So far we have been super impressed with the European railway system, trains arrive and leave on time and there is lots of information online about platforms which makes life so much easier. The Swiss take this to a whole new level! The system seems to be incredibly well integrated with a level of coordination around connections that blows your mind!
Our journey from Annecy to Locarno saw us take 4 different trains all seamlessly knitted together to make for a very stress free trip. The scenery on route was fantastic as we skirted the French alps, Lake Geneva and then through to the Swiss alps. We even went through the longest railway tunnel in the world which takes you through the recently opened (2016) Gotthard Pass, 57 kilometres inside a mountain and it only took 20 minutes!
Our original plan was to head to Zermatt after Annecy but our mantra for the trip has been ‘follow the sun’ and the weather in Zermatt definitely didn’t look great so we decided to head to Locarno on the shores of Lake Maggiore instead and we are very glad we did. We arrived in the late afternoon with the sun shining and you could immediately feel the warmth. The walk from the station to our hotel only took about 10 minutes, the town has a very Italian feel and there were lots of people out enjoying an early evening drink. So naturally we had to join in.
Our first full day in Locarno so we decided to explore a little of the old town this morning before heading up to the Madonna del Sasso monastery to get a better view of the lake and town. It was quite a climb up many steps but worth it for the views from the top. Most people seem to use the funicular from the town but not us, we love arriving hot, sweaty and out of breath whenever possible. The monastery is also the first point on the Swiss route of the Camino de Santiago but given the size of the mountains here I suspect there are much easier routes.
The cable car station is just across the road from the monastery but as we had forgotten to get our Ticino ticket from hotel reception which gives us a 30% reduction this will have to wait for another day.
Day two and Mark had been reading about a very picturesque train route that goes from Locarno and into Italy. As this was covered by our inter rail passes we decided to give it a go. The route is called the Centovalle (100 valleys) and goes inland from the lake and up into the hills beyond.
The start of the journey was from a very unpromising underground station near to our hotel but once we were out of the tunnel the views were incredible but definitely not for anyone with a fear of heights.
We decided to stay on until the end of the line in Domodosia which is a small town in Italy. Another country we can tick off. A quick wander and a coffee break followed before we bought ourselves some sandwiches and got back on the train for the return journey.
Everything is very expensive in Switzerland, for example £5.50 for a cappuccino snd £8 for a sandwich from a supermarket so we have been picnicking by the lake most evenings having found an Aldi Suisse. Interestingly it was much cheaper in Italy where we paid £1.60 for a cappuccino. During our picnic tonight we spotted a swan on her nest by the lake. The council had put a fence around her to protect her and she is sitting on nine huge eggs. She has become quite a local celebrity but she didn’t seem phased by all the attention.
As many of you will know Mark is a bit of a coffee snob but even he is struggling to bring himself to pay the price for a coffee in a cafe so we have resorted to getting coffee from McDonalds which is still £3.30 but it turns out they do a great mint tea for me too! Oh how times have changed but if you ask him about it he will deny it ever happened.
Day three and Ticino tickets in hand we headed back up hill to the monastery and then onto the cable car for our trip up the mountain. The cable car takes you up part of the way and although the views from there were amazing, we decided to walk on up to the summit which according to the signs would take us an hour. 1 3/4 hours later and a lot of huffing and puffing later we arrived at the summit. It was a very steep climb but it was definitely worth the effort. The views from the top were incredible and we were looking down on light aircraft below us. The summit took us to 1670 metres above sea level. Of course we then had to walk back down and are now feeling like our knees belong to someone much older!
We treated ourselves to a pizza in the piazza grande tonight and watched the comings and goings around the food truck festival which is taking place in Locarno this weekend. There was also a band playing 70’s rock music so we felt very at home.
We had a fairly early start this morning as our train back to Zurich leaves at 8.35. We are taking a different route back to the one we did on the way here so that we can see a bit more oAnnecy to Locarno
So far we have been super impressed with the European railway system, trains arrive and leave on time and there is lots of information online about platforms which makes life so much easier. The Swiss take this to a whole new level! The system seems to be incredibly well integrated with a level of coordination around connections that blows your mind!
Our journey from Annecy to Locarno saw us take 4 different trains all seamlessly knitted together to make for a very stress free trip. The scenery on route was fantastic as we skirted the French alps, Lake Geneva and then through to the Swiss alps. We even went through the longest railway tunnel in the world which takes you through the recently opened (2016) Gotthard Pass, 57 kilometres inside a mountain and it only took 20 minutes!
Our original plan was to head to Zermatt after Annecy but our mantra for the trip has been ‘follow the sun’ and the weather in Zermatt definitely didn’t look great so we decided to head to Locarno on the shores of Lake Maggiore instead and we are very glad we did. We arrived in the late afternoon with the sun shining and you could immediately feel the warmth. The walk from the station to our hotel only took about 10 minutes, the town has a very Italian feel and there were lots of people out enjoying an early evening drink. So naturally we had to join in.
Our first full day in Locarno so we decided to explore a little of the old town this morning before heading up to the Madonna del Sasso monastery to get a better view of the lake and town. It was quite a climb up many steps but worth it for the views from the top. Most people seem to use the funicular from the town but not us, we love arriving hot, sweaty and out of breath whenever possible. The monastery is also the first point on the Swiss route of the Camino de Santiago but given the size of the mountains here I suspect there are much easier routes.
The cable car station is just across the road from the monastery but as we had forgotten to get our Ticino ticket from hotel reception which gives us a 30% reduction this will have to wait for another day.
Day two and Mark had been reading about a very picturesque train route that goes from Locarno and into Italy. As this was covered by our inter rail passes we decided to give it a go. The route is called the Centovalle (100 valleys) and goes inland from the lake and up into the hills beyond.
The start of the journey was from a very unpromising underground station near to our hotel but once we were out of the tunnel the views were incredible but definitely not for anyone with a fear of heights.
We decided to stay on until the end of the line in Domodosia which is a small town in Italy. Another country we can tick off. A quick wander and a coffee break followed before we bought ourselves some sandwiches and got back on the train for the return journey.
Everything is very expensive in Switzerland, for example £5.50 for a cappuccino snd £8 for a sandwich from a supermarket so we have been picnicking by the lake most evenings having found an Aldi Suisse. Interestingly it was much cheaper in Italy where we paid £1.60 for a cappuccino. During our picnic tonight we spotted a swan on her nest by the lake. The council had put a fence around her to protect her and she is sitting on nine huge eggs. She has become quite a local celebrity but she didn’t seem phased by all the attention.
As many of you will know Mark is a bit of a coffee snob but even he is struggling to bring himself to pay the price for a coffee in a cafe so we have resorted to getting coffee from McDonalds which is still £3.30 but it turns out they do a great mint tea for me too! Oh how times have changed but if you ask him about it he will deny it ever happened.
Day three and Ticino tickets in hand we headed back up hill to the monastery and then onto the cable car for our trip up the mountain. The cable car takes you up part of the way and although the views from there were amazing, we decided to walk on up to the summit which according to the signs would take us an hour. 1 3/4 hours later and a lot of huffing and puffing later we arrived at the summit. It was a very steep climb but it was definitely worth the effort. The views from the top were incredible and we were looking down on light aircraft below us. The summit took us to 1670 metres above sea level. Of course we then had to walk back down and are now feeling like our knees belong to someone much older!
We treated ourselves to a pizza in the piazza grande tonight and watched the comings and goings around the food truck festival which is taking place in Locarno this weekend. There was also a band playing 70’s rock music so we felt very at home.
We had a fairly early start this morning as our train back to Zurich leaves at 8.35. We are taking a different route back to the one we did on the way here so that we can see a bit more of Switzerland but given that it was raining when we left the hotel we are not sure how much we are going to see. Next stop, Innsbruck, Austria!
f Switzerland but given that it was raining when we left the hotel we are not sure how much we are going to see. Next stop, Innsbruck, Austria!
