My wife and I are excited to be headed back to Europe this summer and have identified three cities we particularly want to visit -- Munich, Luzern and Salzburg (this last represents a return visit). My natural inclination is to fly from SFO to Munich, given that we will spend most of our visit in that region and it is, of course, not far from Salzburg. I guess my question is whether incorporating Luzern into the itinerary of our, say, 10- to 12-day trip makes sense? Is the train trip from Munich to Luzern prohibitively long for what will likely be two nights in Luzern? We really want to see some of Switzerland but are we better off not scheduling it on this trip? Thanks as always for the input.
Posted by
Chicago
7871 posts
It makes sense. If you search it takes a combination of a bus and a train or two trains to get to Lucern in 5 hours more or less. Personally I do not like spending more than 3 hours trying to go somewhere on the train in Europe not unless it is at crack of dawn. It is not guaranteed that you will feel like Munich is worth the time you've chosen to spend there. That is what I felt afterwards. So maybe cut a day from there and add it to Luzern
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
Salzburg to Luzern is six or seven hours by train. However, parts of the trip are very scenic, especially the section through the Arlberg pass between Innsbruck and Zuerich.
Posted by
Lewiston, Idaho, USA
2091 posts
Or maybe think about flying into Zurich, taking the train immediately to Luzern for 3 or 4 nights then the 08:10 train to Munich which takes 5:19 hours. I think I'd actually stay a few nights in Munich then go to Salzburg, then back to Munich for several nights to fly out rather than go to Vienna to fly out.
Posted by
Washington DC
27155 posts
I suggest checking fares into and out of every possible combination of Munich, Zurich, and Vienna. Sometimes there's a significant price difference. From my origin, Munich is typically much less expensive. It may be totally different for you.
Posted by
Green Bay
20144 posts
Lufthansa and Swiss are code share, so you could get SFO to MUC and return ZRH to SFO. They have nonstops. Probably do Munich to Salzburg to Luzern. The other way is slightly more money (SFO to ZRH, etc). Even though Salzburg to Luzern is 6 1/2 hours vs just under 5 hours using the bus from Munich to Luzern, train is still more comfortable than a bus. Move around, go to the bar/restaurant car.
Posted by
OP
Modesto, California
101 posts
This is helpful feedback. Thank you all very much.