s quiet.

Ah Serendipity that’s what I’m considering for next year. Which company did you go with?

I’ve pm’d you CF

We went to Switzerland on a coach holiday and it was absolutely breathtaking. We went from St Moritz on the Glasier Express another train but ive forgotten name ( oooops ).

The whole trip ( 9 days )was first class....

At one stage we seemed to pass through Interlaken on a regular basis as we dragged our children around Europe on camping trips. We liked it as a more cosmopolitan place to feed the children and the loos were very clean.

We almost always went to Grindlwald and got the train up the JungFrau to look out from INSIDE the Eiger and to visit the ice sculptures.

I’ve just checked Airbnb out of season self catering apartments are £100 a night, close to Interlaken pretty similar to here, a good base for touring, maybe next spring I’ll look again. We found it very quiet last time, between the ski and summer seasons. Swiss cuisine is not very inspiring and a pub burger is £20, so no reason to eat out

How lovely, Maggiemaybe

DD worked there one season on her gap year, loved it but unfortunately, I was unable to visit her at the time.

Somewhere we always meant to go, never did and now I wish we had. Yes, it probably is too late, I think you have to be fit go there and enjoy it fully.

I won a week for two in a suite at the Grand Hotel Suisse Majestic in Montreux back in the 80s. This area was ruinously expensive even then and though we had lovely meals paid for in the hotel, served by gloved and liveried waiters, the lunch money we'd budgeted would only extend to a drink and a bar of chocolate for lunch - between us. We had a wonderful time though, and the view over the lake from our balcony was to die for.

Spent a few days in Basel and yes it was expensive. The guide said the best example of huge costs were Swiss chocolate, café drinks and McDonalds!
We didn’t go all that way to eat fast food, but one look at the menu as we passed proved her true. 2 “meals” cost the equivalent of £18+.

GagaJo

I lived there for a bit. Not for me. As others have said, horrifically expensive. Mostly ok for me while I was there because I earned a Swiss salary. But I wouldn't holiday there.

Saw Verbier, Zermatt and Crans Montana. Very pretty. But again, not for me.

Again, sadly, like the Bernese Alps, Verbier, Zermatt and Crans Montana are all real tourist traps- full of tourists and tourists prices. Wouldn't wish to holiday in any of them. they do not represent real Switzerland.

Did has just spent some time in Switzerland on holiday. She said it’s expensive (and this was pre-Kwarteng mini budget!) and the food wasn’t very good.

I lived there for a bit. Not for me. As others have said, horrifically expensive. Mostly ok for me while I was there because I earned a Swiss salary. But I wouldn't holiday there.

Saw Verbier, Zermatt and Crans Montana. Very pretty. But again, not for me.

We holidayed in Switzerland in the mid 1980 s and it was eye wateringly expensive then. Just the one ice cream a day was the limit for us and our two children. It is
beautiful but has always been expensive.

Yes..........I used to live there