Hi

I'll be spending one entire day in switzerland and I'm making a list of places to visit.
I'll be coming from France by car and will enter switzerland in Basel. I would really like to see:

- the Alps
- one city
- something chocolate related (?)

I'm thinking about visiting Bern and the Bernese Alps (Grindelwald) and a chocolate factory in Broc.
I made this plan after researching a bit on the web. I chose Bern and Grindelwald because it's relatively near to Basel as I don't want to spend the day driving.

BUT maybe there are better places to visit. If anyone has better suggestions please tell me. Would love to hear from you that live there and know the country like the palm of your hand!

If I had just one day, I'd pick Luzern over Bern - the scenery is just a different league, and it's about the same distance from Basel.

Take a boat ride there, and maybe go up Pilatus if you have the time.

Your nearest chocolate from there might be Chocolat Frey (http://www.chocolatfrey.ch/), which you could visit on your way from Basel to Luzern - it's not much of a detour.

I was thinking Luzern before I saw Quark's input, so, Luzern seconded.

Thank you. From Luzern is it possible to take some transport to the mountais or is it possible to drive up there? And by the way do you know if Luzern has a christmas market? Is it good?
And the Chocolat Frey, is it open to visitors? I visited their website but there was no indication about visits.
I'll be going there the 22nd December if all goes according to plan.

Christmas market:
http://www.weihnachtsmarktluzern.com/

SBB public transport for Pilatus (cable car on one side, rack railway on the other):
http://www.pilatus.ch/en/railway-cableways/timetable/
http://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holiday...us_winter.html

Visiting Chocolat Frey:
http://chocolatfrey.ch/de/uber-frey/live-dabei

The Christmas Market is great in Luzern. You can get public transport or drive to Kriens, from there, there is a cable car that takes you up to Pilatus, the possible burial place of Pontius Pilate. Don't know about the Frey Chocolateria.

Another vote for Luzern. Pilatus and Rigi are both easily accessible from the city by public transport. You would have a lot less travelling and more time to see things

I may sound like a broken record, but if the weather (visibility) is not good stay in town. There is little point in making a long journey to see the inside of a cloud.

Yes you're right. But I hope that's not the case .
Is it usually clouded this time of year?

It can be thick cloud around the lakes but sunny at the top of the mountains. Check the forecast on the day

Or better, check the webcams:

http://www.pilatus.ch/en/webcams/
http://www.rigi.ch/en/webcams.cfm

Looks great up on Rigi today!

The bank.

You won't be going anywhere without one that houses your cash.

You could do Bern and it's Christmas market, then Gruyere and it's cheese factory (quintessential Swiss village experience), up Moleson for some fondue and some views and back down to the Nestle factory in Broc. I would save the chocolate factory for last in case you run out of time--it's nowhere near as interesting as the cheese factory.

Gruyere, Moleson and Broc are all within 15 km of each other.

So being is Luzern the best pace to visit would be Mount Pilates, or are there other interesting places nearby? I want to be surrounded by mountains covered with snow, beautiful landscapes, etc.... the last time I've seen snow was 10 years ago, and I may not see it again for the next 10 years....

Thank you, the cheese factory seems a good idea.

One day in Switzerland? Will you be staying the night or continuing your trip that evening? Where will you be exiting?

1. Get out the weather forecast and decide what's better on that day: cities or mountains

2. Use search.ch or another route planner to plan out how many HOURS you'll be driving to your destination. Switzerland is a small country but it still takes hours to get into the mountains from Basel.

3. Lucerne with Pilatus is your best bet providing the weather is good. You'll need to do some research on how you'd like to reach Pilatus from Lucerne.

Drive safely.

Hello. I will get back in the evening, through Basel to France.
Since you mentioned "drive safely"... I suppose winter tires are necessary but what about snow chains?

Another east mountain trip from Luzrn is Titlis. Lots of activities to choose from there. This weekend they are opening Europe's highest suspension bridge, 500m over an abyss

http://www.titlis.ch/en/titlis/titli...ter_activities

Great idea for summer time but I am afraid I would freeze my jewels in such weather -10 deg like past couple of days. Indoor and plenty of fire woods combined with shots of Kirsch would be an idea of perfectly warm spent day in Switzerland for now.

Winter tires required. Snow chains not required.

It takes one hour to get from Basel to Lucerne, depending on the traffic, of course. Go to Pilatus (via Stanstad) for the morning and drive back to Luzern for the afternoon.

Enjoy your day. Don't forget to bring lots of Francs.