Hey everyone,
me and my wife are planning to vis switzerland in the second week of april. we are newly wed couple. We will be in Switzerland for 7 days. We want to stay in a typical swiss village, my friend has suggested Engelberg, but i checked up www.engelberg.ch and found almost all appartments booked there.
We want to stay in an apartment only. So can you suggest any other countryside villages like Engelberg.
If you want to see more than just one place of Switzerland, you should go to a more central location than Engelberg, from where day trips to many regions of the country are possible.
It's rather difficult to find an apartment in a ski resort for the Easter week. One week later, tons of apartments would be available.
May be you have a look at
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html
I hawe a different suggestion for you , the town of vevey with a population of 18,000.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vevey
It is 1 hour by train from Geneva and on the banks of Lake Geneva - it is an easygoing town and I spent 1 night there and I think it is ideal for a romantic holiday since the town is decorated with flowers. The town centre is small with shops, Starbucks etc, and its clean , then a 15 mins walk to the Lake which is an important aspect of the towns life, with flowers there, a backdrop of mountains. Just make sure you go down to the Lake! Charlie Chaplin spent 24 years of his life, and Nestle has its headquarters there!
Nearby places to wewey include twin town Montriux, then Lausanne which is larger and has the headquarters for Olympics or Winter Olympics 15 mins away by train and then Genewa 1 hour away.
But if you want a place with more accommodation opportunities then perhaps Interlaken? It is a small town and a good base for the surrounding mountains, and this is in the German speaking part of Switzerland where as weevy is in the French speaking part.
Look up Interlaken, maybe you can find one of the villages near Interlaken.
Remember vevey is perhaps best in the warmer months and you are going in late April so it should be ok
If you are interested in extreme sports, I would second the above suggestion of Interlaken, a beautiful town nested in the mountains and lakes, Also connected to the Golden train pass you you plan on taking any scenic trains. When I was there I tried Canyon jumping, was probably the highlight of my entire European trip!
Hope you have a great trip!
Interlaken is nothing than a boring local transport hub, with no historic center, but souvenir shops, hotels, hostels and guesthouses, most of them closed or at least almost deserted in late April. The place is very popular with people from overseas, who choose it as a base for all kind of adventure sports (river rafting, canyoning, bungy jumping, balloon rides; with some serious accidents every year) or excursions to the Jungfrau area (200 CHF trip to Jungfraujoch and back, etc.). It's the place for some kind of fun (only during the season), but certainly not for a romantic holiday.
Vevey is just a town, with nice surroundings, but certainly not "a typical swiss village".
Many typical mountain villages are not very attractive in mid April. There is still too much snow for hiking, whereas the ski pists can kept open thanks to snow canons only.
I could give you a list of scenic mountain villages or very scenic villages along or above the Lakes of Southern Switzerland: Lake Lugano, Lake Maggiore. Lake Geneva (Vevey-Montreux area) would be fin too, but it's dificult to find a "a typical swiss village" with apartments to let there.
You may have a look at
http://www.interhome.ch/english/switzerland/valais
http://www.interhome.ch/english/switzerland/ticino
http://www.interhome.ch/english/switzerland/bernese+oberland
http://chalet.myswitzerland.com/?lang=en
http://www.en.e-domizil.ch/holiday-houses/ch/switzerland/
http://www.vacando.com/switzerland
http://www.casamundo.co.uk/switzerland/
http://www.rent-holiday-homes.com/Vacation-Rentals-Montreux-Vevey-rr562_p1.html
http://www.rent-holiday-homes.com/Vacation-Rentals-Ticino-r3020_p1.html
http://www.rent-holiday-homes.com/Vacation-Rentals-Valais-r3021_p1.html
http://www.tourist-paradise.com/Ticino-vacation-rental-vr299.html
http://www.tourist-paradise.com/Valais-vacation-rental-vr300.html
Yea Neckerved , Vevey-Montreux is nice, but they would probably need to stay in a hotel, and it's not cheap.
If you want a kind of peaceful remote typically Swiss village with nice surroundings for walking, i would look up in Saint-Luc or Grimenz or Arolla or Champex. Google has plenty info on either of them.
Val d'Anniviers/Eifischtal is nice, but don't forget that St-Luc and Grimentz will probably still be in the snow in early April. And apartments may be rather expensive around Easter or as long as the skilifts will work (probably until April 20th).
Champex is not easy to reach, often windy and always boring: no character, no village center.