I'm finalizing our Christmas itinerary and wanted to ask for suggestions in organizing day trips. We'll be staying a week in Grindelwald from the 24th-31st after coming from Basel and Bern. We'll be leaving for Zurich on the 31st and heading home the next day. We want to go to Gimmewald, Les Bains de Lavey, Gruyeres, the Chateau de Chillon, and possibly Lausanne. Is there a good way to organize this? We have swiss passes so I would also like to take a good boat ride, perhaps Lake Lucerne? Thank you!
1
neckervd
You can't visit all the places you mention in only 1 day trip from Grindelwald. Don't forget that Grindelwald is much less centrally located as Bern for example. Therefore day trips to the Lake Geneva area will last about 4 hrs longer than from Bern.
May be you will do one ore more of the following trips:
Grindelwald dp 8.19 - Interlaken Ost dp 9.08 by Golden Pass Panoramic Express via Gstaad to Montreux ar 12.13 and by local train (dp 12.32) or bus (dp 12.29) to Chillon castle. Have lunch and visit the castle. Go then by bus or train to Villeneuve, with another bus to Aigle, by train to St. Maurice and by taxi or bus to Lavey-les-Bains. count 1 1/2 hrs from Chillon to Lavey Spa, for example: Chillon ar 14.35 - Lavey Spa ar 16.10. Leave then Lavey-les-Bains at 17.05 (it will get dark at this time) by bus to St-Maurice and go on by train via Visp - Spiez - Interlaken to Grindelwald ar 20.35. The last bus leaves Lavey at 18.13 (Grindelwald ar 21.35).
Sunday Dec 25th you could go by boat (don't worry: it's heated!) from Chillon castle dp 14.25 to Lausanne ar 16.15, go by metro to the medieval city center and look around there (museums etc. will be closed at that time, however).
Grindelwald dp 8.08 by train via Bern - Romont - Bulle to Broc Fabrique ar 11.25. Vist the Cailler (Nestle) chocolate factory (closed on Dec 25th). Broc Fabrique dp by train at 13.34 via Bulle to Gruyeres railway station and by bus to the town ar 14.05. Visit the castle and the small medieval city centre.
After the visit, take a bus to the railway station (or go down on foot, about 15 minutes) and visit the cheese diary. Gruyeres railway station dp 15.58 and then every hour until 19.58, Grindelwald ar 3 1/2 hrs later.
Boats: Lake Thun on Sundays only (Interlaken dp 14.10 - Thun ar 16.20), Lake Lucerne every day (Lucerne dp 9.12, 10.12, 12.00, 13.12, 14.12), can be combined with the cog railway (the oldest of the world) to Rigi.
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