Hotels.com is offering rooms at the Schweizerhof Hotel in Bern for $42 USD and up. This appears to be a 4 star hotel... could these rates possibly be true? I visited the hotel web site which is in german only. The best I could make out there appears to be some renovations taking place at the hotel. I was debating over a 2 night stay in Bern upon my arrival to Switzerland starting May 20th. The hotel rates I researched in Lucerne were very high and there were no vacancies at Des Alpe (my first choice) so I am exploring alternatives to Lucerne. We are arriving via Zurich and wanted a stopover before moving on to Wengen. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

If you only need a one night stopover, make it Luzern. It's way to beautiful to miss, IMO. Several budget hotels to consider: Baslertor, Roessli or Goldener Stern are decent, reasonably priced places near the Altstadt.

If you only need a one night stopover, make it Luzern. It's way too beautiful to miss, IMO. Several budget hotels to consider: Baslertor, Roessli or Goldener Stern are decent, reasonably priced places near the Altstadt.

I have decided on staying in Lucerne for a couple of nights on arrival to Switzerland. I agree its just too beautiful to miss and what a nice introduction to the country. Thanks for the hotel suggestions. This trip has been so much fun to plan. Any suggestions on activities?

Hi again,
We love the Lowendenkmal (Lion Monument), have enjoyed the trip up to Pilatus on a sunny day (cable car up, cogwheel funicular down; boat or train back to Luzern), Walks around the medeival fortifications, lake boat ride, visits through Jesuitenkirche, Hofkirche, St. Peters (if I remember right--next door to Des Alpes on the back side) and Franziskanerkirche and Bourbaki Panorama museum. Lunch/dinner on the river (Des Alpes outdoor restaurant has good fondue and gemischter salads; Cafe Hug has great Raclette-get a window seat overlooking the river). For a finer meal with River/Pilatus view, Hotel Des Balances terrace restaurant is very nice.

Enjoy--I wish I were there!

Also in Luzern: The Glacier Garden very near the Lion Monument. Very interesting. And the Transportation Museum. Trains! Boats! Motorcycles! Ski lifts! for the kid in all of us.

Thanks Jean and JN for the suggestions.