Lucerne Switzerland

Old Oct 1st, 2014, 11:16 AM
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Lucerne Switzerland

Taking a Viking river cruise in early September. Will be flying into Zurich 2 days early
and staying in Lucerne. Could you tell me the best way to get from airport to Lucerne and
advise me on how to spend our short time . I would love to see the Alps. Should we try to get a private driver or is public transportation the best way to go. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Old Oct 1st, 2014, 11:23 AM
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IMO, the "best" way to get from Zurich to Luzern is by rail. You can catch the train from the airport into Zurch and change there for a train to Luzern. There are SOME timings from the airport which are direct to Luzern meaning you go through Zurich but do not have to change.
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Old Oct 1st, 2014, 11:57 AM
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There are no dreamy glacier-girdled Alps around Lucerne - you have to go to Engleberg for that - easily done by train.

Yes as Dukester says take a train from the airport - usually requiring a simple change in the Zurich Hauptbahnhof (main train station) for direct trains to Lucerne - should take about an hour all told from the airport to Lucerne.

Lucerne is compact with relatively few must sights so excursions are a good bet.

To see the Alpine Wonderland of your dreams take the train from Lucerne to Engleberg, about an hour and one of Switzerland's primo primo Alpine wonderlands.

another day you may want to take a lake boat cruise on what many think to be Switzerland's loveliest lake - boats leave right from central Lucerne, in front of the train station.

For lots of goodies on Swiss trains check these IMO superb sites: www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; and www.ricksteves.com.

Just buy your train tickets at the train station - no need to advance purchase or reserve.
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Old Oct 1st, 2014, 12:32 PM
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WWW.SBB.CH

Train schedules.

The best way to get from Zürich Flughafen to Luzern is by train.

You can take a train from Luzern to Interlaken to see the Alps. Many options available from Interlaken--Schynige Platte, Harder Kulm Funicular, Lauterbrunnen.

A day trip from Luzern to Jungfraujoch is not really advisable because of time constraints, weather, expense.

Thin
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Old Oct 1st, 2014, 01:17 PM
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A lot of people who visit Lucerne take an excursion to Mt. Pilatus, which towers over Lucerne. It doesn't have any glaciers, but is certainly Alpine. However, the weather is a big factor in whether it will be worth your time. The entire time we were in Lucerne, the mountains were shrouded in fog, and it rained a good deal as well, so we passed on the idea of a mountain excursion. Fortunately it's a very nice town to spend some time in all the same.
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Old Oct 1st, 2014, 02:19 PM
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Take a gamble on the weather and do a trip to either Mt Pilatus or Mt Rigi. Both include a boat ride across the lake, funicular or cog railway to the top and fabulous views. Restaurants at both places for food with a view.
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Old Oct 1st, 2014, 02:46 PM
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Rigi and Pilatus are technically Alps I guess but in no way will they fulfill the average tourists picture etched in many minds' eyes - that of glacier-girdled peaks soaring thousands of feet up to a land of ice and snow - a Top of the World type atmosphere as the Jungfraujoch bills itself.

Engelberg and Mt Titlis are dramatic high glacier-strewn high Alps - the Interlaken area as well but it takes a lot more time to get to the high Alps there from Lucerne than nearby Engelberg.

And the revolving (rotating) cable car up to the summit of Mt Titlis is awesome!

https://www.google.com/search?q=enge...w=1455&bih=977
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Old Oct 1st, 2014, 03:24 PM
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Two days before means two nights = one full day?
Soaring peaks do not present themselves just because you visit there. Even if you had stayed multiple full days, the peaks could be socked in all those days. Lucerne is a good location to deal with weather uncertainty. There are three mountains options as well as other non-mountain activities. While Titlis is highest and you go up into snow, it is also most impacted by bad weather. During my stay, cloud never cleared up above the snow line, so I limited my visit to Pilatus and Rigi with enough clear view from the peaks.

Regarding transportation from the Zurich airport, you know you can just google "Zurich airport to lucerne"? According to http://www.worldtaximeter.com/ it is about 280 CHF by taxi. If are laden with typical cruise luggage and you cannot move them through the train system on your own, you might have to resort to a transfer which charges fees in the similar price range. Train is "best" in terms of price if you can manage you luggage. If you have not taken trains before, there is a small learning curve. The SBB agent at the Zurich airport printed for me a mini schedule printout showing next few trains to Lucerne, some direct and some with transfer at Zurich HBF with track assignments. However, there was a track change in Zurich HBF for Lucerne announced only in German. It would be obvious if you notice that all other passengers moved to the other side of the platform and the digital display eventually showed that the train to Lucerne would be leaving from a different track than the schedule printed by an SBB agent at Zurich airport.
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Old Oct 1st, 2014, 05:42 PM
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I think Lucerne is a wonderful choice for your short visit. IMO Lucerne is one of the most picturesque places on earth! I think it offers a lovely sampling of Swiss scenery and hospitality. Some of my best amateur photography has been snapped while strolling along the lakeside promenade in Lucerne.

Although we always have a rental car at this point, I have travelled from Zurich to Lucerne by train some years ago and I am certain there was no changing trains at all. Just stop by the ticket office in the lower level of Zurich airport and ask for a direct train, no changes. You don't have to use ticket machines to make your purchase. Agents in yhe ticket office are very helpful. Using the trains in Switzerland is a convenient way to get around.
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Old Oct 1st, 2014, 06:57 PM
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When you arrive in the Zurich train station and if you have to change trains there be aware that there is a HUGE electronic Departures board showing the track location of departures which
will occur within the next several hours. It is continuously updated so there is little worry about going to the wrong track.
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Old Oct 1st, 2014, 07:44 PM
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If you bothered to look at the train schedule provided, you would have seen that you can get a direct train from ZÜRICH Flughafen to Luzern.

And it is LUZERN, not Lucerne.

Where are you all from? The Cotswolds?

So Thin
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Old Oct 2nd, 2014, 09:11 AM
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In English it is Lucerne. Same as Munich is Munich not Munchen.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2014, 09:49 AM
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Thin, people posting here speak English and in English it IS Lucerne. Get over yourself (and while you're at it, get over considering being from The Cotswolds an insult). Do you always write "Roma" rather than Rome, Firenze rather than Florence, or "Munchen" instead of Munich?

But Thin is right. There is a nonstop train basically every hour from Zurich airport to Lucerne (Luzern) which couldn't be easier! It takes only an hour and 2 minutes generally.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2014, 09:57 AM
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Hmm. why didn't I see PalenQ's post when I posted that?

Sorry to get on a high horse, but people who like to show off their affectations of speaking a single word or place in a foreign language kind of get to me. Like people who say "we just got back from a fabulous week in Paree", since saying "Paris" is just too "beneath" them. Of course when people wear their affections with pride, I guess it's just fine.

For the record, I have gotten in the habit of writing the word as Luzern usually, but I can't imagine insulting English people for writing the town's name in English rather than German. A correction might have been OK, but the insult following it (Where are you all from?) was uncalled for.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2014, 10:11 AM
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ROFL!

I forgot that people from Florida don't do tongue-in-cheek sarcasm.

Fodorville has become a No Fun Zone!


So Thin
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Old Oct 2nd, 2014, 10:14 AM
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"Of course when people wear their affections with pride, I guess it's just fine. "

Hmmm, I guess people from Philadelphia don't get tongue-in-cheek sarcasm either?

Touche!
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Old Oct 2nd, 2014, 12:31 PM
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Didn't you mean to write affectations?

I do wear Dior, never affection.

Love you, hate your shoes,
The Great and Powerful Thingorjus
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Old Oct 2nd, 2014, 12:32 PM
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Yes at :47 minutes after every hour (I think just check www.bahn.de/en but now not sure) - but every hour at the exact same time - beats the hassle of changing trains in a humongous Zurich Hauptbahnhof (main) train station.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2014, 12:40 PM
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But Thin, I recognize that you have great affection for your affectations!

Guess the tongue-in-cheek sarcasm went over your head again, darling?
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Old Oct 2nd, 2014, 12:49 PM
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Neo, you of all people should not venture into the land of affectations
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