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Hi Friends. 
This is my family (Wife and adult daughter) 1st time travelling to Europe. We will be arriving in Paris in the next few days and from there intend to go to Switzerland by train. We have already bought the Eurail Global Pass for 22 days.

Im not sure if we should go to Zurich, Bern or Geneva. We want to see Lucerne, Interlaken, Zermatt, all via train. We would appreciate if you guys can suggest a suitable route via train including the train number and if its covered in the global pass and if reservation is a must.  Eg Zurich 3 day stay, then train from Zurich to Lucerne & at lucerne stay for 3 days, then from there go to Interlaken etc. We are ok to pay the reservation but not sure about the Swiss pass and which route it covers.

We want to see the scenic routes by train, but not sure which route to take and how many days is it sufficient in each city. We would like to travel from Switzerland to Italy to Lake como via train. We are not sure which train routes are not covered in the Global Pass and if we should invest in the Swiss Pass on top of the Global Pass. 

Many Thanks :) 

Soweit ich weiß ist der Eurail Globalpass vollkommen ausreichend. In Regionalzügen benötigt Ihr keine Reservierung. Hier gibt es auch eine Verbindung,wie Sie der Zuschlagpflichtige Zug von der Schweiz nach Italien fährt.

Zuschläge werden in Italien nur für den Fernverkehr benötigt.In der Schweiz kann man sich einen Sitzplatz reservieren,muss man aber  nicht.Mit einer Ausnahme,wenn Ihr Grenzüberschreitend nach Italien wollt. 

Eine bestimmte Route kann ich Euch leider nicht empfehlen, da ich keine kenne.

Aber sicherlich kann hier aus der Community darauf jemand anderes antworten. 

Viel Spaß in jedem Fall!


Geneva doesn't have a lot going on for tourists. Bern is beautiful and very good place for a couple of nights.

Switzerland is so easy to get around that you can afford to base yourself in one city for several nights, and make day trips from there. it's much more relaxing that way


Geneva doesn't have a lot going on for tourists. Bern is beautiful and very good place for a couple of nights.

Switzerland is so easy to get around that you can afford to base yourself in one city for several nights, and make day trips from there. it's much more relaxing that way

My daughter wants to visit the Patek Phillip Museum and we want to take a break here for a day to plan our journey.

Which is the central city that you suggest to base ourself? I can see Bern and Interlaken are quite near and Zurich being near to Lucerne. Thanks 


If you'd like to do a few roundtrips, I'd not opt for one of the big cities but for a place where the station is just nearby. Much more relaxed.

In my opinion, Switzerland is best in the mountain areas. But of course just if there's good weather. You didn't tell about the time of year you'd like to go so it might be not a good idea for you. And it's also a matter of budget; Switzerland is expensive. 


If you'd like to do a few roundtrips, I'd opt not for one of the big cities but for a place where the station is just nearby. Much more relaxed.

In my opinion, Switzerland is best in the mountain areas. But of course just if there's good weather. You didn't tell about the time of year you'd like to go so it might be not a good idea for you. And it's also a matter of budget; Switzerland is expensive. 

I intend to go there in 2 weeks time. Can you suggest 1 or 2 small city which is quite centralised and close to a train station. Thanks


I'd say it's also a matter of accomodation (I did understand that you are three adults so it might be expensive to stay in a hotel if you do need more than one room). Does it matter?

Every place recommended may not suit your needs. But I had my base canp last year in Brig. One hour by train to Interlaken and Bern, two hours to Zürich and Luzern. 

Another idea might be to do a longer round trip with a stay in a remote place in the mountains without your big luggage. I do always send it to any other place and travel just with a small bag. A great place to stay is e.g. Alp Grüm (https://www.alpgrum.com/). The hotel is the station building, there is no road, just the train track and it's one of the most beautiful train trips in Switzerland. 


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