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| Travelling to Interlaken |
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Air
| SWISS International Airlines is the CHEP'04 official carrier and is offering special congress fares for all flights to Switzerland on the entire SWISS network (including flights operated by partner airlines). Most air travellers will arrive to Zurich or Geneva. |  |
All the major European airlines fly into both of these on a regular basis as well as some of the cheaper "no-frills" airlines. Zurich also has direct connections with destinations in the US, Canada, South America, China, Japan, India and the Far East; Geneva has a few direct transatlantic connections. Both airports have their own railway stations and the Swiss Railways connections to Interlaken are good and there is a special rail ticket for the conference, see below.
The nearest airport is Bern (actually Bern-Belp) which is only 45 minutes by car from Interlaken. It is a small airport and only served by small aircraft but the larger European airlines fly there from major cities including Amsterdam, Munich, Vienna, Berlin and Paris. For up to date information on flights to and from Bern-Belp, see the Bern airport web site (in English, French and German).
From Zurich
airport there are two trains per hour, one direct and the other
requiring a change of trains in Bern. From Geneva there is a train
every hour, also requiring a change in Bern. For rail travellers, the
line from Bern to Interlaken is very scenic, running for most of its
journey alongside the Lake of Thun. For travellers from Geneva,
especially on the upper deck of the Intercity trains, there can be
clear views of the Mont Blanc, the lake of Geneva and the vineyards of
Vaud.
Rail
Interlaken can be reached by rail from all parts of Switzerland, as
noted above. With the conference registration we will offer the
purchase of a special conference railway ticket, first or second class,
from anywhere in Switzerland to Interlaken. For details see:
Congress Rail Ticket. From Zurich or Geneva it
works out at approximately one-third the fare of the normal return
ticket. There is also a daily train to and from Germany - an ICE, Germany's high-speed train
- which connects to Hamburg via Frankfurt, Mannheim and Karlsruhe and another to
and from Amsterdam which passes via Cologne and Mannheim.
Car
Interlaken is on the N6 motorway from Bern and so reachable
from all over northern and western Switzerland including the entry
points of Geneva and Basel. Travelers from the north and east passing
through Zurich have the choice of motorway via Bern or the more scenic
route past Lucern, over the Brunig pass and alongside the lake of
Brienz. People driving from Italy have the choice of getting the car
train through the Simplon and Loetschberg tunnels or via Chiasso, the
Gotthard pass or tunnel (beware of queues at weekends) and the Susten
pass.
The rules regarding whether you need a visa or not vary depending on your country of origin. To check your situation, go to the web site http://www.switzerlandtourism.ch/ Choose your Language and then select Travel Tips.