Day trips from Lucerne
 

Hi!

We are 4 people that are going to stay at Lucerne around 6 days at the end of May.

Our purpose would be to get to know as much as we can from Switzerland, but not jumping from one place to another. That's why we, at first, have chosen Lucerne being in the centre of the country. We'll arrive from Zurich, where we will spend the first of the 6 days.

What do you recommend me doing? We will by travelling by car, and love green landscapes, small towns, good local food, but would not discard some bigger town or city, specially if has Contemporary Art Museums and old quartiers.

Can you help me with some ideas? Would you recommend any other city or town to stay?

Tks!!!

Lucerne is a great base for many varied sites and sights - but if you want to experience Switzerland's awesome high Alps you might want to go to the Interlaken area for a few days and enscnce yourselves in a cute mountain village like Grindelwald or Wengen and be eyeball to eyeball with soaring glacier-girdled peaks from yourn hotel balcony.

Yeh you can do it as a day trip and if not into an Alpine stay at least do a day trip there - take the scenic Brunign Pass route from Lucerne to Interlaken-Ost station then tiny trains that in 20 minutes have you in the high Alps at Grindelwald. From there can go to Europe's highest train station - Jungfraujoch and a top of the world look at they call it. Or simply take a gondola to say The Mannlichen and do the famous and easy Ridge Walk to Kl Schiedegg and train back to Interlaken from there.

Lucerne's lake boats go to many neat places too - classic cruise to end of fjord-like tip of lake at Fluelen and train back to Lucerne.

Engelberg is a wee bit of high Alps about an hour from Interlaken by train - take famous rotating gondolas up Mt Titisee.

Nearby Bern is one of Switzerland's neatest cities.

Einseldeln is close too and one of Switzerland's famous religious pilgrimage meccas.

So many others - get a Swiss Pass if going on longer trips from Lucerne or if just staying in area the Berner Oberland Pass covering most things that move in Lucerne and Interlaken/Jungfrau areas.

For lots on Swiss trains and places to go -practically the whole country is a possible day trip check www.sbb.ch; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

For a long day trip take the Golden Pass Scenic train Lucerne to Interlaken and onto Spiez and Montreux - spend few hours in this Lake Geneva gem and take mainline trains speedily back to Bern and Lucerne.

What do you think you can achieve by "not jumping from one place to another?" If you end up spending time, a lot of time, traveling every day to to destinations, you can end up spending more in overhead than staying at strategically chosen multiple places. So far, you have decided how to do it without defining what specific things (actual, not general idea) you want to accomplish using the chosen strategy - one place, car and not train. It would be best if you actually step through each scenario.

Do you have to return to Zurich for your flight home at the end?

I love the area of Lac Leman - Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, but they aren't exactly a day trip from Lucerne.

I second the suggestions of Bern (wander off the main thoroughfare and down to the Bear area for the Altes Tramdepot brewery) and Interlaken. Add a day trip ("golden" or "silver" roundtrip) up to Mt. Pilatus for a less expensive and less time-consuming mountain taste. I suggest the small woodcarving village of Brienz. Take the connecting bus from RR station, or drive (IF you must) up to Ballenberg Museum- an outdoor museum that's great.
Too much time to go to Lausanne or Geneva.

Thank you PalenQ for your detailed descrption. Suze, we do have to return to Zurich! I will look into your suggested places. And Mokka4 I will definively go to Bern and Interlaken. You've all been very helpful. Greg I think you judge so fast that it even seems agressive. Your reply is more a complain that an advice. Thank you all the same.

" Our purpose would be to get to know as much as we can from Switzerland"

In this case, Lucerne is really not the best base.
Train rides from Lucerne to most places of Switzeerland (except Lake Lucerne area and Ticino) are longer than from transport hubs.

No not a great base for long excursions but if doing that a few different bases would be better than spending hours on a train each day. Lucerne is a great base for many nearby excursions but no not for all of Switzerland - they may want to say spend a few days in Montreux area - quite different than German area and Lucerne. Golden Pass scenic train a great way to go between the two.

Or if into Jungfrau Region spend a few days in a mountain village like car-less Wengen.

We took a day trip by train from Lucerne to Basel to see a Gaugin exhibit at the Beyeler Foundation. The museum had several exhibits going on at the time, and an interesting permanent collection. The grounds were very beautiful as well. We had time in the afternoon to explore the city a bit. We got around on city buses. I would love to return there.

Basel is a very underrated city by most tourists I think. I was surprised when I had some hours to kill when changing trains and walked thru downtown Basel and its nice riverfront (and awesome pedestrian bridge over the Rhine which makes me want to go back in daytime - the world's longest suspended pedestrian bridge and one that links France, Switzerland and Germany):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Countries_Bridge

https://www.google.com/search?q=thre...h=738&dpr=1.25

Oops not longest suspension bridge but:

It is the world's longest single-span bridge dedicated exclusively to carrying pedestrians and cyclists. Its overall length is 248 metres (813 ft 8 in) and its main span is 229.4 metres (752 ft 7 in).

Weather can be wet often in this area and if so Bern would be a great choice - many sidewalks in city center covered by porticos - and bears in famous Bear Area (no longer cramped Pit) always out and about. Very short train trip from Lucerne.

Basel? Fribourg?

BTW, I trust you realize that Swiss public transportation is excellent, and might actually be easier for all involved than trying to deal with a rental car....

efficacy of cars in Switzerland is where you go - outside Alpine areas fine but still as kja says trains are so so great and in cities like Geneva, Fribourg, etc still a hassle.

Thank you all for your comments !. I will be travelling by car, and finally we decided to stay 3 days in Lucerne and 3 days in Engelberg, enjoying the landscape.

We are thinking in spending 1 day in Lucerne itself, 1 going by boat/cablecar to Mt. Rigi, and down to Weggis. And from Engelberg going to Bern to spend a day there, and one other in/around Engelberg. Do you have any recommendations?

Tks again!

Yes ditch the car - a waste of money forn places you are going take boats to Rigi and trains elsewhere - I know sounds neat to drive around in cars but places you are driving - like Engelberg cars cannot be driven above town. Hard to fathom why but once you get there - you would need two cars or a van that would cost a lot more than all of you going by train or lake boat.

Now if you were driving longer distances but Bern - again can't drive around Bern or Lucerne either - then yes.

Engelberg - Bern by car?

Fastest itinerary:
Engelberg - Stans - Lucerne - Haerkingen (Olten) - Luterbach (Solothurn) - Bern: all but scenic

More scenic, but much longer itinerary:
Engelberg - Stans - Sarnen - Brunig Pass - Ballenberg Open Air Museum - Interlaken - Wimmis - Bern