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     The Lakes and Switzerland 
A Week in the Heart of Switzerland ~ Here's the best way we can think to spend one week in Switzerland. Fly into Zurich and meet your driver for the private transfer to Lucerne for three nights in your hotel. Lucerne is the immensely appealing old town nestled along a river crossed by those old wooden bridges you've surely seen in travel pictures. Look out from Lucerne to magnificent views of lake and mountains. Visit Mount Pilatus and Mount Rigi, and ride a boat on Lake Lucerne. Our tips will tell you how. Stroll the old town of Lucerne. Eat at one of the restaurants overlooking the river and Lucerne's famous covered bridges. Then board your train -- the first leg of Switzerland's Golden Pass Line -- to Interlaken, the jumping off place for Switzerland's best collection of mountain journeys. At Interlaken you'll change trains and head up the spectacular Lauterbrunnen Valley to Wengen, perched high on the side of the valley and looking up to majestic peaks including the Jungfrau and the Eiger. We'll tell you about the many choices for daytrips to mountaintops and mountain villages. Your Swiss Pass allows you to ride the trains between towns and villages as often as you like. And for the final ascents to the mountaintops by gondola or rack railway, the Swiss Pass provides significant discounts. Visit your choices of the Jungfraujoch, the Schilthorn, Schynige Platte, Gimmelwald, Murren, and more. You can talk to someone here who's made those trips, and our tips will tell you more about them. After your three nights in hotel at Wengen, you'll take the train back down the valley to Interlaken to pick up the Golden Pass Line again, this time heading west and south towards Lake Leman. This is another wonderful train ride, especially as the narrow guage train switchbacks down the mountain to the lake, at Montreux. You might want to make a stop near Montreux to visit one of the icons of Swiss tourism, Chillon Castle. Then complete your journey by train along the shore of Lake Leman to Geneva to spend your final night before flying home. Your Geneva hotel is near the lakefront and the old town for a great finish to this Swiss adventure. This is independent travel. You will not be with a group, and you will not have a tour director leading you around. This particular package is designed for people who wish to manage their own sightseeing and who do not need guides or sightseeing tours built into the price. However, we will still provide our sightseeing tips and our assistance with planning for what to see. A Week in the Heart of Switzerland
Lucerne & Lake Como ~ The simplest and slickest way to combine Switzerland and Italy in just one week. You fly into Zurich, where your transfer driver is waiting to speed you to Lucerne for 3 nights in a lakeview room with balcony. Lucerne combines old-world charm with postcard vistas of mountains and lakes for the perfect sampling of Switzerland. We suggest that you visit Mount Pilatus and Mount Rigi, and ride a boat on Lake Lucerne. Our tips will tell you how. Stroll the old town of Lucerne. Eat at one of the restaurants overlooking the river and Lucerne's famous covered bridges. Then you ride the train over the Alps to Lugano, where another transfer driver is waiting to drive you along the dramatic shore of Lake Lugano and across the Italian border to nearby Lake Como. You'll stay at the town of Tremezzo, in a lakeview room with balcony. Ride the boat across to Bellagio, and on to Varenna, our favorite town on the lake. Walk from your hotel to the Villa Carlotta, the oldest tourist destination on Lake Como. Take the boat to Villa Balbianello, which you may recognize from the last James Bond film. Our tips will tell you how. Lucerne & Lake Como
Serious Mountains & Lakes ~ This is one of the most dramatic itineraries we offer. You start by flying into Milan and getting a private transfer to Stresa, on Lake Maggiore, where your hotel will overlook the Borromean Islands. We suggest that you spend your arrival day exploring the islands. For the next day, consider taking the Lago Maggiore Express, a combination of two trains and a boat ride that takes you through the Centovalli area of Italy and Switzerland to Locarno. You can also visit Ascona, one of Switzerland's best lakefront towns. Then return by boat all the way down Lake Maggiore to Stresa. Next day, catch the train to Interlaken, in the heart of the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland. Our tips will tell you about your options for getting into the high mountains, where you can choose from mountaintop excursions to the Jungfraujoch, the Schilthorn, and Schynigge Platte. An amazing variety of cogwheel trains, gondolas and cable cars offers the best collection of mountain views in Switzerland. Your next destination is Lucerne, where the best charms of Switzerland -- mountains, lakes and medieval character -- come together. We suggest you visit Mount Pilatus and Mount Rigi, and ride a boat on Lake Lucerne. Our tips will tell you how. Stroll the old town of Lucerne. Eat at one of the restaurants overlooking the river and Lucerne's famous covered bridges. Then you ride the train over the Alps to Lugano, where another transfer driver is waiting to drive you along the shore of Lake Lugano and across the Italian border to nearby Lake Como. You'll stay at the town of Tremezzo, in a lakeview room with balcony. Ride the boat across to Bellagio, and on to Varenna, our favorite town on the lake. Walk from your hotel to the Villa Carlotta, the oldest tourist destination on Lake Como. Take the boat to Villa Balbianello, which you may recognize from the last James Bond film. Our tips will tell you how. Ask us about adding Zermatt ~ For a VERY "Serious Mountains & Lakes" experience, add a 2-night stay in Zermatt to this itinerary. Weather permitting, you choose how to view the Matterhorn: take the cogwheel train up to the Gornergrat, or take a combination of cable car and gondola up to the Kleine Matterhorn. Ask us for a quote on the extra cost of this option. Serious Mountains & Lakes
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888 868-1150 or click here... Glacier Express & Lake Como ~ In this case, the name does NOT say it all, because in addition to the Glacier Express, you also get the Bernina Express PLUS Zermatt, with the Matterhorm, PLUS Geneva, PLUS an option to stop at Castle Chillon* on Lake Leman, and finally, Lugano. What you actually get is a remarkable rail journey across Switzerland, from Geneva in the west, to St. Moritz in the east, to Lugano in the south, followed by three relaxing nights on Lake Como. You start by flying into Geneva. You'll stay at the lakefront, near the fine old town. Next day, you'll take the train along the shore of Lake Leman where we suggest a stop at Castle Chillon, one of the most recognizable images in all of Europe. Explore the castle before boarding another train for Zermatt. Weather permitting, you'll have great choices for how to view the Matterhorn, including the cogwheel train to the Gornergrat and the combination of cable car and gondola to Kleine Matterhorn. After two nights at Zermatt, you board the Glacier Express for an all-day train ride through a stunning variety of Swiss mountain terrains all the way to St. Moritz. Spend the night in St. Moritz before boarding another of Switzerland's famous panoramic trains, the Bernina Express, over the mountains to Italy, at Tirano. Transfer to a bus for the final segment around the north side of Lake Como and along the dramatic shoreline of Lake Lugano to the city of Lugano for your final night in Switzerland. Then meet your private driver to transfer to Tremezzo on Lake Como. Relax with three nights in your lakeview room with balcony looking across to Bellagio. Ride the boat to Bellagio, and on to Varenna, our favorite town on the lake. Walk from your hotel to the Villa Carlotta, the oldest tourist destination on Lake Como. Take the boat to Villa Balbianello, which you may recognize from the last James Bond film * You may choose to stop at Chillon Castle on the way from Geneva to Zermatt. If so,there should be some plan for your luggage while you are visiting Chillon Castle. You may wish to use a service of the Swiss Railways by which your luggage can be checked prior to departure from Geneva and picked up after 6 pm at the station in Zermatt. There is additional cost for this service which can be paid in advance or paid during your trip. Please ask us for a cost quote. There are short hotel stays in this package. Our other packages feature two or three nights at each hotel. We normally do not propose one-night hotel stays. But the purpose of this particular package is to move you across much of Switzerland in a short trip, so you will spend one night in each of three hotels to achieve that purpose. However, you will have three nights at Lake Como for a relaxing finish to your Alpine trains adventure. Glacier Express & Lake Como
Geneva to Como with Interlaken & Lucerne ~ Begin by flying into Geneva. You'll stay at the lakefront, near the fine old town. Next day, you'll take the train along the shore of Lake Leman where we suggest a stop at Castle Chillon,* one of the most recognizable images in all of Europe. Explore the castle before boarding the Golden Pass, one of Switzerland's famous panoramic trains, for the trip to Interlaken, nestled between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. Interlaken is the principal base for exploring the high mountains of the Bernese Oberland, the very heart of Switzerland. We suggest that you spend the next two days taking combinations of trains, gondolas and cable cars to the mountaintops, including the Jungfraujoch, the Schilthorn, Schynigge Platte, and the Mannlichen. You can also explore mountain towns that cling to the edge of dramatic cliffs, such as Wengen, Murren and Gimmelwald. We'll tell you how to get to them and what you can expect to fit into your time from Interlaken. Then get back on the Golden Pass panoramic train to continue your journey to Lucerne. Lucerne is where it all comes together. Not only do you find impressive mountains and one of Switzerland's most scenic lakes, but you also get the Medieval charm of old Lucerne. We suggest that you visit Mount Pilatus. You go up the mountain on the steepest of cogwheel trains,and come down the other side by gondola, then cablecar. You can also go up to Mount Rigi by train, then come down by train or cablecar, and finish by a lakeboat ride into Lucerne. Our tips will tell you how. Stroll the old town of Lucerne. Eat at one of the restaurants overlooking the river and Lucerne's famous covered bridges. Then ride the train over the Alps to Lugano, where another transfer driver is waiting to drive you along the dramatic shore of Lake Lugano and across the Italian border to nearby Lake Como. You'll stay at the town of Tremezzo, in a lakeview room with balcony. Ride the boat across to Bellagio, and on to Varenna, our favorite town on the lake. Walk from your hotel to the Villa Carlotta, the oldest tourist destination on Lake Como. Take the boat to Villa Balbianello, which you may recognize from the last James Bond film. Our tips will tell you how. * You may choose to stop at Chillon Castle on the way from Geneva to Interlaken. If so,there should be some plan for your luggage while you are visiting Chillon Castle. You may wish to use a service of the Swiss Railways by which your luggage can be checked prior to departure from Geneva and picked up after 6 pm at the station in Interlaken. There is additional cost for this service which can be paid in advance or paid during your trip. Please ask us for a cost Geneva to Como with Interlaken & Lucerne
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888 868-1150 or click here... Italy & the Swiss Alps ~ What more exciting way to enter Italy than over the Alps from Switzerland! Fly into Zurich and transfer by private car to your hotel at Lake Lucerne for three nights. We've even included a lakeview room at Lucerne's popular Hotel Montana, rising high above the lake. Lucerne is where the best charms of Switzerland -- mountains, lakes and medieval character -- come together. We suggest that you visit Mount Pilatus and Mount Rigi, and ride a boat on Lake Lucerne. Our tips will tell you how. Stroll the old town of Lucerne. Eat at one of the restaurants overlooking the river and Lucerne's famous covered bridges. Then board your train for the ride through the high mountains of Switzerland to the Swiss city of Lugano, near the Italian border. Your transfer driver will meet you for the dramatic ride along the shore of Lake Lugano and into Italy at Lake Como. Your hotel room is at at the town of Tremezzo, where for two nights you'll enjoy the views from your room with balcony looking across the lake to Bellagio. You'll be picked up again by private driver to go down the lake to the city of Como to board your train for Florence. Your two nights in Florence include a private guide for half a day, so you can visit your choice of the great museums with a local expert. We suggest visiting the Pitti Palace with your guide. Then head for Rome and your final three nights, where you'll also have a private guide for half a day. We recommend going with your guide to the Colosseum and the forums area. Ask us about the option of adding a small-group Vatican tour. Finally, you get a private transfer to the airport in Rome. This is independent travel. You will not be with a group, and you will not have a tour director leading you around. This particular package is designed for people who wish to manage most of their own sightseeing but who want private guides in Florence and Rome, where we think the guides have the most value. We will provide our sightseeing tips for Lucerne and Lake Como, plus our assistance in planning how to get around and use your time most wisely. Italy & the Swiss Alps
Tuscany | Switzerland & Italy | Honeymoons |Cinque Terre & Riviera| 
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