Ask Lonely Planet: Travelling alone in Switzerland

Night lights reflected in Lake Geneva. Photo / Geneva Tourist Office

I am touring Italy with my cousin for three weeks. We part company in Genoa and I am heading to Girona, northern Spain, where my son is based, but I would like to head up to Switzerland for a few days before catching trains down through southern France to Girona. As I will be travelling on my own, I would appreciate some advice re. the safest way to see the main sites of Switzerland; I understand I will have to catch a train from Genoa to Milan, then Milan up to Switzerland, but would appreciate some guidance as to which city to travel in to and out of, making the most of my time there.
- Jill Harrington

Lonely Planet's Asia Pacific travel editor Shawn Low writes:

Switzerland is one of the safest countries in the world. However, the usual travel precautions should apply. With that out of the way, let's look at your plan.

Genoa to Switzerland. As you've mentioned, you can take a train up to Milan via Trenitaly. From Milan, you can head into most towns in Switzerland. With the towns I've suggested below, you can head from Genoa to Milan to Visp and back down to Zermatt. Total travel time is six hours with two connections. Use this website to plan your rail travel: raileurope-world.com.

As you haven't specified any specific interests or places to visit, here are some broad suggestions for places to visit in Switzerland. Geneva is famous for housing all the important world organisations. It's also super sleek, sexy and very cosmopolitan. It is of course, very pricey. Bern is the country's capital (not Geneva as is commonly mistaken)- it's an underrated place and a mash-up of Renaissance soul and modern sensibilities. Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and very fashionable.

If you've had enough of urban life, head to Lucern in central Switzerland. It's a gorgeous medieval Swiss city that fronts a cobalt lake.

Interlaken has a host of activities for thrill seekers - night sledding, zorbing, rock climbing, rafting, canyoning, bungy jumping, skydiving. It's all there.

If you are travelling during winter (and love a bit of snow), don't forget to visit Zermatt. It's the home of the Matterhorn, Switzerland's most famous mountain.

You can take a cogwheel train to the top of Gornergrat mountain for great views and, of course, ski/snowboard at Klein Matterhorn.

Foodies delight in Copenhagen fare

We are flying to Copenhagen before joining a bus tour around the Scandinavian capitals. The way the flights have worked out we will have five nights to spend in Copenhagen. Can you make any recommendations about places to visit and things to do in and around Copenhagen. I would be particularly interested in visiting any railway or other transport museums. Also we realise that it will be their autumn then but can you give any guidance about what sort of temperatures and weather we can expect, some people I have spoken to have said there could be snow and ice?
- Robert Graham

Shawn Low writes:

Let's get the weather warnings out of the way. Autumn in Copenhagen will be cold-ish (8C to 10C). It will also probably be wet as rainfall is fairly common. Those things shouldn't spoil your fun though as there's plenty to do here. Copenhagen's major sights are in or close to the medieval city centre making it easy to get around.

Here are a couple of things to do while you're in Copenhagen. First off, food. The foodie scene is thriving and you should try to get a booking at some of the great restaurants such as the Michelin-starred Noma (one of the world's top restaurants) or Geranium. The meal may cost a pretty penny but you'll get world-class service and top-notch food.

To work off the calories, do the rounds of the museums. In keeping with your transport fascination, you can head north of Copenhagen to Sommer's Automobile Museum. More than 60 vintage vehicles are on display at any one time. Sadly, there's not much else to fuel your interest in this area.

Of course, Copenhagen itself is rife with other museums. The Nationalmuseet, Ny carlsbert Glyptotek, and Statens Museum for Kunst are some top choices. Danish architecture also features heavily in most Copenhagen-based itineraries - the city is littered with a plethora of cathedrals, churches, spires and towers.

The only problem is trying to fit everything in a week.