brook33003

We are in our mid-40s and are spending five nights in Lucerne, leaving this Friday (beginning of August). We have never been to Switzerland before, and we are not hikers. So we could use some help figuring out what to pack.

We will only do one or two very easy, leisurely hikes while there. We are thinking of taking a day trip to Mt. Pilatus. Other days we plan to go to the St Gallen monastery, possibly Bern. (We'll take suggestions for excursions!)

I assume we will need hiking boots and a lightweight raincoat. For Mt. Pilatus will jeans be OK? Is there snow up there, even in summer? Will we want a fleece? When we are in Lucerne or elsewhere, I assume shorts, summer dresses, etc, yes?

Thanks for any suggestions you have!

PalenQ

Hiking boots needed IME of doing tons of hikes in the more rugged Jungfraujoch area are not needed -especially for leisurely hikes.

I've always worn my athletic shoes- you will need to be prepared for coolish wet weather as a possbility - could also be balmy and dry.

Think snow at Pilatus would be rare in summer - not that high - see these pix and I presume ones of the summit sans snow is in summer:

https://www.google.com/search?q=mt+p...w=1920&bih=950

Mt Titlis near Engelberg and only a little over an hour from Lucerne is higher-nearly 11,000 ft vs less than 7,000 ft for Pilatus I think has snow always- or ice.

Layering is the best for Switzerland's Alpine regions - as temps can really vary from hour to next even - sun pops out boom temps go up - clouds and rain go down.

Titlis is a much better Alpine experience IME -take a train from Lucerne to Engelberg then the famous rotating gondola to near the summit.

Shorts these days are always fine if weather is warm enough.

I would not carry a heavy fleece thing for the short time you may want it at high elevations - just put another layer on.

greg

>>> We will only do one or two very easy, leisurely hikes while there. We are thinking of taking a day trip to Mt. Pilatus.
>>> I assume we will need hiking boots and a lightweight raincoat.

It depends on how you are defining easy hikes. If you are actually hiking up Mt. Pilatus from the base, then yes you do need hiking boots. However, if you are taking Pilatusbahn or aerial gondola, then once you get to the top, you are only left with maintained paths. You can get around in sturdy enough shoes lighter than hiking boots. There are serious stairs, like this https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/me...ragon-path.jpg. See what people are wearing to go up Esel?
https://cdn.freudenthal.biz/fileadmi...d14cc27b67.jpg

A rain gear is always a necessity if you cannot take shelter quickly. However, if your light jacket comes with DWR, you can deal with short bursts of rain without a bulk of a full raincoat. When I visited Bergen last year, I took a real Goretex jacket. It rained all day there and those with only DWR protections were walking around soaking wet.

kja

I rely on layers that can be added or removed as necessary.

Hiking boots are a maybe; athletic walking shoes, preferably waterproof, could work instead.

Raincoat, maybe. I would think a rain jacket more useful.

Jeans, once wet, take forever to dry. I don’t travel with them and never have.

Likewise, I don’t travel with shorts and never have – I want something that gives me a bit more latitude to “dress up” with a moment’s notice. YMMV.

Have fun!

cilburke

I was there mid-September last year for 5 days and it was very warm, about 80 degrees every day. Everyone was wearing shorts, flip flops, sundresses. I wouldn't bring anything heavier than jeans and a light fleece.

PalenQ

Hiking boots are so heavy - I suppose if you were only going to Lucerne and not around Suisse or Europe then maybe. Waterproof yes because storms brew up unexpectedly sometimes or paths could be muddy from previous days' rains.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/ch/lu...weather/314051

Preview Sep 2017 - not a day over 70F but most almost that - reasonable number rainy days -but of course such forecasts are often not that accurate - still shows what average Sep would be like - quite a nice month, the earler the better.

Look for local forecasts when there to plan you Alpine adventures and hikes - go for first dry days- they could be the last.

Mt Pilatus has been in clouds or fog many days out of many days I have stayed in Lucerne.