After we fly into Basel we plan to go to Lucern but we then want to take a train up into the mountains. We must come back to Basel in 6 or 7 days to start our cruise. Looking for where in the mountains is good to go and see. Also which train or trains to take. Also is there any reason to spend more than one night and one afternoon in Basel before we leave on the cruise the next morning? Thinking of 2 or 3 nights in Lucerne again guidance on if that is the right amount of time. We do want to get up into the mountains but not sure of which places would give us the most bang for the buck. Thank you very much for your help. First time to Switzerland
Posted by
Houston, TX
219 posts
I recommend you head straight for the most beautiful mountain views, which are in the Berner Oberland area, in the Swiss Alps, around the Lauterbrunnen Valley. You could stay 4 nights in Muerren, Lauterbrunnen, or Wengen, (all are close to each other) and visit the Jungfrau Mountain, the Schilthorn Mountain, and all the spectacular places in-between. Then stay 3 nights in Luzern (local spelling) to explore the medieval Old Town and go to its nearby mountains, Rigi, Pilatus, and Titlis. Luzern, itself, isn't in the mountains; it's on a lake.
Use this Swiss transportation system web site to find your transportation details:
www.sbb.ch/en
And load the SBB Mobile app onto your phone to use that same information while you're traveling in Switzerland.
For an example, on the SBB web site for Sept. 1:
9:06 Basel airport bus, arrive at Basel train station at 9:24
9:31 train from platform 10, arrive at Interlaken Ost platform 5 at 11:28
11:35 train from platform 2A, arrive at Lauterbrunnen platform 2 at 11:55
To go from that area to Luzern, take the train from Lauterbrunnen back to Interlaken Ost. Then enjoy the scenic train ride from there to Luzern (via Meiringen)
Luzern is about an hour train ride away from Basel.
Here's the map of the Swiss transportation system:
https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/sbb/de/infotexte/uebersichtskarte-sts.pdf
Here's a panoramic map of the Berner Oberland area:
http://ontheworldmap.com/switzerland/ski/jungfrau/jungfrau-summer-map.jpg
I recommend you read the Rick Steves Switzerland guidebook to see what interests you the most, and it gives specific directions on how to get to each place.
Posted by
OP
Lincoln, Nebraska
21 posts
Thank you for all the Information. Very helpful
Posted by
Ohio
2128 posts
Hi Linda, we did this trip last October but in reverse. We flew to Zurich then took the train (3 1/2 hours) to Murren. We stayed in Murren at the Hotel Alpenruh for six wonderful nights. We hiked, had Sunday brunch at the Schilthorn, and did a day trip to the Jungfrau. At the end of the week we took the train from Murren to Basel to embark on a river cruise from Basel to Amsterdam. We arrived in Basel the day before leaving on the cruise and spent the afternoon and next morning exploring the city. We stayed at the Hotel Resslirytti. Great vacation.
We visited Lucerne on a different trip but it's a nice stop for one or two nights. We stayed at the Hotel des Alpes. You can easily take the train from Zurich to Lucerne (1 hour) then to Murren.
When you are planning your train/cable car trips it can seem overwhelming but once you're in Switzerland it's very simple. We went to the SBB office at the Zurich airport and they helped us figure out all the details.
Hope you have a great trip!