Our day-by-day itinerary (with kids!)
We originally planned to spend one week in Switzerland during the Spring of 2020, and…well, we all know what happened to travel plans during that time!
Last April, I finally put the finishing touches on our itinerary, made final reservations, and in October 2023, we spent one week in one of the most beautiful countries I’ve ever been to.
Visiting Switzerland has been a lifelong dream of mine. In 1908 my father’s grandfather immigrated to the US from a little town on the border of Switzerland and Germany, so going felt a lot like exploring my roots.
First, a few tips…
Switzerland is expensive. It’s important that you’re ready for that. As educators who love to travel, we definitely try to save where we can. A few ways to do this? Eat breakfast and have coffee at home, pack lunches for days on the go, carry water bottles, and use reliably affordable sites when booking things like rental cars.
Switzerland is popular! I recommend booking as much as you can as early as you can. Yes, this is time-consuming to put it all together (why not grab my itinerary instead?!) but it’s so worth it. Not only do you save money by booking things earlier, but you’re able to start paying for your vacation earlier, and not hit with a huge travel expense in one month.
Okay, here’s the part you came here for! Our day-by-day trip!
Day 1: Arriving in Switzerland
We flew into Geneva from Casablanca, Morocco (where we live). We arrived in the late afternoon, picked up our car from the incredible rep at the Sixt counter and made our way to our hotel. From there, we walked to Lake Geneva–it felt so good to stretch our legs!
On our way back, we had dinner at Le Dim Sum Cafe, a restaurant I had discovered on Trip Advisor and can recommend 100%–there are only a few tables and the restaurant fills up quickly, so be sure to make a reservation. The food is authentic and incredibly delicious on a cool fall evening.
Side note, they don’t cook with peanut oil, just in case you have an allergy in your family (we do!).
Tip: If you stay at the Royal Manotel in Geneva, like we did, grab the extra shampoo and conditioner. Many Airbnbs in Europe don’t include these toiletries, so get them where you can!
Day 2: Getting from Geneva to Zermatt
We packed up and made our way to our first longer stay in Zermatt.
Zermatt is a car-free city, so the closest you can get is a little town called Täsch. You’ll park your car in the Matterhorn Terminal Täsch, then take a 15 minute train ride into Zermatt. Don’t worry about getting these tickets in advance; you’ll be able to get them from a kiosk in the train station.
Tip: When you arrive in Zermatt, take a moment at the train station to purchase a junior pass for your kids (under 16). It will cost you 30CHF per child and will pay for itself quickly if you choose to follow our itinerary. NEXT, cross the street to the Gornergrat Bahn and buy cogwheel tickets to Gornergrat the following morning.
Our Airbnb had a luggage storage space, so we stashed our bags and went out exploring the town on foot. The day was sunny and we had incredible views of the Matterhorn.
We planned to hike the Gorner Gorge before lunch, but, as I mentioned above, some things are closed during shoulder season and it turns out that Gorner Gorge is one of them. So we instead wandered through the old part of the city and then found a place to have lunch on a sunny patio–not a terrible trade-off!
October is shoulder season. Summer and winter are the high seasons in Switzerland. Going in the fall sets you up to face fewer crowds for sure, but it can also mean that some things you want to do are not open–lots of businesses give their employees the month of October off, in fact! Be sure to check in advance and have a back up activity or restaurant, just in case.
Should we rent a car or take the train? This is a great question and entirely up to you and your family’s situation. For us, booking a car using credit card points vs. paying for the Swiss train pass was a no-brainer.
Dinner on our first night in Zermatt was to die for at the Schweizerhof Zermatt. I recommend the burrata salad and the grilled eggplant. It’s a classy, cozy environment and the staff is excellent with children.
Day 3: The Mountains of Zermatt
As beautiful as autumn in Switzerland is, the weather can be unpredictable. This day was a cloudy one for us, but that didn’t stop us from going to the high alpine peaks around Zermatt. We rode the train all the way up to Gornergrat where we hiked from snowfields down to Lake Riffelsee, and into the autumn-hued forest of the valley below.
All told, we walked 8.5 miles this day! It was mostly downhill, so we were able to take in the scenery around us as we rambled through the drastically changing landscape.
There are chalets and a couple hotels along the way. Again, these were closed for the shoulder season. We had packed sandwiches and had ample snacks to get us through the day.
By the time we got back to Zermatt, we were ready to rest…and eat! It had begun to rain. We found ourselves in a cozy little bar/restaurant called The Brown Cow where we played cards and ate nachos, soup, and burgers. The perfect end to a great outdoorsy day!
Day 4: Zermatt to Lauterbrunnen + Trummelbach Falls
Note: My itinerary makes time this morning for a trip on the Zermatt Cable Car to visit Glacial Paradise and the Ice Caves. Due to how cloudy and windy it was, we skipped this. You will be able to make the call morning of–no need to book tickets for this in advance during this time of year.
Due to the stormy weather this day, we decided to make our way to Lauterbrunnen.
Once we got back to the train station in Täsch and we were back in the car, I put our route into Google Maps. It said, “This route includes a car train”, to which my husband and I were entirely clueless. We shrugged and made our way over the winding mountain highway towards our destination when, of course…
…we came upon a line of cars that were waiting to get on a train.
We paid a small fee, and when it was our turn drove our car onto one of the flatbed train cars and proceeded to be taken through the longest, darkest tunnel I’ve ever been in. The girls were beside themselves, giddy with the inability to see their hands in front of their faces. When we came out on the other side and drove off the train, we were all pretty stunned that something like this even exists.
Our amazement only leveled up when we got to the village of Lauterbrunnen, with its towering granite walls and picturesque waterfalls on all sides. Even in the drizzling rain it was stunning.
We checked into our cabin at Camping Jungfrau and then made our way to Trummelbach falls, a series of 10 cascades that are accessible via a funicular or stairs (we took the stairs to stretch our legs and our kids). Rain or shine, this is an amazing activity and one that will remind of you of the incredible, patient power of water.
That evening, we went into the village and settled in out of the rain at the Steinbock, a restaurant recommended to us by the concierge at Camping Jungfrau. We played cards, ate fondue, and my husband and I had delicious, local venison dishes served with roasted Brussels sprouts and candied pears–yum!
Day 5: The Mountains of Lauterbrunnen
This was one of my favorite days that we spent in Switzerland.
We started out the day just a few kilometers from town where the cable-car station is. We purchased our tickets to the top (Schilthorn) day of without a problem.
We took the cable car up to Birg Station, which is the stop just before the last stop at the top. At Birg, there is a viewing deck and–a highlight for my girls–the Big Thrill Walk, where you can walk on glass walkways and tightropes over a drop of several hundred feet. We had a sunny, windless day and could see in every direction for miles from this stop. It was incredible!
We then boarded the cable car once more for the final stop at Schilthorn, which is almost 3,000 meters in elevation. After exploring the (much windier, much colder) viewing platform, we made our way to Piz Gloria, the famous rotating restaurant used as a set in the James Bond film, Her Majesty’s Service. It might seem cheesy, but really, it was incredible to see the Alps in all directions while having a pretty decent lunch.
After some more exploring we made our way down the cable car to Murren, then ‘hiked’ to Gimmelwald (it’s more of a walk through the small, idyllic villages. During high seasons, there are several open cafes and restaurants, but during this time of year only a few are open.
When we got to Gimmelwald it had started to rain so we took the cable car back down to the parking lot, but it’s also possible to walk this part.
With lots of daylight left, we decided to head to Grindlewald and walk through Grindlewald Gorge. Not only is the drive to Grindlewald incredibly beautiful, as it follows a winding river from valley to valley, but the town of Grindlewald has an interesting history of glacial tourism!
There is a small fee to walk through the gorge. Again, you do not need to book these tickets early if you are there during October. We were the only ones there on the day we went!
Early in the walk you’ll come upon a “spiderweb” net spread across the gorge that you can walk on while the river rushes beneath your feet. My kids loved this and wanted to do it over and over again.
The rest of the walk is easy and beautiful with signs along the way to educate visitors of the history of the region and the recession of the glaciers from the valley. (NOTE: On my itinerary, I have this activity placed in the morning of Day 6–it’s entirely possible to do it either time).
We arrived back at our cabin and changed out of our gear and decided to get some woodfired pizzas at the Hotel Oberon. Maybe it was the day spent in the mountains or the rainy weather, but this pizza was some of the best I’ve ever had! Highly recommend.
Day 6: Lauterbrunnen to Lucerne
It felt like we came out of the woods and into a fairy-tale city when we arrived in Lucerne. The weather was dry and much warmer, swans floated peacefully on the glassy water of the lake. We were completely taken with this magical little town.
After we checked into our apartment, we found lunch along the water in the old city near the Musegg Wall Towers, then walked about 20 minutes to see the Lion of Lucerne. After that, it was a quick stop for supplies for breakfast and lunch the next day.
Topping off this day was dinner at Fondue du Pont, which filled us to bursting (in the best way!)
Day 7: Lake Lucerne and Mt. Rigi
One of the best things about going to Switzerland in the fall is that lakes and rivers aren’t frozen over and hiking trails are open, but it isn’t really hot or crowded.
After breakfast we walked to Peir 1 and purchased our tickets to go from Lucerne to Vitznau. We purchased 2nd class tickets and it was perfect–the only benefit I could see to first class is that you can ride on the upper deck of the boat. Because we were some of the first in line, we got a table onboard and ordered some coffees and croissant for the journey. But we soon found we wanted to be outside checking out all of the beautiful scenery around the lake.
The cruise to Vitznau takes about an hour. Once we disembarked, we took a cogwheel train to the top of Mt. Rigi, where it was definitely winter time! Where our trip across the lake had been full of sunshine, the peak of Mt. Rigi was shrouded in freezing fog.
We wanted to hike this day and, while you can ride the train back down, we were up for an adventure, so we found a trail and followed it. (It bears mentioning that we packed lunches and water for this day!)
Here’s the route we took: Rigi Kulm station (the top station) to Holderen to Alp Rab to the Rigi Kaltbad cable car station. From here we took the cable car down to Weggis where we caught the ferry across the lake. While most of this was downhill or fairly easy hiking, the section from Alp Rab to Rigi Kaltbad was pretty difficult for our girls. All in all, we went about 9.5 miles this day. The views were spectacular, and the beer at the bottom was delicious!
When we got back to Lucerne we were beat from the day of hiking and the sunshine. On our way back to our apartment we stumbled upon a little hidden gem in our neighborhood called Thai Frosh–yet another little restaurant with just a few tables, this was some of the best Thai food I’ve had in my life. We ate every morsel!
Day 8: Lucerne to Bern to Montreux
There simply aren’t enough days to hit all of the gorgeous cities in Switzerland. We decided to stop on our way to Montreux (on the shore of Lake Geneva) for lunch at this cool spot. Then we walked around the old part of Bern, listened to a street pianist, purchased some chocolate (a MUST every chance you get in Switzerland!) and got back in the car.
We arrived in Montreux in the late afternoon and spent a couple of hours wandering the walkway on the lakeshore. It was a warm autumn day and everyone was out enjoying the sunshine and views of the Alps as they turned from golden to pink in the setting sun.
After the girls spent a little time swimming in the hotel pool, we popped out for some dinner and called it a night.
Day 9: Goodbye Switzerland!
But first, we went back in time with a tour of Chateaux Chillon, a well-preserved castle on the shores of Lake Geneva. You can explore everything from the crypt to the guard-walk, and for an extra 6CHF you can also grab the audio tour (highly recommend!)
Afterwards, we made our way to the Geneva airport and returned the car.
The hardest day is always the last day. We were all a little grouchy. We all had to go to school the next day.
And, we’d had such a wonderful time exploring this magical country that we didn’t feel ready to leave.
At the same time, it’s always good to come home.
One last tip:
Don’t worry about going through my very long post to create your own itinerary–grab mine! I’ve done all the legwork for you and you can take the same trip we did, or make adjustments along the way that suit your family!
