September flying in to Zürich. Ending in Salzburg and Vienna. Twelve days. We like to hike but moderate at best. (70 years old) We like cities also. Uncertain which areas to stay in Switzerland taking in to account limited time and keeping a doable train line to Austria. No rental cars just trains. We have not been here before so I am a bit baffled as to what areas to stay in. Any help is appreciated.
Posted by
Chicago
8381 posts
First settle on the order of the itinerary, then book lodging, then fill in your activities.
Here is a rough draft of an itinerary they may work and others will tweak it:
Take the train from Zurich Airport to Wengen or Murren
Wengen or Murren 4 nights
Train from Wengen to Luzern
Luzern 2 nights
Train from Luzern to Innsbruck
Innsbruck 1 night
Train from Innsbruck to Salzburg
Salzburg 2 nights
Train from Salzburg to Vienna
Vienna 3 nights
Fly home
Posted by
Chicago
3531 posts
I did the reverse in Sept. 2022—flying into Vienna and out of Zurich. But my trip was focused on Austria. My trip report might give you some ideas.
Posted by
106 posts
Hello!
We are taking a reverse of this trip in a few weeks. Vienna 4 nights @Hotel Vienna; train (yes it will all day- ugh) Lucerne 3 nights @Hotel des Alps; Murren, 3 nights @ Eiger Guesthouse. Will be glad to provide more activities planned if you'd like - we too are Seniors:)
Posted by
Virginia
33 posts
Overview: Fly into Zurich but don’t spend time there.
Take train 1 hour or so to Bern, a super medieval city (and the capital.) Bern let’s you take short train rides to Lucerne, Colmar (over the border in France,) and Lauterbrunnen to the south. Lauterbrunnen is a gorgeous valley with tall waterfalls and quaint little villages. It’s one of the prettiest sites in the world – Google it. Plan on at least four full days. You could stay in Interlaken. Atop the valley are tiny villages to see: Murren and Gimmelwald.
Train from Bern to Innsbruck (which we found to be disappointment.) Then take a cab a few miles east to the gorgeous Medieval and quiet town of Hall in Tirol. One night there.
Take train from Innsbruck to Salzburg; stay at the Blue Goose hotel. Two nights, one day for Salzburg itself. We’re among those who thought Salzburg itself was a bit of a disappointment. However, it’s near some of Austria’s gorgeous lakeside towns, starting with Hallstatt. (Sometimes named the prettiest village in the world. It can get crowded, though.) There are any number of awesome towns (Gmunden, Bad Ischl) and lakes in what’s called the Salzkammergut region. Stay in Salzburg a few more days to explore this area. Take at least one cable car to an Alpine peak.
Lastly, the world’s best city – Vienna. You could spend your entire trip there and be very happy. Check elsewhere for lots of info on Vienna, but here’s something that might not be mentioned. Perhaps the most noted site is the enormous and beautiful Schonbrunn Castle; it’s a must-see. It also comes with a bonus – its “backyard” is the world’s oldest zoo that probably ranks among the top five or ten zoos in the world. Stay in Vienna as long as you can; I suggest the Steigenberger Hotel. We just got back from our seventh Vienna trip, and still have not seen everything.
By the way, very few places take Amex, so make sure you have a VISA or two.