Even though I was 30 weeks pregnant (third trimester) when we embarked on our most recent vacation, I still very much enjoyed Switzerland, my 13th country. Switzerland offers an amazing rail system, delicious chocolates, and stunning scenery. Despite it being the most expensive countries I’ve been to, 10 weeks in any destination can add up. Below is our itinerary and some tips on how to spend 10 days in Switzerland plus a link to details about our first 2 nights in Paris, France.
3 nights in Geneva, Switzerland
2 nights in Montreux, Switzerland
2 nights in Lucerne Switzerland
3 nights in Zurich, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland
We arrived to Geneva by way of train from Paris. After flying from SFO to London and on to Paris, the train was a welcome change. The European rail system far surpasses anything I’ve experienced in the US and we’ve never regretted taking it. We booked all of our train tickets through Rail Europe. It was easy and straight forward and I highly recommend them for booking inter- and intra-country trains whenever you’re in Europe.
We stayed at the Novotel Gèneve Centre and it was a great hotel. Booked through hotels.com, our family room was actually two rooms with an open adjoining door. In addition to their delicious breakfast each morning, the size of one room (let alone two) put this hotel at the top of our list of hotels we stayed at on this trip.
There wasn’t much at all planned for this leg of the trip but a few things I wanted to do included a cheese and chocolate tour. This was a multi-generational and birthday gift trip so there were more than just our family to think about. But spending close to 100 USD per person (4 adults) for one tour wasn’t feasible so we had to pass on the formal tour here. Luckily, we enjoyed some amazing chocolates at our next stop in Montreux.
Here is a link to the chocolate and cheese tour that I wish I had had more time to take.
The United Nations is in Geneva and we of course had to make a stop there, even if just for the photo opp.
The location of our hotel was great: we could walk to the train station and to the lake. Lake Geneva is breathtaking. I thought that I would miss out on so much being pregnant and unable to do any outdoor activities but just being by the lake and all the festivities was exciting enough.
Lake Geneva on the Geneva side has a small food court, little stands to purchase souvenirs, and even a toddler size carousel. See picture of me below sitting with my son for reference. Tiny but adorable. Geneva was a great first stop on our 10 days in Switzerland tour.
We tried a few restaurants but nothing memorable.
Montreux, Switzerland
Montreux is my favorite Swiss city. My parents recommended it as a place we had to visit and it did not disappoint.
We stayed at the Grand Hotel Suisse Majestic and it was just perfect. From the view overlooking Lake Geneva to the delicious food at their restaurant to the all marble bathroom, I was in heaven on earth. A part of the Marriott portfolio of hotels (see Why I love Marriott Hotels here), the points value for staying here wasn’t even on my mind. This hotel is one of my top favorite hotel stays only after the JW Marriott in Venice. I can’t wait to return and highly recommend if you’re looking for a little bit of old European luxury in Switzerland.
Enough about the hotel. What is there to do in Montreux? Actually, not much. The city is actually quite small but that’s what makes it so charming. There’s the Old Town which sits on top of the hill and has impeccable views of the water and town below. And then there’s the area closer to the water that has lots of shops and restaurants.
No trip to Switzerland (or Europe) would be complete without indulging in some Swiss chocolates. Montreux’s chocolate and desserts did not disappoint.
We only spent two nights here but I am adding Montreux to my list for my “someday” extended European trip where I return to all of my favorite and most beautiful places. It was fantastic.
Lucerne, Switzerland
Lucerne wasn’t very high on my list of priorities and I think I only included it in the itinerary as a quick stop to break up the travel time between Montreux and Zurich. Nevertheless, my family did enjoy their time there.
My husband and sister-in-law enjoyed some tourist sites such as this lion carved into the mountainside while my father-in-law was particularly fond of the peace and quiet he received on his evening walks around the city.
Being over 7 months pregnant at the time, I was pretty tired most days by this point of the trip and say most of Lucerne our. Next up was our fourth and final Swiss city: Zurich.
Zurich, Switzerland
Zurich is the capital of Switzerland and I thought it would be my least favorite of the cities that we visited on this vacation. I assumed it would be stuffy and business-like everywhere we turned. I was pleasantly surprised to find that that was not the case.
We stayed at the Sheraton Zurich Hotel which was actually a part of the city’s business district. It was less than a 10 minute walk from the train station and the metro let you off right in front of the hotel. I still can’t get over that this hotel had a burger on their room service and restaurant menu for $30 but other than that, it was a great place to be. Although quiet and close to the train station, I would choose accommodations closer to downtown and attractions if I had to do it again.
While in Zurich, we attempted to visit the Swiss National Museum. Unfortunately, my toddler had other plans for the day and let us know he did not want to be there about 10 minutes into our visit. I was really looking forward to learning about Switzerland’s history by walking through the exhibits but baby always comes first.
I regret that we didn’t do very much in Zurich. This was the very end of our trip and we were all just too exhausted. My husband and his sister went shopping one afternoon but that was the extent of our “adventuring” in Zurich.
I wish that I’d had the energy to do A LOT more while in Switzerland. It’s a beautiful country with so much to offer and I look forward to returning not pregnant and taking full advantage.
Have you ever been to Switzerland?