We are planning 5 nights in the lake Lucerne area and would like to be out of the town in a more quiet and small town feel but still have the activities that Lucerne offers. Weggis looks like it offers exactly that. There will be 5 of us arriving and returning through Zurich in mid June. We plan to do day trips from Weggis which I realize will add another leg on to the trip (45 min to Lucerne by boat) but that only adds to the day. Trips we will probably take will be to Mt. Pilatus, Mt Rigi, and possibly a day trip to Gruyere and Vey Vey. We are still undetermined as to whether we will travel by train or by car. We will then be traveling to Murren for 5 nights and be doing day trips from there. Any input you may have is greatly appreciated
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
If you're staying in Murren you definitely don't need a car because you can only get there by gondola/train - Lauterbrunnen is as far as you can drive. You'll have to pay to park your rental vehicle while it sits. Pilatus and Rigi will be extremely easy from Weggis without a car and boat trip to Lucerne is definitely enjoyable.
But getting to Gruyeres is going to be a long trip by car (2+ hours 1 way) and even longer by train. Maybe you could take 2 of those 5 nights in Weggis and spend them in Bern which is much closer to Gruyere. You could also rent a car in Interlaken for the daytrips to Gruyere and Vevey which would be a shorter trip than from Weggis to Gruyere.
I think you might really want to consider adding a 3rd destination to spend a couple of nights...somewhere closer to Gruyeres.
PS - in Weggis look at the SeeHotel Gotthard. Wonderful hotel and EXCEPTIONAL restaurant.
Posted by
NSW Australia
703 posts
when we stayed near Lucerne we had a car and rather than stay in the city we opted to stay at a hotel on the lake near Horw, and then caught the local bus into Lucerne. which worked great. we got to feel like locals without any issue with parking. using it as a base we drove around to Weggis ( nice spot) ,Mt Titlis ( great), the swiss army knife factory at Schwyz, and the list goes on.
the concept worked well, as we could venture out each morning without any traffic.
it was delightful to stay right on the lake as well. we didn't go on the lake, not enough time, but looked good.
the roads in the area are very good, lots of very long tunnels, so getting around, with a car is not that difficult ( with a GPS).
from what we noticed it doesn't take long , leaving the towns before you are seeing cows, really almost in the suburbs. so you get the 'small town' feel.
We enjoyed Lucerne, but also found it VERY expensive. and really not all that much to see/do. compared to places in the surrounding area. In some ways 'similar' to Zurich, beautiful cities, well worth seeing but also once you have a bit of a look around, there are plenty of other places to spend your time. eg: good to see you are also planning to use your time to visit other places.
hope this helps
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7270 posts
We stayed (with a car) at the second most expensive hotel in the Weggis area, in Vitznau, but we saw plenty of more modest places in Weggis. We visited Lucerne by boat, and chose not to sleep in Lucerne. You will not be staying in a town with chalets with rocks holding the roof down, this is a well-touristed area. All I mean by that is that you are escaping the city-experience, but you are not going to meet Heidi and her cows. Nicely, you can stay there without a car, and get to the town's own mountain on foot. However, a car is necessary for visiting other small lake towns and sites, if that is your interest.
For example, we went up the mountain by the train that was walkable from Hotel Vitznauerhof Vitalresort, and came down by the chairlift (or was it a gondola) to Weggis. After a long and annoying wait for a public bus that never appeared, we walked back to Vitznau, which was far but okay. There is no significant non-hotel nightlife in either town, although Weggis has some restaurants.
It sounds like you wouldn't be interested, but a massive, elderly, classic resort hotel was under complete renovation and unavailable during our stay a few years ago. I think it was the Park Hotel Vitznau. I'm sure it's very expensive, but it would have a lot of activities there.