4 nights in Switzerland - Lucerne?
 

Hello,

We will be arriving in Switzerland for our honeymoon in early October 2013. We will have 4 or maybe 5 nights.

I originally thought we would fly into Geneva and stay in Montreux and Zermatt, before heading to Milan. However, I have just realised flights to Zurich are much better for us (from South Australia) and more direct - 23 hours as opposed to 30.

I am now thinking of spending our time time in Lucerne. We would like to see Switzerland as you see it on movies and in books - lakes, snow capped mountains, chalets etc. We are looking at doing some day trips and relaxing as it will be the start of a busy honeymoon and we would have had a busy few months leading up to it!

I have thought about staying in the Bernese Oberland but the travel to these areas seems very burdensome, and we are hoping to be able to travel to Milan in 4 hours or less from where we are so we arrive around lunch time. Also keep within a few hours of Zurich as the last thing we would want after a long-haul flight is excessive travel.

With all this in mind, does Lucerne fit the bill? I have looked at the Hotel Pilatus-Kulm which I think looks great for one night (has anyone stayed up there?), and then I was thinking the other 3/4 nights either in Lucerne itself or perhaps in Vitznau or Weggis. Looking at 4/5 star or equivalent accommodation at or around 400chf a night.

Anyway if anyone could give me some feedback on this, I would greatly appreciate it. We are in our 20's and enjoy good food and wine, but are not looking for nightlife. We would like somewhere generally convenient but also scenic. We enjoy walking and are happy to walk around 15km/10 miles a day.

Also - as the weather at this time of year (as we are going roughly in 12 months!!) is a bit unpredictable, we would like somewhere that has something to do in case of bad weather.

Thanks so much in advance!!

One hotel I am looking at is Hotel Vitznauerhof Vitalresort - has anyone stayed here or know of it?

Or can anyone tell me about Vitznau? I am trying to work out the boat services on the Lake Lucerne but find the website very confusing - does anyone know how often they come early October and how long it takes to get to Lucerne from Vitznau?

Hi keedm002,

Yes, Luzern is a terrific choice! It has some mountains near it, and I love the lakesystem it sits on.

However, Luzern is a real city, with city blocks and city shopping and city dining. The city is beautiful and atmospheric, but there won't be any chalets.

I've stayed in Weggis before, for four nights, and liked it a lot. I visited Vitznau and thought it would also make a great base. However, staying at one of these places will require more travel, of course, either by bus or by lake ferry. That could make it a further hour or so of travel.

You may also want to consider staying in Engelberg. Though I've never stayed there, everything I've heard about it and seen in photos looks like what you are wanting. It's about an hour further from Luzern, nearby Titlis.

Which website are you using for the boats on Lake Luceren? Here's a link to the seasonal timetables page:

http://www.lakelucerne.ch/en/timetab...imetables.html

You may want to do a search at google's "images" search engine to see what Weggis, Vitznau, and Engelberg look like -- it may help you make the right choice.

Have fun!

s

Thanks Swandev.

Yes, that's the website I was looking at... the confusion comes in when it goes to German only!
http://www.lakelucerne.ch/fileadmin/...nau_FH2012.pdf

This is the timetable for Vitznau - are these to or from Vitznau (I could translate "Departure of Ships so I assume this means only departures from Vitznau)? Is the bold time the departure time and the time in brackets the arrival time?

I think if I stay on Lake Lucerne I will stay in either Weggis or Vitznau - I know there is more travel but I assume this will be pleasant (if on the lake ferry or even on the bus).

I will definitely look into Engelberg, too. Many thanks for this suggestion.

Nevermind with the timetable - I have just found http://www.lakelucerne.ch/fileadmin/...erbst_2012.pdf which is much easier to understand!!

I have looked into Engelberg and it looks like the trains take 5 hours to get from here to Milan which will probably be too long. I know that seems like something silly to worry about but we want to go to a football game in Milan and will not know if it is on a Saturday or Sunday until after all accommodation needs to be booked. It may be as early as 3pm so I want to be getting into Milan before 12 to check in etc :)

Is it too far for a day trip? And if we go up Mt Pilatus and Rigi, is it still worth going to Engelberg?

Alternatively what would you suggest to do beyond visiting the old part of Lucerne (and the sightseeing in Lucerne), going up the Mt Pilatus (and perhaps doing the tobogganing, rope park and tubing in Frakmuntegg) and going up to Rigi? Is it nice just to walk around the area or should we go on a a scenic boat tour, or are there any day trips worth taking?

You can easily take the train to Engleberg, go all the way to the top of Mt. Titlis in the three-stage cableway, come back down and take the train back to Lucerne in a half day. I've done it twice.

Great to hear, thanks Dukey!