Where to stay on train route from luzern to Milan
 

Hi -

My husband, 2 year old twins and I are stopping in Switzerland for 2 nights enroute from Paris to Milan. After much research on the various train routes and stops, we decided that staying in Luzern (doing Mt Pilatus) and taking the EC train via Zurich through the Gotthard pass would be scenic and give us the biggest bang for our short stay. After looking at hotel options within walking distance to train station in Lucerne (we would need very early am train to Zurich, so within walking distance seemed best), nothing looks good - lots of mediocre, overpriced hotels. So, I'm wondering.....is there a town/village on the train route from Lucerne to Zurich that's quaint/charming that might be a better option- we could take the train to Lucerne for sightseeing and also get to Zurich easily for the EC train to Milan.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Which EC train do you want to take at Zurich? I ask because if you are in Lucerne, you take a EC train to Milano usually at Arth-Goldau that's much closer to Lucerne. The trains will come from Zurich and makes a stop at Arth-Goldau. There are regionla trains that go from Lucerne to Arth-Goldau.

PATSAT:

Actually, there is a direct train from Lucerne via the Gotthard to Milan:

Lucerne lv 08:18
Milan ar 11:50

Hope this helps

Phil.

Hey PS,

www.bahn.de will give you all of the trains in Europe.

((I))

Have you thought of staying in Zug? Its old town is pretty, easy to get around in, you can catch a no-change train from there to Milan.

Also, with 2 year old twins, they could entertain themselves by watching the birds in the large aviary near the lakefront in the old town.

Zug is halfway (more or less) between Zurich and Luzern. Caveat: it's not cheap.

Hi all --

I'm glad you bring up the train routes because I have been confused. The "man in seat 61" website says the EC train route from Zurich to Milan via the Gotthard Tunnel offers the best view of the Swiss alpine scenery. I haven't been able to tell whether leaving from Lucerne, instead of Zurich, is essentially the same train route or not. Looking at the map and the bahn.de app, it seems that both trains go through Arth-Goldau and, eventually, Bellinzona, but the Lucerne EC makes no stops between those two points, while the Zurich train makes a number of stops before Bellinzona... is the Lucerne EC just more express, or is it taking a different route. Also, I can't tell where the Gotthard Tunnel is and whether both pass trains pass through it or not. Anyone know these routes? If they take the same train route whether they go through Lucerne or Zurich, that would save us from having to go back to Zurich.