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6 days in Interlaken/Luzern/Zurich-Looking 4 advice for our 1st time in Switzerland

Posted by (Miami, Fl) on

Hello,

I'm looking for advice and recommendations of things to see, specially at night, on the Swiss German region. On January 1st, 6 of us will be heading out of Albania to Vienna for one day (long lay-over) and then flying to Zurich (Jan 2). It will be our first time in Switzerland and our first experience with mountains and, for many of us, with snow.

In Switzerland our itinerary (Jan 2- Jan 8) consists of: 3 nights (2 full days) in Interlaken, 2 nights in Luzern, and 1 night in Zurich. We are planning to get the Swiss Travel Pass for 4 days and taking advantage of it during our 2 full days in Interlaken and 2 days in Luzern.

For Interlaken, our plan is to go do the First Cliff Walk and see Grindelwald one day and then the next go see Murren/Lauterbrunnen and go up the Schilthorn. However, we're open to recommendations for other things to do/take advantage of while we're there. We're from the Caribbean so we don't do Winter sports at all but we do enjoy the outdoors and are mostly looking to appreciate the scenery, food, ambiance, and fun/relaxing activities. I was especially interested in ideas for the evening since we really don't know how active Interlaken is at night in the winter and what options there are for us after dinner (7 pm) when it gets dark so soon. From my limited knowledge, I know there's an event/place called Ice Magic that is open in the winter time and that looks right up our alley but we wanted to know about other options as well.

For Luzern, our plan for the first day is to take it easy and just stroll through the Old Town hitting up the main sights (Lion Statue, Chapel Bridge, Town Walls) and perhaps take advantage of the Lake Luzern Cruises that are included with the pass. For the second day (full day), we were planning to go up Mt. Rigi and spend part of our day at the Mineralbad Spa. We are open to recommendations and thoughts of our plans and possible things to do--specially night time activities and things to see on our second day in Luzern after the spa. Also, food recommendations!!
Thanks!

Posted by
1881 posts

There are some Swiss citizens that will assist in your post with more expertise on visiting the area in January. I would greatly expect you need to be very prepared for full on winter. It will be a little different than the Caribbean :) Many of your choices may be closed.

Posted by
5 posts

Thanks! And yes, I know many things will be closed! I lived in NH for a while so I've had my fair share of snow but others in the group haven't.

Posted by
21149 posts

For things like that First Cliff Walk, you'll need serious snow clothes (probably). Fortunately, the Swiss are ready for visitors from tropical climes. You can rent these at most sports shops. If you feel adventurous, rent sleds for a run down the mountain. Available at both First and Muerren.

Cheese Fondue is obligatory and will be available at a number of places, including at the Ice Magic rink. Roesti is another dish you should try. You might know it as potatoes au gratin, but with optional meat inclusion and an egg on top.

Posted by
8967 posts

January is ski season, so things being closed is not an issue, its likely more crowded with rooms harder to get than you might be thinking.

Posted by
5 posts

We bought some good winter coats and thermals for the cold! We have gloves and hats and good snow boots. In terms of clothing, I'd be mostly worried about the pant situation but since we probably won't be doing any winter sport activities I think even jeans might suffice.
We booked our AirBnBs back in September so we were able to get good spots, thankfully!

Posted by
8880 posts

I think that I would wait and see on the Schilthorn depending on the weather. If it is snowing heavily, I don't think that there is much of a chance of a view there. There are webcams that you can use to make your mind up.

Posted by
7209 posts

For your time in Interlaken - none of your sights/activities are actually in Interlaken. They are in the alpine villages of Murren/Wengen/Grindelwald. Why not just stay in those areas? Pick one of those villages and stay there. It's much more beautiful than Interlaken (which is not in the alps). Staying in the villages means you can walk out your front door and be exactly where you want to be.

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