Switzerland is nothing less than a fairyland comprising of snow capped mountains, beautiful lakes, magnificent churches and wonderfully crafted buildings. Right from my childhood every yash Raj movies have been depicting Switzerland more and more beautiful and thus it became my lifetime dream to visit this place.
A perfect itinerary to swiss requires atleast 7 days. Mine was just 4 days and I always wanted more. Most of the travel packages from India gives you only 3 days in switzerland and that just not justifies it. It is always better to ditch these travel packages and create your itinerary to visit this place as a local. (trust me you wont regret)
Preparing for your trip:
1. Get your flight tickets booked: Though there are direct flights from India to zurich, if you are travelling with infant, its better to take a break journey. Preferred airlines: Airfrance, Swiss Air and Emirates
2. Get your hotels booked: You wont get indian food easily in swiss, so better to book serviced apartments where you can have a kitchen to cook meals as per your taste. Go for airbnb in swiss. Its safe and economical (will cost around 3-4k). Hotels are costly and may cost 7k per night. We booked Astor Studio Apartments in Zurich.
Travel tip: If you are staying in Zurich, book a place that is near to Zurich Hb or Zurich Central. This will save your travelling time.
3. Get your Schengen Tourist Visa. (Remember you must have sufficient funds to show in your account)
4. Switzerland has diverse and amazing transportation network of trams, buses, rails and boats. It is better to take a swiss travel pass that will give you discount at various excursions and will make your travel absolutely free everywhere in switzerland. you can have pass for 3,4,5,8 days as per your travel days.
Travel Itinerary:
Day 1: Mountain Trip to Titlis
From Zurich Hb we took a train to Engelberg which took around 2 hours to reach. Engelberg is a beautiful small town from where you can start your journey to Mt. Titlis. Its just a 10 min walk to cable car station. But the path is full of beautiful scenaries and perfect for clicking pictures. From Cable car station, you will need to take cable cars (including rotating one) to reach the mountain. It offers breathtaking views with completely covered snow mountains. There are around 4 levels at this place and each level has something to offer. Do visit glacier cave, to experience extreme cold. On the 4th level, there is terrace from where you can proceed towards chair flyer to do snow sports.
After spending 4 hours at Titlis we proceed downstairs through same route and had heavy lunch at the restaurant downstairs that offers indian cuisines.
In the evening you can spend day roaming in Zurich city and can do some shopping.
Day 2: Mt. Rigi
Most of the travel packages do not include this place, but it is surely worth visit and you can easily spend a day here. Though there are many ways of reaching rigi but the preferred one is to take train till Luzerne from Zurich. From Luzerne change to ship cruise till Vitznau and from there take cog wheel train. All this is free through swiss travel pass. This green mountain with little yellow flowers is the perfect location for movie shoots and photography.
We took same way back and took a halt at Swiss transport museum. If you are not great fan of museum you can easily skip this. But the way to museum goes through lake which i really loved as it was very beautiful. On the way back we took a halt at Luzerne for evening snacks and lunch. If you are looking for Indian restaurant then try Kanchi Restaurant. We loved the indian food here.
Swiss icecreams are very famous so wherever you get chance do grab some icecreams.
Day 3: Rhine Waterfalls
Rhine waterfalls was highlight of our trip as this is the most beautifl waterfall in swiss. From Zurich we took a train to Winterthur and from there to rhine waterfalls. They are just like Niagra Waterfalls but a bit small. If you want to experience these falls from close then do take water boat ride.
On the way back from Rhine we visited Winterthur which is a great place for shopping lovers. We were lucky to find Indian food festival there. Remember, rains are unpredictable in swiss so always remember to carry your umbrella with you.
Our next stop was chapel bridge in Luzerne. If you are photography lover then you can definitely get some nice shots here.
Day 4: Interlaken and Bern
As it was our last day in Swiss so we wanted to get max out it. From Zurich Hb we took a train to Brienz through golden pass line. From Brienz take a boat ride till interlaken since this is the most beutiful route to see. In the starting of ride you can see waterfalls and roaming over blue waters gives you the feeling of nothing less than heaven. This journey offers breathtaking views of swiss alps with beautiful picture scenaries around. Interlaken is a small town but hub for paragliding site. You can find various indian restaurants around. If you are fan of watches then this is the place to be. Do take horse cart ride that takes you around complete town around in 1 hour.
Our next stop was Bern which is treated as capital of Switzerland. We couldnt spend much time here but it was great to have a glimpse of this city.
Swizerland is kids friendly so if you are travelling with kids carry your stroller. I loved the transport system here. The only word that come in my mind after visiting siwtzerland is just WOW.
Day 5: It was time to go back to India with beautiful memories and some really nice swiss chocolates.
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