Luzern, Interlachen-Zurich???
 

We have three nights to spend in Zurich. We thought we might take a day trip to some of these other areas like Luzern or Interlachen any recommendations? Thanks!!

We visited Intelaken and Luzern last summer from our base in Lauterbrunnen. <BR>Luzern is interesting, but it is a surprisingly long train ride between Interlaken and Luzern given the distance. There are trains every half hour between Zurich and Luzern with a travel time of about 50 minutes. <BR>The train station is "down town" close to the lake and department stores. The transportation museum is a short bus ride away, with the bus stop close to the train station. Just have change for the automatic ticket dispenser. <BR> <BR>The tourist office is located close to the train station, just across the street if I recall correctly. We found it with no trouble. The staff there was really quite helpful. <BR> <BR>Interlaken is about 2 hours and 20 minutes away from Zurich, via Bern. Trains run every hour. Some require a change. But that is usually no problem in Switzerland. <BR> <BR>So Luzern is quite reachable. An interesting side trip is the funicular up Mt. Pilatus. I did not take that trip, but others posting to this forum have and recommend it highly. A ride on the lake is also fun. It is a large lake and a trip to the other end and back takes several hours. <BR> <BR>I am not sure Interlaken itself is worth the trip for just a few hours. It will be interesting to read other posters' suggestions.

Good evening, bp <BR>Interlaken by direct train from Zurich is about 3 hours, by train from Zurich <BR>to Luaern and transfer to the Brunig <BR>Line the time would be about 3 1/2 hours <BR>approx. You would have about a half <BR>hours run into Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. This does not leave much <BR>time for sightseeing and returning to <BR>Zurich. Check out ( www.sbb.ch)for <BR>rr time and schedules.... <BR>Here is a list of day trips, some half <BR>day ones out of Zurich, check the tourist office in the Hauptbahnhof <BR>for additional information and schedules. <BR>1. by rail to Luzern and up Mt. Pilatus <BR>via Alpnachstadt and return by Kriens to <BR>Luzern. <BR>2.by rail to Luzern and the city and the <BR>Swiss Transport Museum. <BR>3. by rail up north to the Rhinefalls and Stein am Rhine, Schaffhausen. <BR>4. by rail to Einsiedeln and its abbey, return to Zurich by boat via Rapperswil. <BR>5.By rail to Arth-Goldau and up Mt. Rigi and return same way or to Vitznau <BR>and boat to Luzern and rail to Zurich. <BR>6.Rail to Luzern, boat to Fluelen, re- <BR>turn by rail to Zurich. <BR>7. Zurich to UIetilberg, a senic spot and return down to Zurich. <BR>8. City tour of Zurich and Swiss Nat'l <BR>Museum in Zurich. <BR>9. Take the Train to Lugano (3 hrs) spend day there and return later to <BR>Zurich. <BR>10. Take the train to Luzern, transfer <BR>to rail to Engelberg, up Mt. Titlis and <BR>return by rail. (this is a longer day <BR>trip.) <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

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The trip from Zurich to Interlaken via Luzern is the longer of the two ways to get there. The train via Bern is quicker -- you can check the times on the SBB website. For some reason that trip via Luzern and Meiringen over the Brunig Pass is slower. I went from Lauterbrunnen to Luzern and back in one day and spent darn near 6 hours on the train. <BR>

We visited Zurich, Interlaken and Zermatt last May. Listen to Bob and Richard's suggestions, they helped us out a lot. <BR> <BR>What type of things do you want to see? Art, museums, mountains, hiking, etc? And, are you locked into staying in Zurich? We stayed in Interlaken and loved it. It was centrally located to everything. However, we were more into scenery than museums. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. <BR>