Where to Stay in Switzerland

I wrote earlier about Germany. You read and encouraged me to write more about the countries I have been to. So here it goes.

Zurich is the only place in Switzerland that has a direct flight to and from Singapore. Since the rest requires a connection (which translates into a longer travelling time), we planned our trip to fly in and out of the largest city of Switzerland.

Bern
The capital of Swiss Confederation is about 1.5 hours away from Zurich, both by car and train. As there are only a handful of accommodations (read: limited choices) inside the city's old town centre, we settled for one outside the UNESCO heritage site. Many hotels provide free ticket for travel on most public transport in Bern, from the day of check-in to the day of check-out.

Hotel Alpenblick is no exception and our reservation includes free Wi-Fi, breakfast buffet and a gift – we chose a beer and a snack from the "kiosk" for the two rooms we booked directly on its website.

A few minutes' walk from the nearest tram station and supermarkets, the 3-star hotel is located in a quiet neighbourhood with a playground round the corner.

Clean and lovely with no lack of places to eat though its restaurant is not opened every day. It also has presence in Lucerne and Interlaken – Grindelwald, Mürren and Wilderswil (at the time of writing).

Interlaken

As a travel companion had a good experience with Airbnb in Australia, we decided to try for one of our accommodations. Accommodations in Interlaken are expensive and we were staying here the longest. This was my 1st time trying Airbnb and the verdict? Let's just say I am not used to staying at other people's places and was glad I convinced my travel companion to only stay at one Airbnb accommodation.

Lucerne

Stayed at Hotel Astoria the first time I went Switzerland a few years back. Lucerne was the only place in Switzerland on the itinerary, as part of my Europe package tour. Clean and quaint (read: small), the 4-star hotel is modern and conveniently located. Despite tiny bathrooms that you could hardly move in without knocking into something, was looking at it for this free-and-easy trip last year. A pity it was fully-booked and with bad reviews on almost all hotels, we decided to stay at a cheaper option. No point spending more and be disappointed when it does not commensurate with the price.

Zurich

Having saved on accommodation in Lucerne, we decided to not scrimp on hotel at our last destination. Settled on another 3-star hotel but this time, it is right smack in the vibrant old town of Zurich near Grössmunster. Hotel Rössli is a boutique hotel with presence also in Alpnachstad, Hurden, Interlaken and Weggis. It provides free Wi-Fi and breakfast that we have no complaints about, just like Hotel Alpenblick in Bern.

You may also be interested in Where to Visit in Switzerland and Where to Eat in Switzerland.