Switzerland with kids in March What to show a child in Switzerland Holidays with children in Switzerland in winter
, ), interesting museums(Technorama in, Ballenberg open-air museum near), (for example, in Gruyère), (Callier in the town of Broc), picturesque waterfalls(Rhine Falls, Reichenbach Falls, Trummelbach and Staubbach Falls in, Giessbach Falls near) and caves(Caves of Beatus near,) and much more. You can walk along by choosing one of the easy routes for.
Save money in Switzerland with kids:
Despite the high cost of Switzerland, they still try to make entertainment for children as accessible as possible. Children under 6 years of age are generally entitled to free admission to museums. And, of course, they ride for free.
Children aged 6 to 15 are entitled to a 50% public transport fare. But you can save even more: SBB offers only 30 francs(!!!), travel for children under 6 years old is generally free, and if you have one, you can take STS family card for a child under 16 years old, and he will ride with you for free! Even on!
But the question remains, where to go with a child in Switzerland? What will be interesting to see for young children?
Below are the best Switzerland attractions for kids:
What to see in Switzerland with children?
Park "Switzerland in miniature in Melide"
This park is a great opportunity to see all the main sights of Switzerland in one day and captivate your child for a few hours. Numerous castles, churches, traditional houses, and even train stations and airports with moving vehicles are all made in 1:25 scale. In total, 121 objects are collected here.
The park "Switzerland in miniature" is located in the town, in the south of Switzerland, in. You can get here from the suburban train.
- Working hours: from March 15 to October 26, 2014 (annually from March to October): 9:00 - 18:00
- Tickets: adults 19 CHF, children 6-15 years 12 CHF, under 6 free. Family ticket - 55 CHF.
Chillon Castle
The most famous Swiss castle, sung by Byron in his Prisoner of Chillon. A picturesque castle with a medieval setting is located in the suburbs, on the coast. The history of the castle goes back over 1000 years.
Working hours:
- January-February-November-December: 10.00-16:00,
- March and October 9.30-17.00
- April to September, 09:00-18:00
- When buying a ticket, a brochure with a description is issued, including in Russian.
Tickets: adults 12.5 CHF, children 6-15 years old 6 CHF, up to 6 years old - free of charge, family ticket - 29 CHF, with a Swiss pass - free of charge.
Castle Lenzburg
Lenzburg Castle, located in the town of the same name near Zurich, is one of the largest and most interesting. The historical museum is made as interactive as possible, with shadows and voices of people (oh, sorry in German!), which allows you to recreate the atmosphere of past centuries. Well, where is the castle without a legend? Of course, a dragon must be imprisoned in a real castle. You can feel his formidable roar with your body at the end of the visit. Upstairs, children can dress up in medieval costumes and play in the playroom!
- Opening hours: from April 1 to October 31. Tue-Sun (and holidays) 10-17. Closed - Mon. and 2nd Friday in July (Jugendfest).
- Entrance: Adults / students under 25 / children 4-16 / family ticket (1 adult + up to 5 children) / family ticket (2 adults + up to 5 children): With museum premises - 12 / 9 / 6 / 20 / 30 francs . Without a museum - 4 / 3.5 / 2 francs.
Cheese factory Gruyere
The most famous cheese factory in Switzerland, where the most famous Swiss cheese is made. It is located, as you might guess, in the town of the same name. Here you can watch the various stages of cheese production yourself, as well as watch a thematic film.
- La Maison du Gruyere
- Place de la Gare 3, 1663 Pringy-Gruyères
- Working hours: daily from 9 to 12 and from 13:30 to 19.
- The best time for excursions is from 10 am to 11 am and from 2 pm to 3 pm, when you can see the cheese making process directly (3-4 times a day, depending on the season).
- July-August: from 7 to 19.
- Tickets: adults CHF, students/pensioners CHF 6, family ticket CHF 12
Castle of Gruyères
The castle was built in the 13th century and for a long time belonged to the family of the Counts of Gruyere. The castle bears a curse: all the counts - owners of the castle between the 11th and 16th centuries, constantly experienced problems. The last of them - Michel - struggled with financial troubles for almost his entire life and completely went bankrupt in 1554. The baroque interior of the castle was left from one of the rulers from who lived here. Romantic landscapes were painted in the 19th century by a number of well-known artists under the new owners of the castle.
- Working hours: Daily, from April to October: 9.00-18:00, from November to March 10.00-16.00 (last admission).
- Tickets: Adults - 9.5 CHF, pensioners, students - 8 CHF, children from 6 to 16 - 3 CHF, groups (from 15 people) - 6.5 CHF.
Castle and HR Giger Museum - 17 CHF.
Giger Museum
The Giger Museum and the adjacent Giger Cafe-Bar will leave a lasting impression. Gentle vulnerable souls should not go here, but fans of the movie "Alien" and all those monsters will be delighted!
The museum's collection contains numerous grotesques, sculptures, eccentric furniture and film models, most of them from the 1960s. On the ground floor is the private collection of Giger. The museum contains many sketches for the Alien movie, as well as models of monsters.
Keep in mind that the museum has a separate room where Giger's erotic works are collected, but there is a special warning about this in the hall.
- Opening hours: Apr-Oct daily 10-18, Nov-March Tue-Fri 11-17, Sat-Sun 10-18.
- Entrance: adults / students 12/8 CHF.
Chocolate factory Nestle
What kid doesn't love chocolate? See how it's made? Of course, this idea will appeal to all children! So do not miss the opportunity to visit the Nestle chocolate factory - MAISON CAILLER, located in the town of Brock. After all, this is where milk chocolate was invented! Inside you will find an interesting installation of the various stages of chocolate production and its history. All this will be accompanied by an audio guide (you can choose Russian). And at the end - of course - tasting of delicious Nestle sweets!!!
Alternatively, you can visit the chocolate factory during the excursion on the Chocolate Train from Montreux (only from May to October).
Ticket to the chocolate factory: children under 16 years old inclusive - free of charge in the company of an adult. Adults - CHF 12.00, students and pensioners - CHF 9.00.
Opening hours: daily, April - October 10 - 17, November - March 10 - 16. Closed only on December 25 and January 1.
Bear park in Bern
- Funicular opening hours: May 4 – October 8, 2017
- Funicular tickets: adults round trip 10 CHF, one way 7 CHF. Children 6 - 16 - 8 CHF and 6 CHF respectively.
- Combined ticket funicular + Sherlock Holmes Museum: adults CHF 11.- / children 6-16 CHF 8.-
Trummelbach Falls
The only waterfall in Europe located inside a rock can be seen in the town, more precisely in its suburbs. An easy path leads to the waterfall (about 40 minutes walk) along the most picturesque valley, past the highest Staubbach waterfall in Switzerland (100 m!) And sheer cliffs against the backdrop of the snow-capped peaks of the Jungfrau region.
After taking the elevator up, you will pass through a series of corridors, admiring the various steps of the waterfall rumbling in the rock, meandering inside the cave. Strong impressions! Just take a jacket: inside it is very cool and humid.
Trummelbach Falls consists of 10 cascades hidden inside Black Monk Mountain. From a 200-meter height, up to 20,000 liters of meltwater flies every second with a deafening noise. The falls can only be viewed in the summer using an elevator that goes through the illuminated tunnels.
- Opening hours: daily (but may be closed in case of bad weather) from April to November 9 - 17, in July and August 8:30 - 18:00.
- Tickets: adults 11 CHF, children 4 CHF.
Holidays and events for children in Switzerland:
Christmas market in Zurich
mountain sled
Ride with the breeze on a sled - all children love it! So why not use the slides conveniently located in Switzerland .. Well, more precisely, the mountains ?! Here you can find trails of any difficulty level, suitable even for small children. There are also summer sleds, where the descent goes along special guides (just like rides in water parks). Renting a sled is inexpensive, you do not need to specialize in skiing. And you will be rewarded with magnificent landscapes.
This year we decided to take our 10-year-old child on a three-day trip to Switzerland. In general, initially my husband and I planned to leave our son in the care of grandmothers in order to enjoy romance together, but then dad thought about it and decided that it was necessary to introduce the younger generation to world culture, otherwise, apart from animators in Turkey, the child by and large did not see anything in life . No sooner said than done, they took the child with them. We ourselves have already been to Switzerland, but my son was traveling for the first time, so his mouth at the station opened with admiration, and did not close until the end of the trip. For the child, we have developed a special route to make it interesting. Of course, the first on the list (a three-hour walk around the city, of course) was the Zurich Zoo.
The zoo is huge, all the animals are in excellent condition, the conditions are close to natural for all the inhabitants. Have you ever seen arrogant peacocks? And I saw it! They walk along the paths and do not even turn when you approach. From far away I saw how the peacock jumped on the table to the visitors, not at all embarrassed! And there was just no one in the zoo: penguins and inhabitants of the tropics, elephants and giant turtles, all sorts of animals from the Red Book. You can spend the whole day at the zoo in Zurich! We ate at a wonderful restaurant and continued our walk. We went to the zoolino pet farm, this is such a touching zoo - you can stroke and feed the animals. After were in Masoala - the tropical forest of Madagascar. We walked until closing time - until 18.00, and tired went to the hotel, however, on the way we wandered into a chocolate shop and enjoyed delicious fresh, still warm buns with hot chocolate. The child was happy.
On the second day we went to the private Toy Museum. The museum is small but rich. They wrote on the forums that there are always a lot of visitors in it, I did not believe, as it turned out, in vain. The museum has a lot of old toys produced during the war years in Germany. Amazing museum, highly recommend visiting it.
On the same day - the Paleontological Museum of Zurich. We looked at a collection of fish and marine reptiles that lived 240 million years ago. The exhibits are amazing, the son, as if spellbound, looked at the petrified skeletons, shells, shells ... Yes, what a child, the husband was no less amazed.
On the third day, early in the morning, we went to the Dinosaur Museum, and from there, after a delicious second breakfast in a cafe, straight to the Alpamare water park. It is located on a hill on the shores of Lake Zurich in the town of Pfäfikon, a 45-minute drive from Zurich. The slides, the tunnels, the wave pool, it's an amazing place. We stayed for two hours and felt impossibly tired.
These are the three absolutely gorgeous days we spent in Switzerland. It seems that we prepared a program for children, but we ourselves were very interested and I am glad that the child involuntarily forced us to look into the zoo and the museum of dolls, prehistoric sea creatures ... If someone, like us, wants to take a child with him to Switzerland, use our itinerary - you won't regret it.
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How to travel on a budget in Switzerland and budget holidays in Switzerland
Switzerland is a very multifaceted country. On the one hand, there are majestic mountains, delicious fondues and chocolates, large banks where the richest people on the planet keep their savings, world-famous Swiss watches, and an organized society. But on the other hand, just incredible prices in Switzerland, which can shock any tourist: $ 8 for a cup of coffee or a glass of beer, $ 50 for a steak, $ 15 menu at McDonald's, $ 35-40 for a bed in a hostel!
Switzerland is considered among the most expensive countries in the world among tourists, and Geneva And Zurich are two of the ten most expensive cities to live in.
Due to the high cost, it is easy to understand why so many people are afraid to travel to solo travel in switzerland and wait until they are older and richer. Therefore, when you claim that even Switzerland can be visited by a budget tourist, many will shake their heads in disbelief and twist their fingers at their temples :).
At first glance, Switzerland will be a real challenge even for experienced tourists who are used to traveling on their own and not expensive. Switzerland is a country with a strong currency and high taxes, a mecca for wealthy bankers, international organizations, wealthy residents, and tax havens.
Switzerland will never be a "cheap" country to visit that travelers can visit for just a few dollars a day, but to your surprise you may realize that it is possible to travel around the country for a relatively small amount. It's difficult, but doable!
Find cheap flights to Switzerland
Here are some effective ways to save your budget, but at the same time enjoy your trip and avoid wasteful spending:
1. Use Couchsurfing
With hostel beds starting at $30-40 a night, you'll definitely need to find a cheap accommodation option in Switzerland. Couchsurfing is one of the ways to significantly save on accommodation. This is a service that allows travelers to stay with local residents for free. This can be a lifesaver to keep your expenses within your budget. Since many travelers use this service, we recommend that you send requests to hosts in advance.
2. Use BlaBlaCar
Transport in the country is very expensive, even more than the cost of living. The fare on most intercity trains is around 50 CHF (Swiss francs). He's really fast! Instead, use the popular BlaBlaCar service, which many of our compatriots are already familiar with, to avoid train costs, and at the same time chat with the locals. This service allows you to share travel costs with several fellow travelers, and each trip can save you a decent family budget. It is important to remember: be careful, often trips can be canceled by the driver, even at the last minute. Therefore, try to be flexible in making decisions. But if you use the service, you will be satisfied with the trip.
3. When traveling with a company, use Airbnb
If you are traveling as a couple or in a group, and prefer independent accommodation, then we advise you to pay attention to the service where you can rent inexpensive and comfortable accommodation in Switzerland. At around $50 per night, you can split the cost between two people - that's only $25 per person, which is way cheaper than staying in a hostel! 
4. Less Alcoholic Beverages (Better Not Drinking at All)
Drinking here is not cheap. Most beers cost around 8 CHF. Most wines cost between 10-25 CHF per bottle. If you do decide to have a drink, the cheapest option would be at the bar in the hostel, where the so-called “happy hours” (happy hours) are often held, where you can drink 2 drinks for the price of one, or just buy a cheap cocktail - about 5 CHF.
5. Cook your own food
The cost of lunch in a restaurant will cost you an average of about 40 CHF per person. And since this is a considerable amount for a budget tourist, we advise you to purchase groceries in local supermarkets. A weekly grocery set (bread, pasta, rice, eggs, vegetables, cheese, deli meats for sandwiches, fruit platter) will cost you about 75-100 CHF. The main supermarkets are Migros, COOP and Spar. COOP is the most expensive.
6. Eat Vegetarian Meals
Meat is very expensive in Switzerland. The Swiss and expats claim that they sometimes limit their consumption of meat because of its high cost. Therefore, eat vegetables and avoid buying meat (especially beef). A half kilo of meat in a supermarket costs an average of 12-14 CHF!
7. Take advantage of coffee shop specials
If you are going to eat in a cafe or restaurant, it is better to do it during lunch, when most of the meals of the day cost about 10-19 CHF. Also, feel free to visit ethnic restaurants such as Chinese, Oriental, Indian, or Thai - here you will get huge portions for reasonable money (on average, for 10 CHF you will fill up to satiety). Meal of the Day is a great way to save your budget by eating delicious meals for less money. As a result, we advise you to cook breakfast and dinner on your own, and you can also have lunch in a cafe.
Switzerland is an expensive country - there is no doubt about that. The minimum possible budget that a backpacker/budget traveler can go to Switzerland with is around $75 USD. Within this budget, you can visit the main attractions, stay in a budget hostel, and enjoy adventure and outdoor activities. A smaller budget will greatly limit your ability to truly enjoy what Switzerland has to offer.
But regardless of your travel style, following the tips above will save you a lot on your Swiss travel by cutting down on unnecessary expenses and focusing your hard-earned money on your interests - museums, beer, adventure, or a pound of meat 🙂
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The stereotypical view of Switzerland is that it is boring there - nothing interesting happens and only the cuckoo clock ticks monotonously. The Swiss themselves know about this opinion and do everything to make their stay in the country bright and impressive. For example, in Geneva, which traditionally seems like a sleepy resort town, there are places to go and things to do all year round.
Mysterious Geneva
It is interesting to spend time in the old city with the game "Mysterious Geneva", in which it is proposed to solve the mystery of the sudden disappearance of archeology professor Archibald Chimerion on one June night in 1893. The game begins in the office of the Geneva Tourism Company, where you are given a special booklet - which places, museums and streets you must visit in order to find clues and clues for the investigation. The tour lasts at least three hours, so we recommend you dress warmly in winter.
Address: Rue du Mont-Blanc, 18
Cost: The book costs 21 Swiss francs and includes tickets to all places to visit. If it is a group tour, there is an additional charge of CHF 7 per person. francs.
Cruise on Lake Geneva
One of the main treasures of Geneva is Lake Leman, the largest freshwater reservoir in Europe, with clear water and picturesque shores. Therefore, various yacht cruises on the lake start from the city piers dozens of times a day. The duration of trips can be selected according to taste, as there are short cruises to the famous fountain and back, there are two-hour tours with an overview of the surroundings, or a trip to several cities at once with a stop, for example, in Lausanne. The theme of the cruises is also diverse - here are tours with the history of Geneva castles, and gastronomic "swimming" with fondue tasting or haute European cuisine.
Address: Quai du Mont-Blanc
Cost: the price varies depending on the tour, check with the carriers
Large Hadron Collider
The complex regularly conducts excursions, both individually and for groups of up to 48 people. Unfortunately, non-specialists are not allowed into the underground department with a collider, however, for visitors, scientists have two permanent exhibitions about the smallest particles of the Universe, as well as lectures and discussions on various topics, for example, how to robotize a person. Since it is a sensitive facility, you must strictly follow the instructions: be sure to have your passport with you, come on the tour 15 minutes before the start, do not take luggage and animals with you, and do not wear high-heeled shoes, flip flops or sandals.
Address: 385 route de Meyrin
Cost: tours are free, but there are so many who want to book a tour 15 days in advance by filling out a form on the CERN website
Little Italy in Carouge
The southern suburb of Geneva Carouge is called "little Italy" - because of the special Mediterranean, Sardinian architecture, numerous shops, art and antique shops, local restaurants and cafes. In addition, there is an outdoor pool where daredevils swim even in winter, a park with bike paths for skiing, and on Wednesdays a market is held here, and local greengrocers and farmers bring out the freshest vegetables and fruits.
Address: Rue Ancienne - 1227 Carouge
Exhibition of watches Swatch
In the center of Geneva is the City of Time, the Cite du temps, home to the most complete collection of Swatch's iconic watches, from the company's founding in 1983 to the present day. In addition to thousands of bright, colorful, amazing plastic clocks, there is also an art gallery, where modern art, photography and special projects are regularly shown - for example, exhibitions for the release of the next James Bond film. In the "City of Time" there is also a cozy restaurant where you can take a breath and drink coffee.
Address: Pont de la Machine, 1
Cost: Admission is free
chocolate making
The boutique of the Stettler chocolate brand hosts chocolate making workshops from Monday to Friday. This is a complex and multi-stage business, so everyone is initiated into the history of chocolate, they show the huge fruits of the cocoa tree, they talk about all the stages that the ingredients go through on the way to chocolate candy. And, of course, it is proposed to form pralines on your own, stir hot chocolate in a large saucepan and try it.
Address: Avenue Blanc, 49
Cost: The price of a 45-minute session is CHF 30. francs, 1.5-hour lesson costs 120 Swiss francs. francs per person
Ethnographical museum
The best museums in Geneva are ethnographic, as outstanding collectors of household items and cults from different peoples of the world once lived here. MEG, the Ethnographic Museum of Geneva contains an extensive collection, which includes ritual masks, feather headdresses, and samurai armor, in a word, the most exotic garments that are traditionally worn in different parts of the Earth. For each exhibition, the museum hosts a lot of accompanying events, for example, as part of projects about the Amazon Indians, theatrical performances, children's excursions with dances and music, “shamanism sessions” with stories about the esoteric practices of the peoples of the world, as well as film screenings are held here.
Address: Boulevard Carl-Vogt, 65-67
Cost: Adult ticket price 9 CHF. francs, for children under 18 years old admission is free
Exhibition "Days of Dinosaurs"
There is always something going on at Geneva's largest exhibition center, Palexpo, and this autumn (October 1st to January 8th, 2017) it hosts Dinosaur Days, a massive show dedicated to prehistoric animals. On the territory of the 7th pavilion of the complex with an area of 4500 sq. m reproduced more than 60 types of dinosaurs - life-size, moreover, their three-dimensional images are animated, they can move and even growl! Giant footprints of dinosaurs and their paw prints are also shown at Dinosaur Days as proof of the life of these legendary creatures.
Address: Route Francois-Peyrot, 30
Cost: CHF 14.9-18.9 francs
Assembling a swiss knife
In the basement of the flagship Victorinox boutique in Geneva, there is a real workshop - with a workbench, a mass of parts and an engraving machine. Here, anyone can independently assemble the famous Swiss knife, of course, under the guidance of an experienced craftsman who will not let you put your finger in the clamp and will tell you which side to insert the nuts. You can also choose the color of the case, the inscription that will be engraved on your knife, its font and style.
Address: Rue du Marche, 2
Cost: CHF 19 francs
Botanical Garden
One of the main attractions of the city is the botanical garden with an observatory, covering an area of 28 hectares. There are up to 12,000 plant species here, including such exotic species as the “walking tree”, and in the collected herbarium there are six million flora samples! For children, there is the Enchanted Forest playground, a carousel of fairy tales, here you can admire the sheep nibbling grass, watch the bees in the apiary and play ball on a specially equipped playground.
Address: Chemin de l'Impératrice, 1
Cost: Entrance to the gardens and the observatory is free, but 3 Swiss francs are charged for 1 round of the carousel. franc
Where to live and what to eat
Most five-star hotels are very child-friendly: they not only offer special discounts, family rooms, but also try to make pleasant surprises. As representatives of the Mandarin Oriental hotel tell us, “In the room of our little guests, sweet surprises prepared by our pastry chef will await. For special comfort, we have small bathrobes, bath accessories, high chairs, a bottle warmer and so on. Everything you need, we will prepare and deliver to your room.” Also, most hotels offer a children's menu and babysitting services, so staying in Geneva with children will be very comfortable.
Without fear, you can go with children to almost any Geneva restaurant: most of them have a children's menu. Special events are also offered: for example, the Parc Des Eaux-Vives has Sunday brunches with animators, and the special family restaurant Un R de famille hosts cooking classes and painting lessons, there is a children's corner with toys and books and a winter garden.
We thank the company Geneva Tourism and Albin Rassamakin for help in preparing the material.
To Switzerland with children - beautiful holidays
We are going to Bern. The historic center of Bern is centered around the streets Kramgasse, Marktgasse and Spitalgasse. We organize a tour around the area. Let's start in the town of Brock with Callier - a chocolate factory. During the tour, we will visit the workshops where chocolate is produced and taste the finished product. Our next stop in Affoltern is the Emmental cheese factory.
Day 6-9 - Lauterbrunnen Valley
We are going to the Lauterbrunnen valley. We will drive past Schadau Castle (built in the 12th century) and Lake Thun, south to the highest waterfall in Switzerland, Schaubbach, and further to Trumelbach, a waterfall located inside the mountain. Let's dedicate one day to the Leukerbad thermal springs. The local Spa centers "Lindner Alpenterme" and "Burgerbad" are dozens of outdoor and indoor pools, simple and with hydromassage, treatment areas, baths and saunas. Nearby is a cozy ski resort. There, children will happily ride on sleds and skates.
Day 10-13 – Zermatt
Right in Zermatt, we take the Glaciar Express, a panoramic train to St. Moritz. You can not go to it, in fact, but divide our path into two sections, we will spend the night, for example, in Chur or Andermatt. Upon arrival in St. Moritz, we have to make a choice: either go straight to Zurich, or stay overnight (very expensive and very prestigious).
After that, nothing will stop us from rounding off the holidays with children in Switzerland and going home.
