Traveler1501

Hi All,

This is following up with my earlier thread (http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...d-worth-it.cfm).

I am looking for some ideas on how best I can plan 3 1/2 days Switzerland trip.

Here is my known plan

Day 1 - Arrive in Laussane around 4 PM. Hotel Reserved for that night in Cully.
Day 2 - Hotel reserved in Lucerne
Day 3 - Hotel reserved in Lucerne
Day 4 - Hotel reserved in Basel
Day 5 - End of trip - Leave for intl flight back home.

My interests are hiking & biking, top of Europe, lake boat tours and walking around & the panoramic train rides (Glacier or Bernina or Both). Given the time I have and locations I am at, what do you recommend?

swandav2000

Hi Traveler1501,

Why are you staying in Cully? There is nothing there except a few notable restaurants and some wine caves. I find Lutry to be a much more interesting and vibrant little town.

You cannot realistically reach the Top of Europe (Jungfraujoch) from anywhere on your itinerary. It will take 4h30 to get there from Luzern and 4h30 to get back, so that's about 9h inside a train for the day. Plus, even if the skies are clear when you leave Luzern, they may well turn dark and overcast by the time you finally get to the Jungfraujoch, and you'll have spent all that time and money to stand inside a cloud.

Instead of focusing on the hype and marketing of the Jungfrau area, I suggest you see the mountains that are local to Luzern: Titlis, Pilatus, and Rigi.

You will be nowhere near the Glacier Express or the Bernina Express, so forget them. You can take the scenic Golden Pass route from Montreux to Luzern, and I recommend you do that.

Why are you overnighting in Basel? It's only about 1h from Luzern, so you will save time by just taking a day-trip there.

Where are you flying home from?

I guess if it were me, I would do:

Lutry 2 nights
Luzern 2 nights

Have fun as you plan!

s

Ingo

With only four nights I would not change accommodation. Why not staying four nights in Lucerne? You can do excursions from there - Rigi or Engelberg/Titlis for hiking. Getting to Rigi could include a lake cruise (to Weggis or Vitznau). Or do the Pilatus round trip, includes the short cruise to Alpnachstad.

This year there's plenty of snow on the mountains. The snow line is still quite low, so there's no need to go up to Jungfraujoch to touch snow in summer. Mt. Titlis above Engelberg will be fine.

These so called scenic trains do not offer more scenic views of the mountains than the cog-trains or cable cars in the mountains; the Glacier Express even less. The Bernina Express is a different story (from glaciers to palm trees and vineyards), but you're definitely too far from it as swandav pointed out.

Traveler1501

Thank you Swandav2000 and Ingo. I am open to change the accommodation plans. This was booked per my original plan of 6 days in Switzerland. I would like to confirm a couple things.

Is Jungfraujoch area and mountains in Lucerne provide a similar experience?
Are the scenic trains (Glacier/Bernina) worth considering change in plans or will Golden pass give me a simiar experience.

Please also note that I might be taking LTV from Paris to Geneva.

Since I am open to change in accodmodation plans, should I make my base in Lucerne, Murren, or Interlaken or sometplace else?

Traveler1501

Forgot to mention, I will be flying out of Frankfurt on Day 5. I am taking an early morning train from Basel to Frankfurt. I want to be close to the train station in Basel and that is why I am overnighting in Basel.

Traveler1501

Here is an updated plan I am considering - I dropped a stay in Cully. I now have 2 1/2 days really.

Day 1 - Arrive somewhere(Geneva/Interlaken/Zurich/Lucerne) from Paris by 10 AM. Hotel reserved in Lucerne
Day 2 - Hotel reserved in Lucerne
Day 3 - Hotel reserved in Basel
Day 4 - Leave early morning for Frankfurt for flight back home to NY.

Traveler1501

Hi All, thanks for your help so far.

Can someone who have been to both Murren and Lucerne please share which of these two places they recommend for a first time visitor. What would be a good itinerary for 3 days? My interests are vintage Switzerland,lake rides, hiking in the mountains, and panoramic trains.

Ingo

Lucerne and Mürren are very different. A larger town vs. a tiny village.

You can do all the things in Lucerne and surroundings. You cannot do lake cruises in Mürren - ok, down at Lakes Thun and Brienz, but it's a stretch with the little time you have, and in Lucerne you can combine the lake cruise with hiking (Rigi or Klewenalp e.g.)

Mürren wins in regards to dramatic mountain scenery.

Traveler1501

Murren it is. I will take the golden pass from Montraux to Interlaken and stay the whole time in Murren. Thank you for the guidance.