If Switzerland is on your bucket list, I get it…it is absolutely beautiful! I’ve been there three times now to all different areas and they were all fantastic, but this was my first time there NOT for business and boy did I notice the prices when I was footing the bill. Switzerland does not use the Euro for currency (they use the Swiss Franc which is currently $1.27 USD per Swiss Franc), plus the prices were higher for everything before the conversion. Cost aside, you’re here for help planning your trip so let’s go through my recommendations based on what we did (or wanted to do in some cases) on our recent trip to Switzerland!
For this trip I was tagging along with my husband who had some business meetings sprinkled throughout, so that dictated the cities we visited and where we stayed. It made planning this trip even more of a challenge, but it brought us to some places that I never would have gone to and each destination was very enjoyable. We based out of Zurich for the first two nights, and then made our way to Geneva and eventually Marseilles in the South of France. We didn’t see a whole lot in either of those cities, so I’ll just focus on the Northern part of Switzerland in this post.
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Here is a sample itinerary based on our trip in March:
DAY 1: DAY TRIP TO LIECHTENSTEIN
We arrived in Zurich late on a Saturday night (Day 0), so we got checked in to our hotel and grabbed a late bite to eat. We stayed at the Hotel Opera which is in the perfect location, right near the Opera House and close to everything. The hotel had a great breakfast, a small bar, and a really nice area for socializing or catching up on work. The trickiest part was the parking (apparently hotel parking should not be assumed in Switzerland!), but we did find a parking garage nearby that we were able to park in overnight. There was a little (pun intended) snafu with our room…it was very small with a small bed, so they upgraded us to the most amazing suite for night 2 with a balcony and this view of Lake Zurich!
Day 1 was a Sunday and unfortunately, a lot of businesses are closed on Sundays in Switzerland. Because of this, we decided to make a day trip to Liechtenstein (I’m always up for adding another country to my list!), which is just over an hour drive from Zurich. It was a beautiful drive through the Swiss Alps and in to the small village of Vaduz, which is the capital of the tiny country of Liechtenstein, nestled between Switzerland and Austria in the Alps. Due to it’s location, it’s primarily known for it’s Alpine sports / skiing, but it also has a high GDP and is the world’s largest producer of false teeth!
When we arrived in to Vaduz, our first stop was for coffee at Giessen Hotel and Coffee House, which was super cute and filled with people enjoying breakfast. This would be a great place to stay if you wanted to spend the night in Vaduz, but I will say that there doesn’t seem to be much to do in this tiny town, aside from relaxing and taking in the amazing views!
We buzzed through Vaduz and drove up some really steep roads to arrive in the village of Triesenberg, which is set in the main ski resort area of the country. We made our way to the Steg Reservoir which sits at about 4,300 ft above sea level! It’s a very scenic area with great views, several hiking trails (they were being used as cross-country ski trails and still had some snow cover when we were there), and this reservoir complete with a duck house!
After walking around the areas not covered in snow, we made our way to Berggasthaus Masescha for lunch. I had researched the best places to eat in Liechtenstein and not only did this place have delicious food, but it had one of THE most beautiful views that I have ever experienced at a restaurant. They are known for their Veal Cordon Bleu and my husband loved it! I had chicken stuffed with mushrooms and it was fantastic too. It was pretty cool and breezy on that patio, but it was worth it for the view. Another highly rated thing to do in Triesenberg is to visit the Walsermuseum, however it is closed on Sundays so we missed out on that.
Following lunch, we headed back down to Vaduz to check out the main attraction, Vaduz Castle. This castle is home to the Royal Family of Liechtenstein and dates back to at least the 1300’s. It’s a short (but very steep) walk from the town center up to the castle, and while you can’t enter the grounds or the castle itself, you can get a pretty good view of the castle at the top and the views of the city below are pretty spectacular too.
After seeing the highlights in Vaduz, we got on the road back to Zurich (again, parking is tough but driving is pretty easy in Switzerland), and finished the night with dinner at Conti which is a delicious Italian restaurant just a couple of doors down from Hotel Opera.
DAY 2: EXPLORING ZURICH
On Day 2, my husband had business meetings in the morning so I did some exploring (and shopping!) on my own. Zurich is known for banking, luxury shopping, and Lake Zurich…so I tackled 2 out of 3! If you’re looking for some shopping, the area to visit is called Bahnhofstrasse which is at the North end of Lake Zurich. I did find the prices of the European luxury goods to be better than in the US, even with the Swiss Franc exchange rate, but I probably could’ve gotten even better prices in France…
Later in the day, we made our way down the East side of Lake Zurich…there’s so much to see and do along the way…gardens, fountains, flora, options for snacks, and more. We were hoping to visit the Chinagarten, but got there a little too late and it was closing. It looks really cool and gets great reviews though. We finished out our stay in Zurich by having traditional fondue dinner at Zum Konigstuhl. Definitely a must-do when in Switzerland in my opinion…it’s a little pricey, but add a salad and some wine and you have a full meal!
DAY 3: EXPLORING HEIDEN
Day 3 brought us to Heiden, Switzerland which is in the Appenzell region in the Northeast part of the country near the borders of both Germany and Austria. The Appenzell canton is known for its cow culture, cheese, and stunning views of the Alps. Heiden is about a 1.5 hour drive from Zurich and overlooks Lake Constance which shares a coastline with Germany on the North side. There’s even a little “train” called the Rorschach-Heiden Railway that you can ride from Heiden down to the Lake. The views in this area are stunning, especially from Hotel Heiden where we stayed. In the photo below it’s a little hard to see, but the lake is spanning the entire width of the picture in the distance!
After checking in, we took a walk around the village of Heiden which is very small…just over 4,000 residents! It’s very beautiful though and many of the homes were painted in bright colors and patterns (or had shutters and doors that were), representing their trade or family history. There was a lot to see in such a small area.
There’s a great bar and restaurant at Hotel Heiden as well, and when in the area you must try the Alpenbitter, which is the local liquor made from 42 herbs, roots, and spices. Served cold and straight up, it’s flavor is rich and herby…fun to try but a little bit was enough for me and my tolerance.
Hotel Heiden is also known for its fantastic wellness spa, complete with steam rooms, saunas, relaxation areas and spa services. I fully intended to use the sauna the next morning but there was no clothing allowed, so I just spent some time in the outdoor hot tub and the relaxation area where clothing was allowed…ha!
From Heiden we drove about 4.5 hours to Geneva, Switzerland (on the border with France). It was a super scenic drive across the country. I wish we had more time to stop along the way, but we had a tight schedule and had to keep moving. Zurich and Geneva are ok in my opinion, but the real gems are the smaller villages with so much character and views for days!