Plan for a day trip to Berne and Lucerne areas
 

Hi

I am planning to make a day trip to Berne and Lucerne in the coming weekend. We plan to make the most of the visit and see the main areas extensively. We plan to start early from Lausanne -reach Berne -- see the town historical spots for around 2 -3 hrs and then travel to Lucerne and also plan to go up the Titlis or Pilatus.

pls advise.

cherres
ST

Berne + Lucerne + Titlis or Pilatus sounds too much. Can you really do that in a day? If you are driving, it may make it easier than by train and if you start really early like 5-6 am but even so. I will not think of such tight itinerary but maybe you can afford only one day. If you insist on going to Lucerne, you may have to forget cable car trip and concentrate on the city of Lucerne. The cable cars close early in winter. Or if the wheather is fine, take cable car and forget Lucerne?

Pilatus is possible only the round trip from Kriens till sometime in May. The cog wheel train from Alpnachstad is closed until then.

A few years ago while traveling all around Switzerland I spent the longest 3 days of my life in Berne. Nice enough little town but almost nothing worth seeing or doing there. Just one guy's opinion. Lucerne is a spectacular town and well worth much more than a day.

Have a great time.
Larry J

I agree with Larry. I've been in Bern on several short 2-3 hour visits, which are all I need. Lucerne, on the other hand, I love. I've spent many a night there. It has so much going for it.

Hi swiss tourist,

I agree with all the above posters -- you can only barely scratch the surface of Luzern in a few hours. To me, the best of Luzern is the vast system of lakes at her feet, so you'll need a few hours to get on a ferry.

s

I would bag Berne (cute but not a lot going on) and concentrate on Lucerne. Esp if you intend to ascend one of the mountains you will barely scratch the surface of Lucerne in one day.

I also generally agree with the above comments--Bern is worth a day by itself, but you'd be better off strolling around Lucerne, maybe taking a short lake cruise or seeing the excellent transportation museum, and going up to Titlis or Pilatus ONLY IF the weather is nice.

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who thought Bern was good for a day visit only. It is a nice little city, but there wasn't anything much to see and do we felt. I've been to Lucerne and liked it alot more.