Lucerne or Zermatt area
 

Hi All
We are planning a 7-8 night stay in Swiss Alps in the first week of June 2020. We have decided to stay in Wengen or Lauterbrunnen and though i had thought of staying in Lucerne but now i have heard a lot about Zermatt area as well.

We want to spend our time in Switzerland to enjoy the best beauty of Alps and be in the best scenic/nature beautiful area and now trying to find whether Lucerne or Zermatt would be better for us

Thanks

I loved Lucerne. I haven't been to Zermatt. IMO, you have more options in bad weather (and good!) in Lucerne.

@Kja - thanks

Would welcome more suggestions

Note : This is our first trip to Switzerland

We were in Switzerland 2 years ago, spent 4 nights in Lucerne and absolutely loved it. Beautiful city and loved being on the lake We took day trips to Bern and one day going to Mt. Pilatus, which was gorgeous. Also spent time walking around Lucerne, walking the old wall of the city and up the towers. Have not been to Zermatt so can't comment or compare, but Lucerne is lovely.

Hi asimm,

I've been to Zermatt two times -- once for a ski week and once as a day trip from Brig. Lots of folks love it there (obviously!), but I'm not one of them. The village itself lacks charm, imo, because it feels crowded. It sits at the end of a valley, and there is no more room to build, but they keep on erecting chalets, giving it an overall higgly-piggly look. And there are also tourist crowds to go along with the crowded buildings.

I will add that the countryside there is amazing, so if you'll be hiking, you'll have a splendid time and see some awesome country. But for just sight-seeing...it left me cold.

How about, instead of seeing only Luzern, you take a boat ride and stop in one of the lake side villages like Weggis or Vitznau? Really stunning.

Have fun as you plan!

s

This is not an either-or question. But since you framed the question this way, it would be Luzern for practical reasons.
Zermatt is a one attraction destination. If it is cloudy or rains, there is not thing else to do there and it is difficult to go anywhere else.
Luzern is a city with access to several mountains - e.g. Rigi, Pilatus, Stanserhorn, Titlis, etc.; a lake; and a city with many attractions. Furthermore, if you find out early in the morning that Zermatt would have a fair weather by looking at the forecast and web cams, then it is possible to visit Zermatt from Luzern as a day trip which is especially trivial if you are using a Swiss pass. I did not assign any particular day to visit mountains while in Luzern. I had a choice of deciding whether to visit mountains or stay in Luzern or go to Bern or the lake depending on the weather of the day.
From Wengen, it is about same trip time to visit Zermatt as from Luzern. A trip to Zermatt from Lauterbrunnen would be shorter.

Knowing your travel plans from your other topics I think going to Zermattt for a couple of day would make ssense to your. After arriving to Switzerland by the Bernina Express you could take the Glacier Express(or local trains on the same route) to Zermatt.

After that move to Lauterbrunnen and finally a few days in Luzern.

Thank you for all your suggestion and it seems most voted for Lucerne, due to its beauty and diversity

@BDKR - we are planning a 7 or 8 night trip in Switzerland and i think that i should opt for only 2 i.e
L/Brunnen + Lucerne
Or
L/Brunnel + Zermatt

That's right, a week is not too long. You could also skip Lauterbrunnen and do Zermatt and Luzern.

Or in case you skip the Bernina and the Glacier Express trains, you could do it like this:

day 1 Train to Zermatt from Milan(or Venice/Florence)
days 2-3 Zermatt
day 4 Train from Zermatt to Lauterbrunne
days 5-6 Lauterbrunnen
days 7 Train from Lauterbrunnen to Luzern
day 8 Luzern region(lake steamer and Mt. Rigi or Pilatus)

Thank you for the various suggestions

I dont think i would like to run around a lot. 2 destinations would be good for 7 nights, as checking in and out takes a lot of precious time.

Due to our inclination towards the Jungfrau region, Lauterbrunnen is a must and i guess more Luzern seems more scenic (different from Jungfrau) and with more options

If Lauterbrunnen is a must, the second place should be Lucerne.

@neckverd - dont you think Lauterbrunnen is a must with all the hype that the Jungrau region has in the Swiss alps, especially for a first time visitor

Do you have any other suggestions, we are open to all suggestions

thanks

Hi again,

A Swiss person once told me, "the Jungfrau region doesn't have the best mountains, just the best PR."

I will say that the Jungfrau region has developed an incredible infrastructure for the non-German-speaking tourist, to include helpful and friendly clerks and TI officers and shopkeepers and hoteliers and pamphlets. But be sure...there are many, many amazing and awesome mountains in Switzerland, and you would not be disappointed in any of them. But you may need to be more independent and adventurous and thorough in your research.

And I have never agreed with the idea of a "must" when travelling -- we are all too different.

s

I fully second swandav: all depends on what you are looking for
highest mountains and glaciers: Zermatt
places popular with non European tourists: Wengen, Muerren, Grindelwald, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Engelberg, Zermatt
places popular with Swiss families: Aletsch area (Riederalp - Bettmeralp), Saas Fee, Graechen, Val d'Anniviers, Hasliberg, Engiadina Ota
driest areas of the Swiss Alps (much sunshine, few rain): Crans-Montana, Leukerberge, Graechen
places with some mountain railways and lifts running all the year round: Interlaken-Lauterbrunnen-Wengen-Muerren-Grindelwald, Zermatt, Engelberg
etc. etc.

As someone above said, Zermatt is a ONE :"activity" town (other than skiing and perhaps hiking) and that is viewing the Matterhorn and the Monte Rosa Massif.

IF the weather is good you can view the peak. The village itself can be transversed from one end to the other by foot in less than an hour. Lots of shopping including high-priced watches and plenty of souvenirs. The trip up by train from Visp is scenic.

For more scenic views and more than one peak you are better off in the Berner Oberland. Luzern offers much MUCH more to see and do (including those same expensive watches) including trips to Mts Titlis and Pilatus; lake steamer rides, more interesting architecture in the city itself and it is a city, not a village and a lot more dining options than Zermatt will ever have.

" If the weather is good you can view THE peak."
???????????
Zermatt is IN THE MIDDLE of 38 more than 4000 metres (13000 ft) high peaks. The most famous of them is the Matterhorn (14700 ft). The highest one is the Punta Dufour (15000 ft).
From Zermatt, you can go by train to Gornergrat (10200 ft), by gondola to Kleinmatterhorn (12700 ft), Unterrothorn (10200 ft).
In the wider area ( 1 1/2 hrs by train and bus) you find the rope railway to Mittelallalin (11350 ft), and the gondolas to Hohsaas (10500 ft m), Laengfluh (9420 ft), Plattjen (8430 ft)

Wengen/Grindelwald/Muerren etc. are ON THE NORTHERN EDGE of the 6 more than 4000 metres (13000 ft) high peaks of the Bernese Oberland. The most famous of them is the Jungfrau (13650 ft m). The highest one is the Finsteraarhorn (14000 ft)
from Wengen/Grindelwald/Muerren you can go by train to Jungfraujoch (11320 ft), and by gondola to Schilthorn (9740 ft), First (7080 ft). In the wider area (1 1/2 hrs by train), you find the gondola to Planplatten (7310 ft).

I've been told that to the average visitor the others are all the "Doesn't Matterhorn".

asimm, your plan is perfectly fine IMO. Switzerland may be small, but it has some incredibly diverse regions, and those of us who have been fortunate enough to spend time there each have our favorites. The combination of Lucerne and the Jungfrau region will give you a nice sampling of glorious scenery in areas that have the infractructure to support tourism. I would encourage you to stop worrying.

Oh, yes, we went to Zermatt to see "all those OTHER peaks! and we adored seeing the Dufourspitz" Get real, Neckervd and remember all those clouds which can routinely OBSCURE all those "other" peaks:devil:

Weather is always unpredictable in the Alps and it may always happen that peaks are in the clouds.
Jungfrau and Co are more often in the clouds than the Zermatt area, but that's of no help for the OP because nobody knows how the weather will be when HE is in Switzerland.
BTW: actually only Gran Paradiso is not in the clouds