Luzern or Interlaken
 

Hi all

We are a group of 4 reasonably fit 60 yr olds and will be travelling through Switzerland in September. At this point we will be coming from Strasbourg and then heading on to Chur. We have 3 or 4 nights to spend and are trying to decide between Luzern or Interlaken (or anywhere else that can be recommended). While we would like to see Jangfaur it is not a must but we would like to go "up a mountain" at some point. We realise our time is short there but would like to get a taste of Switzerland. We do not want to do any serious hiking this trip. Any suggestions on how to best spend our time would be greatly appreciated.

Luzern

Interlaken. We spent 4 nights there [and 4 in Luzern] a few years ago and IMO Interlaken provides a wider range of options, so you can take advantage of the weather conditions. There are loads of excursions from boat trips to cable car trips up to the top of the mountain with gentle walks down if you want some exercise. It's also the best place to base yourselves for seeing the Jungfrau and going up to the Jungfraujoch as that would not be possible from Luzern.

That's a tough one, as I'm not a fan of either. Luzern is very much a city with lots of people and traffic (population 81,000+). Interlaken is also a city, but much smaller at 5,300+ population.

From Luzern you can take a boat cruise and visit Mt Rigi.

https://loveandroad.com/what-to-do-i...e-switzerland/

From Interlaken you can also take a boat cruise, but you have many more options for alpine excurisions - you will be spoiled for choice. I always suggest that people bypass Interlaken and go further up to the mountains - Lauterbrunnen (which is in a beautiful valley with waterfalls and sheer cliffs) or up even further to Wengen or Murren, for those in your face mountain views.

But what do you plan to do at Chur?
Neither is Chur a beautiful destination nor is it a good base for daytrips.

Agree with neckervd regarding Chur. Why there? Lots of gorgous areas above Chur however.

Lucerne. It is a lovely city on a lake surrounded by mountains.
Interlacken is a transit hub to use to get into the beautiful Berner Oberland which has much much better places to stay like Grindelwald and Wengen.

Thank you everyone. Chur would just be a stop over as we were looking at catching the train from there to Italy. Once again any better suggestions are very welcome.

It's sad to see posts like this and not see a reply from PalenQ...he always had such great info about Switzerland, and specifically the Bernese Oberland area.

Since you did say "or anywhere else that can be recommended' I would highly recommend you get up the valley from Interlaken and stay at Wengen or Murren. The Lauterbrunnen valley is the quintessential Swiss valley and I haven't found a more beautiful place on earth.

Here are a few old threads that I think you'd find useful:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...ideas-1661802/
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...iking-1468272/
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...rland-1048902/
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...e-the-1663420/

In the case you should really be interested in a scenic train ride, you could reach the Bernina Express area by Glacier Express. May be like this:
Interlaken dp 8.33 - Meiringen - Swiss Post Bus - Grimsel Pass - Oberwald - Andermatt - Glacier Express - St. Moritz/Pontresina ar 17.37.
From there trains to Tirano (- Milan) via Bernina Pass (5 hrs journey) run about every 2 hrs until 6pm. 4 of them are Bernina Express trains.
If you prefer to go to Bolzano (Dolomites), trains leave every hr until 4pm (5 hrs ride)

Totally agree with Wekiva. Nothing against Zurich (haven't been to Lucerne) but if you are going to Switzerland, head for the mountains.

Thank you everyone. Lots to look into. Really appreciate your advice.

Hi Frserx6

This is really a difficult decision!
From Lucerne, excursions to the mountains Pilatus, Titlis, Rigi and Stanserhorn are worthwhile and offer very beautiful views. A boat trip on an old paddle steamer on Lake Lucerne is also a wonderful experience. Interlaken is a good starting point for excursions to the Jungfrau and the Lauterbrunnen Valley. There are much higher mountains than around Lucerne. If you want to be closer to these beautiful high mountains, the villages of Grindelwald or Wengen are more suitable.

Have a great trip!
Martin