Stay in Zurich, Luzern, or Basel?
#1
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Stay in Zurich, Luzern, or Basel?
Help! We have 2 nights to spend in either Zurich, Luzern or Basel. Have to be in Basel by 6:00 p.m. on a Saturday, May 4th. Flying into Zurich and not sure where to go from there.......Leaning towards Luzern having only been there once a long time ago...<BR>Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks
#2
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We have been to Lucerne a few times and it still does not have the overnight appeal to me. I would recommend driving on to Interlaken. I think you would enjoy that area more. Explore Lucenre during the day, but end up in Interlaken...not that far to go.
#9
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Thanks Ursula! I haven't been to Luzern before. The only part of Switzerland I know fairly well is the Ticino because my husband's aunt and uncle live there (although they're moving to Appenzell next year). But I'll be getting to know it a lot better--I've just accepted a job offer in Basel, tentatively starting in mid-January (so I'll see the Fasnacht celebrations in Feb.). My husband will stay in our apartment in Brussels for the meantime (I'll come home every other week-end) until we're sure the job is a good "fit." He's crossing his fingers it will be because after so many years in a demanding IT position, he can't wait to kick back and take his turn as the stay at home spouse.
#11
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I absolutely hate Luzern; it is a horrible tourist trap. There is nothing to do there except walk around the lake, eat at tourist restaurants, take a boat ride on the lake, and see the Lion of Luzern Monument (which takes about 5 minutes). It is pretty, with lovely swans on the lake, but, oh so boring after 2 hours. Now, Zurich is more my speed, with fabulous shopping, cafes, and people watching. Plus, you can go to Needle Park and see the heroin addicts. (I think it is important to see this Swiss social experiment on the topic of drugs.) There are also some wonderful old churches to vistit, and the Swiss National Museum.
#12
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John G: The Needle Park has been removed and is definitely gone! It's again a normal park as it used to be.<BR>Please, don't talk about it again, it was a sad, mad, crazy, unbearable place everybody avoided. The nearby Marriott Hotel, restaurants, shop keepers suffered a lot, because everybody avoided that area.<BR>Now that said, there is still a drug scene, but as a tourist, you most probably won't get to the places, where it all happens. It's rather in the outskirts of the town.
#14
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Eli, LOL! The last two years have been pretty good for me in terms of expenses paid trips to Vienna, Paris, Nuremberg, Switzerland, Sweden, Amsterdam, etc. I've got another 3-day trip coming up in early Jan. to London. Although the best deal by far was my trip to NYC in July--the company paid for biz class airfare and the way things worked out, I only had to *really* work for about 30 minutes...plus I was able to stretch the trip to include visits to friends and family on the East Coast.<BR>It makes up for all the crap jobs, low pay and scut work I had during the early to mid 80s "greed is good" era. I missed that boat big time! <BR>Lisa, the Grand Hotel National has a web site, www.national-luzern.ch Photos of the rooms included.
#15
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BTilke: Lucerne has a nice web site too at<BR>www.luzern.org (also in English)<BR><BR>PS: Once in Basel, please let me know. That's where I grew up and still go there quite very often.<BR>I hope the weather will stay as nice as it is right now. Big sunshine here, but cold.<BR>
#16
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Thanks, Ursula, I will. Everyone there keeps telling me Basel gets the most sunshine in Switzerland. I'll take their word for it, but it's hard for me to believe they get more sun than Lugano! I will check the Luzern web site. This will be a short business trip, very little time for sightseeing but since Luzern is only about an hour from Basel, I'm sure I'll see more of it on week-ends after I start work.
#17
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Basel gets indeed a lot of sunshine, when other places are foggy and it gets also very hot in summer. I don't know whether it gets more sun that Lugano though. But I've been to Lugano with wet and horrible weather.<BR>On the other hand, Lucerne is known as the rainy and foggy corner of Switzerland. Hope you will be lucky next week.<BR>I will get in touch with you. The above address is not my real one. After Christmas, ok?<BR>BTilke: Just wondering about your first name. What is it, please?
#19
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Good afternoon, Lisa<BR>Also in the NATIOINAL HOTEL is the <BR>Italian ristorante PADRINO, which we<BR>feel is very excellant in service and<BR>quality of food, ate there twice the last trip to Luzern. Another and less<BR>pricy is the stubi in the HOTEL WILDEN<BR>MANN over on Bahnhofstrasse, just across<BR>the river... If a casino may interest<BR>you for some evening, there is one<BR>next door in the Palace, entrance on the Haldenstrasse, 6. Also if you want to<BR>take a short boat ride to Weggis there<BR>is a casino in the Post hotel just across from the boat docks. <BR>Richard of LaGrange Park, Il..<BR>