Hello, I am travelling with my 2 college daughters to Switzerland using Lucerne as base, (after 4 days in Germany) . We will be arriving in Lucerne early Wednesday June 26th. and have hotel there until Saturday. We plan to do one day for Titlis?? And then what else should we do? Our flight out of Zurich is Sunday morning so we have hotel there Sat. night. Looking for any other must see trips that we could reasonably do. Thank you!
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8967 posts
Take a nice long cruise around the lake, or the ferry and make a couple of stops at the smaller towns.
Posted by
Florida
1450 posts
Other peaks in the area are Rigi and Pilatus, although for me one peak would be sufficient. I like Rigi because it's a nice downhill walk from the peak to the cable car station that takes you back to the dock at Weggis.
Luzern also a fine Picasso museum I always hit.
BTW, Luzern has a rail link to the Zurich airport. It's a 70 minute trip and departs every 30 minutes. Unless your Sunday morning flight is really early, you could stay an extra night in Luzern rather than a one-night stand in Zurich.
Posted by
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
168 posts
We really enjoyed Mt Pilatus. The girls (and you) could enjoy summer toboggans, rope climbing and more. If you choose, you can also finish with a boat cruise along Lake Lucerne back to Lucerne. It's a beautiful day. We have a family blog and I wrote about that day recently if you'd like to look at the details. https://sunsetsandrollercoasters.com/fantastic-day-lucerne-mount-pilatus-switzerland/ Another option, if you leave early on the last day to Zurich, is to visit Rheinfall, Stein am Rhein and Schaffhausen. It's unlike anything you'd experience in Lucerne and really shows beautiful Swiss villages. https://sunsetsandrollercoasters.com/switzerland-rheinfall-schaffhausen-stein-am-rhein/
Posted by
OP
Bremen, Ga
7 posts
Thank you all for the reply and information. Thank you Joanne for the link, the pictures look amazing, and you have given me some great options. One last question, so you don't think I should do the Jungfrau trek (the one that takes about 9 hours round-trip)? I have read some about this, but just don't know if it would be worth it.
Thanks again!
Posted by
Michigan
483 posts
Joanne, thank you for the link to your wonderful blog! Our family did not go to Mt. Pilatus because we had gone to Mt. Titlis...but I really enjoyed reading about your adventures. (Sorry about the toboggan injury, though!)
Mel, our family stayed for two nights in Engelberg, and three nights in Lucerne. I'd highly recommend Mt. Titlis if you are lucky to have a great weather day. Our kids were 15, 20 and 22, and we all loved seeing snow in the summer, and seeing some people encounter snow for the first time in their lives! The ice cave was really cool (literally and figuratively), the views were spectacular, and sledding on the snow was memorable! We took a picnic lunch purchased from the Coop in Engelberg, and ate in the Panorama Room at the top.
We got off the gondola at Trubsee on the return to Engelberg, and had a very short and scenic walk to the lake, complete with seeing a cow parade with jingling bells! There were hammocks and rowboats at that lake that we enjoyed. It was so beautiful - and it was just an impulse to hop off and explore. I am so glad we did - so I'd recommend that to you.
On our last day in Lucerne (day 16 of a trip that included Paris first), we took a paddlewheel steamer from Lucerne to Weggis. That was also a highlight - a very lovely and relaxing way to spend a day. Such a beautiful setting to be on the lake, surrounded by mountains. Weggis was home to Mark Twain at one time, and we found a monument with this quote: "This is the charmingest place we have ever lived in for repose and restfulness, superb scenery whose beauty undergoes a perpetual change from one miracle to another, yet never runs short of fresh surprises and new inventions. We shall always come here for the summers if we can."
We had a delicious lunch there, near the dock, and took the ferry back to Lucerne after lunch. We also chose to upgrade for the first class ride on the way back. I loved ending our busy but wonderful trip with that boat ride on the lake.
We stayed in Lucerne and took an early short train ride to Zurich to catch our flight. That was stressful to be sure we didn't oversleep - but all went well, and traveling by train in Switzerland is the gold standard, in my opinion. So smooth and easy.
One last hint - we spent the rest of our Swiss francs on bags of chocolate squares at the Coop store in the Zurich Flughafen. The chocolate was a good price, and the little squares made for great treats to share with family and friends when we got home. :-)
Have a wonderful trip - all of our family wants to return to Switzerland!
Laurie