Hi, I will have a total of 3 days in the middle of November in Switzerland. Was wondering if I should stay in Lucerne for all 3 days and do side trips or stay in Murren for 1 day and then Lucerne for 2.

If we stay in Lucerne can we do a day trip to the "top of europe" or is that too far? Would a trip to Mount Pilatus be better?

We have such little time I am thinking it may be better to stay in one place but then we loose the change to stay in a wonderful mountain town... Thanks

With 3 days I would stay in only one place. If you pick Luzern, the Pilatus and Rigi would make good day trips, and the city itself is worth a day. Going to the Jungfraujoch from Luzern as a day trip is just barely feasible but it would consume the entire day.

I would let weather tell me what to do. If it's clear and sunny then I would spend all 3 days in Murren or Wengen. Otherwise, I'd spend it in Luzern.

Definitely stay in Lucerne and sight see! SO much to do there. We did both (Murren too) but had 7 days...

Steve R

Stay in Lucerne and let the weather dictate your day trips. If it's nice, there's a nice short intertube run on the top of Titlis. In the evening, go to the Stadtkeller for nice folklore dinner and entertainment. Pilatus and Rigi are also nice, as already suggested.

P.S. Does anyone know how to get rid of this Marriott ad that keeps blocking the messages?

Thanks all. We are absolutely staying in Lucerne! I just wish we could see the small mountain town atmosphere and possibly stay up high for 1 night. Any ideas or recommendations for something close to Lucurne?

Engelberg is a short train journey from Lucerne (60-90 minutes if memory serves). It's a ski resort and will give you a taste of alpine Switzerland. If you have time (and if they're operating), you might consider taking the rotating gondola to the top of the Titlis or the Brunni cable car -great views from both.

Have fun!

Just checked my notes - Engelberg is about an hour from Lucerne. This site might help:

http://www.engelberg.ch/

Rigi or Stanserhorn offer great views too! Rigi is easy to get to
by train: via Arth-Goldau
or by ferry: via Vitznau

In Sept 2003 we stayed in Wengen for three nights and then Luzern for three nights. I can't imagine having to choose one or the other. We were blessed with gorgeous weather in both places, but if the weather isn't good in Wengen/Murren you will miss the heart of the reason for visiting there. Therefore I would support your decision to stay in Luzern. We LOVED Luzern!! We took a walking tour from the Tourist Office and were very pleased with it as an introduction to the city. We stayed in the Hotel Roesli. This is a low budget(for Switzerland), clean, roomy, basic hotel in an excellent convenient location. Check-in and breakfast were across the road at a very nice hotel (Baslertor). The website is www.roesli.ch. Our splurge dinner was at the Burgestube in the Hotel Wilden Mann which was built in 1517. It was charming and the food and service were outstanding. The website is www.wilden-mann.ch The Swiss Transport Museum is well worth a morning visit--we enjoyed a ride in the tethered balloon.