Interlaken vs. Lucern vs. Zurich
 

My husband and I have 3 full days (arriving the day before and leaving in the morning of Day 4 from Zurich) and are looking for suggestions on where to spend the time between Interlaken, Lucerne and Zurich. We will be traveling with our one year old and are looking for a relaxing time and haven't been to any of those spots before. Should we split our time between Interlaken and Zurich or is Interlaken miss-able and should we split between lucerne and zurich? Thank you for your thoughts!

Lucerne and Interlaken would be my choices. As much as I enjoy Zurich and strolling along the Bahnhofstrasse, I think the other two locations give you the scenic Switzerland that you are seeking. Unless you have a very early flight from Zurich, it is easy to get to the airport from Lucerne in about one hour. It is not necessary to spend your last night in Zurich.

I should add that it is easy to get to Interlaken for a day trip from Lucerne if you want a single base location. This may be wise since you are traveling with a young child which means more gear to move from place to place.

I would suggest Lucerne it's larger than Interlaken and has more attractions for a one year old and it's parents.

Agree with Lucerne. Interlaken is primarily used as a jumping off point for mountain trips. Main town itself is heavily commercialized and offers a lit of sport-themed businesses (paragliding, rock-climbing, etc). I find it to be a college-agers delight (witness Hooters in town).
Luzern is picturesque, and though it can be overrun at times by tourists, it offers a great variety of sights (old city walls to climb, multiple boat cruises to small villages along the shores, Pilatus mountain trip), frequent handicraft markets, etc.
If baby (or parent) gets kranky mid-day, just pop back into your hotel room for a short nap, then venture out again.

Hi Everyone, Thanks for your feedback. After your comments and reading up more online, we have decided to stay in Murren and visit Murren and Gimmelwald before heading to Zurich. The scenery looked beautiful in that area and we're looking forward to enjoying that!

O do wonder if you realize that virtually any trip is going to mean taking a cable car to start your journey. Don#t get me wrong Murren is very nice but limiting in this way, I would stay n Lauterbrunnen in the valley if you must go to the Oberland. Or consider Briez on the lake of the same name.

I second Lauterbrunnen as easier than Murren, and gorgeous. Easy to get to Murren from there if you want to see it. Lauterbrunnen is more central to do other things in the Alps.

The Lauterbrunnen valley is just lovely. We have friends who love to stay in Murren. We have only stayed in Lauterbrunnen itself and both locations have their fans. Enjoy!

> easier than Murren,

If easy is important, then Lauterbrunnen but I would prefer staying in Mürren due to its dramatic location, being away from the world below. Have passed by Lauterbrunnen many times but never chosen to stay there at the bottom of the valley.

When I suggested Lauterbrunnen I was thinking of getting stroller or buggy on and off the cable car each time you up or down to Murren, in Lauterbrunnen you would not need to this.

Do you want to see the Alps of your dreams - if so go to Interlaken and stay up in dem hills - in say a Wengen, a perpetual favortie amongst Fodorites or Grindelwald where you are eyeball to eyeball with glacier-girdled soaring peaks hovering above lush meadows - toylike trains and thrilling aerial gondolas go off in all directions.

Or do you want to stay in fairly modern cities like Lucerne - one of the nicer ones but I would if interested in the Alpine Switzerland many of us have been dreaming about all our lives then head for the hills via Interlaken.

Trains are best to get around - especially in the Jungfrau Region as cars are banned from most of it - great sources for info on trains - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Between Lucerne and Interlaken you can take one of Switzerland's iconic scenic trains - the Golden Pass that goes up and over the Brunig Pass then along the shores of idyllic Lake Brienz to Interlaken-Ost station, jumping off point for dem hills.

Wengen is so quiet it is a favorite with families - no difficulty getting strollers on the trains to there from Interlaken.

I would choose Luzern. You do not have enough time to explore Berner Oberland with a home base in Interlaken. Also you have a 1 year old child and it won't be a good idea to take him up to the mountains from Interlaken. Luzern is a beautiful city and you will enjoy you stay there very much.