gs268

Hello, we have a trip planned toLucerne. We have 3 full days and 2 half days. I have prepared a simple itinerary for the 2 of us but afraid that I may be picking the wrong items and would love some feedback or fine tuning if so. We are a couple in our 30s and my wife is pregnant.

Day-1 Afternoon onwards after we land: walk around Lucerne city Winmarkt and Kornmarkt Square, Lion Monument.

Day-2: Mount Pilatus.

Day-3: Lake Lucerne and nearby villages.

Day-4: Rhine Falls (not sure if it can be triumped by other places).

Day-5: local sight-seeing/ shopping and take train back to Paris at 5pm.

We omitted Mount Titlis and Jungfraujoch due to the heights (since my wife is pregnant) but will miss Mount Rigi, Lauterbrunnen and, Golden City scenic train. Is there any reason to pick one for another on our trip or squeeze any more without making it anymore hectic.

Thanks, any feedback will be sincerely appreicated. finally, is it better for us to get a swiss pass to make it to these places or are there buses we can rely on.

PalenQ

Mt Rigi is a popular destination for boat excursions - get off at Vitznau and take the tiny mountain train up there to this fabled view point - not a rugged mountain peak - not that high up but awesome views over the spiny ridge of central Switzerland to the west and over the lake below. Mark Twain famously wrote about his ascent of Mt Rigi in one of his books and complained about the incessant blowing of Alphorns at the summit, a tradition that continues today IME - take the aerial cable way back down to Weggis for vfariety and rejoin boats there or from the summit take another mountain railways down to Arth-Goldau with frequent mainline trains back to Lucerne.

The Rutli Meadow where the Swiss Confederation sprang to life centuries ago is also just a short climb from a boat dock.

The classic lake boat ride goes to Fluelen at the end of one fjord-like tip of Lake Lucerne - trains go back from there to Lucerne frequently - the William Tell is a specialty board akin to the Gllacier Express with trains - running commentary and a full meal as the boat steams to Fluelen where folks can continue to Lugano by the William Tell or take regular trains back to Lucerne.

Einselden is a famous monastery and pilgrimage spot not far from Lucerne - Zurich itself is a nice town for a half day or so. But I loved the Rhine Falls and do not overlook Schlaffhausen, a cute regional town surrounded by Germany and on the north side of the Rhine - take trains from it to a station right at the falls.

For lots of good info on Swiss trains and Lucerne lake boats check out www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html.

If at all into Swiss trains, lake boats, gondolas, etc visit the Swiss Transit Museum just a few miles down the lake shore from central Lucerne!

gs268

So are you saying Mount Rigi is a worthwhile trip and could be replaced by Pilatus. Based on what I am reading, Pilatus seems to be the closest rival to Titlis and Jungfraujoch. Thanks for the other inputs...Also any inputs on the train travel from Lucerne to Interlaken?

mgnapoli

My fondest memory of Lucerne is Mt. Rigi - try to make the journey.

Pepper_von_snoot

The Jungfrau is too far away for you to visit anyway.

Luzern is a pretty town but there isn't that much to see and do in town.

You could take the train into Rapperswil or Zürich for 1/2 day excursion.

What hotel are you staying at?


Thin

kja

Some of my absolute favorite memories of Lucerne were from a ride on the Vierwaldstaettersee. I haven't seen the Rhein Falls, and even though I generally love waterfalls, I didn't regret missing them.

simpsonc510

To the OP, I hope you do make time to get out on the lake!! One of these times when I'm visiting Lucerne (I've been numerous times) I'm going to get on an excursion boat and take a nice long ride, stopping at one or two of the nice towns along the lake. I was in Brunnen in May 2012, on an afternoon drive from near Einsedeln (which is also nice). In Brunnen, we sat along the lakeside having cake and coffee and watching the big boats coming and going, people stopping for an hour or so, for a look around, and then getting back on the next boat (back to Lucerne). I vowed to do that nice boatride soon. I also vowed that the next time we are driving down the hiway to Italy, I want to stop in Brunnen for a night, and stay in one of the lakeside hotels. So relaxing and charming!!

I second the Transportation Museum. Really an amazing array of trains and planes there.

Enjoy the lakeside walking path. Lots of benches where you can stop and sit, do some people watching, observe folks who come along and feed the swans, etc.

No opinion on Pilatus vs Rigi ans I've not been to the top of either. Almost all of my visits to Lucerne are during the very early spring or the very late fall... think too cold to go up to the mountain tops! The May trip referenced above was a RARITY and I really enjoyed visiting Brunnen, Rapperswil, Einsiedeln and Zug. Switzerland is to be enjoyed OUTDOORS if the weather is nice.

suraj_satya

Just back from a Swiss trip so can put up my experiences.
- Lucerene downtown is really small. 3 hours should be more than sufficient for Lucern city - including an evening walk along the lake accompanied with the dinner.

- Since your wife is pregnent, it is better to travel to Pilatus by cogwheel train which starts from Alpnachstad (cable cars and gandolas could be crowded and shaky attimes) Take a Round trip from Lucern to Alpnachstad i.e A cruise on lake Lucerne from Lucern city to Alpnachstad. Then a cog wheel train to Pilatus Kulm. Back to Alpnachstad by cog wheel train. Train back from Alpnachstad to Lucern city. By this you can manage to do both Lake Lucern Cruise and Pilatus together comfortably. The cogwheel train ride was pretty smooth.
- Next day -Take a Golden Panorama Train from Lucern to Brienz. The huge windows of the train gives very wide view of the surroundings. Train rides are always safer. The route is amazing. If you plan to drive, then the roads route is scenic aswell. From Brienz take a Cruise to Interlaken on Lake Brienz. The cruise stops on few inbetween stop. You can hop in and hop off in these beautifull destination around the brienz lake.
From Interlaken take a train back to Lucern. Before you star the days journey, check for the train and the cruise timetables since I found that the cruise from Briez to Interlaken is approximately every 1:30 mins.
- Rhine falls is a bit away from these destinations and close to the German border. Though i personally find it worth the visit, I would not advice you to take your wife on those shaky boat rides on the river rhine. so just see the view from the distance. To club your journey, all you could do is visit zurich on the way.

gs268

Thank you everyone for your feedback. A lot of information and, of course not going to be able to visit every place although very tempting. I will be staying at hotel DesBalances.

Suraj, I am specially going to heed a lot of your advise and plan as you say. Have a couple of questions about the booking to visit Mount Pilatus and the Golden Panorama train.
1. Did you get your bookings done in advance. If so where and what is the cheapest? Also, with the weather being unpredictable I am reading that you have to keep your plans fluid so does that mean I cant do any bookings earlier?
2. Will I be able to return to my hotel after the train and cruise ride or will it be totally exhausting and I could cut my trip short and return whenever we are done?
3. I am also reading about visiting small villages like Gruyeres, Wengen or Andermatt. Did you pursue any of those and is it worth triumphing my visit to Rhine to go to one of these?

Thanks.

swandav2000

Hi gs268,

Both Gruyeres and Wengen are too far to visit from Luzern. Gruyeres is 3h away, each direction, so that would entail spending 6 hours on a train in one day. Similarly, Wengen is 3h30 away, each direction.

The point of being in Switzerland is to spend time outside, to enjoy the scenery and the landscapes. Your initial plan looks good; don't scrap it and spend your holiday inside a closed-up, moving box!

s

gs268

Thanks swandav2000, Well, another option to ponder upon is renting a car for a day and drive upto Interlaken by stopping at various scenic places instead of taking the train and cruise. Might be more relaxing for my wife as well. Would that be better? Of course, I am looking at a pricier option but if renting a car for a day costs less than 100CHF, I wouldn't mind considering that if there is value added. Any suggestions?

Suraj, still looking forward to your reply, if I could.

-g

PalenQ

So are you saying Mount Rigi is a worthwhile trip and could be replaced by Pilatus. Based on what I am reading, Pilatus seems to be the closest rival to Titlis and Jungfraujoch>

No just mentioning possibilities to incorporate with a boat trip - Rigi is not Pilatus just as Pilatus is no Titlis - problem with Pilatus is often IME it is in clouds or fog so leave a flexible schedule. For my money I'd go to Engelberg on a train and do Titlis to have a real Alpine experience - Pilatus is basically a single mountain. Rigi is a great viewpoint but just a small mountain - no glaciers, ice, etc most of the year.

Only Titlis gives you the true Alpine wonderland perhaps etched in your mind's eye.

suraj_satya

Hi gs268,

You just save a couple of CHF / Euros while making the combine ticket booking. The main advantage is that you dont have to worry about going to different ticket counters until the complete journey is finished. You can always get these combination tickets from the places you start or probably should be at Lucerne railway stations as well. I took a silver round ticket to Pilatus from Kreins. Swiss-pass can be purchased at all railway station but cost approx € 200/person (valid for 3 to 4 days). So calculate the breakeven depending on the number of places you plan to visit. No need to purchase tickets in advance. The waiting time in the ques for me was not more than 5 mins.
There is also another option to buy a Swiss Half ticket which cost about € 100 / person (Valid for 1 month). Here you have all the fares in half the cost, including rail, bus, mountain rail, boats.
Swiss has got a very good rail and bus network. Few times, I park my car at the railway station and travel by train.
Having a stay accommodation closer to the a railway station is must in this case.
I did not find it tiring to do a train and a cruise ride as all that i did was relaxing in the train & cruise and then a few sightseeing.
True, the weather is lil unpredictable. The day I traveled by train to Brienz and cruise on Brienz lake, there were slight intermittent showers. It didn’t matter as I loved to see the beauty of low lying clouds over the mountains and the cruise was covered as well. Clear sky and shining sun is a best case always. Keep a watch at the weather forecast and avoid going to mountain tops the day it rains.
Your option of going to small villages instead of visit to Rhinefalls is good. However I had not visited to any of the places you mentioned. My hotel was situated at a distance country side in a place called Kandersteg & I must say that it is worth spending sometime in the Swiss country side.

mokka4

Enjoyed both Rigi AND Pilatus last October (each for different reasons), while staying for 8 nights in the lakeside town of Brunnen (click on my name in blue for report of trip with photos-for comparison ;-))

nytraveler

In Lucerne itself - be sure to see:

the ancient town walls - you can walk a good part of them

the bridge linking the two halves of the town - especially pretty after dark

mokka4

FYI relative mountain heights (in the area):
Rigi - 1797 meters
Stanserhorn - 1898 m
Pilatus - 2132 m
Schiltorn - 2970 m
Titlis - 3238 m
Jungfrau - 4158 m

swandav2000

Hi gs268,

No, not at all, unfortunately!

I never think a car is a good idea in Switzerland -- why poison the air with a car when the public transport system will give you the transport you need/want? I think the trains are just more fun, too -- you get to watch how locals act and interact, from fashionistas to families with teens and grandpas to elderly couples out for a challenging hike. Taking the train means that everyone can relax and enjoy the scenery, and no one has to worry about traffic jams, one-way streets, getting lost, or having an accident.

In addition to the costs of renting the car, you have to add in the costs to park it in Interlaken while you ascend to Wengen (or the Jungfraujoch), and the costs of gas for the trip.

s

gs268

PalenQ, your point is well taken about the difference. thanks for clarifying.

Mokka4, thanks for the information on heights. One reason, I dropped Titlis and Jungfrau was due to the heights. Else, we would have definitely made it. Our gynec has advised us not to go to a very high altitude. Oh well, there is always next time. The pictures look marvelous. We may consider visiting Seelisberg, not too far from Lucerne. That might be the village we may consider visiting.

nytraveler, yes thanks. We have those on our local sight seeing list.

swandav2000, Thanks for the information on renting a car. I guess, being in US, we do tend to get carried away with renting a car, while that option may not be a good one elsewhere. We will rely on public transportation.

Suraj, Thanks for your feedback again, great information. I was concerned about buying tickets in advance since, I am seeing online that there are only a few seats left on the Golden Pass Line, 8 or so. But, I suppose, I am better off buying combo tickets when I reach Lucern rather than buying them now in advance without realizing how the weather might turn out to be.

The Swiss-pass is so confusing, I may have to read more I guess. Hard to determine, where it is beneficial and where is not. 200CHF each person doesn't seem to add a lot of value. Am I not better off just buying the tickets I need to go to the destination rather than buy Swiss pass and the other tickets as well?

So looks like my plan is not going to change much:

Day-1 Afternoon onwards after we land: Local Lucerne sight seeing.

Day-2: Mount Pilatus.

Day-3: Golden Pass Line to Interlaken and back.

Day-4: Rhine Falls and Lake Lucerne.

Day-5: Seelisberg/ shopping and take train back to Paris at 5pm.

Of course, all this depending on how fatigued my wife feels. We will be careful. Thank you everyone again. Sincerely appreciate your time and help.

PalenQ

Seems like with those limited trips no pass, Swiss Card or Half-Fare card will be of use to you - especially if you do not exactly know what you really will do. Investigate some regional pass for the Lucerne area if one exists.

mokka4

gs268:

Of all the quaint litle towns on Lake Lucerne, I would not necessarily choose Seelisberg. Though the funicular from Treib is pleasant,and the views over the lake to the Mythic mountains nice, there is not much to the town at all, and it is a bit of a long walk uphill.

I would highly recommend Brienz, Brunnen (you can take the little Urmiberg lift up to Cafe Timpfel), tiny Vitznau (maybe in combo with Rigi) or even Altdorf (bus or long walk into town from train station).
IMO Seelisberg just doesn't fit the quintessential swiss town image......