My Wife and I will be in Switzerland from July 1 to July 8 celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. We are both in our mid 50s and have no limitations. We enjoy restaurants, museums, history as well as the outdoors. I have traveled through Europe quite a bit, but I have never been to Switzerland. Booking this trip was a relatively last minute decision. We are flying in and out of Zurich. I was wondering which city was the best to stay for a few days: Bern or Luzern. Luzern, I am told is one of the prettiest cities in Switzerland. I have a feeling it is going to be crowded given the challenges of finding a hotel room at this late date. Large crowds have tended to diminish my overall enjoyment of a visit, in my experience. My impression of Bern is that is scenic, interesting, and significantly less crowded than Luzern, although I this is only my impression from my research. Hotels seemed to be available and less expensive. I have tried to book a room in some of the popular mountain towns such as Murren, Wengen and Lauerbrunnen, and most accommodations were completely booked, and these places may be harder to get to for such a short trip. Any suggestions to try to decide between Bern or Luzern would be helpful.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
5023 posts
I can't speak for Bern, however we were in Lucerne for 2 nights earlier this week and it's already crowded. If you stay there you get access to free transit for the length of your stay so you don't have to limit yourself to hotels within the busy tourists area around the train station. That may help widen your search for hotel availability.
Posted by
Wengen
3026 posts
Bern is a very nice town, with a pretty old town. And you can easily do daytrips to Luzern and the mountains from there.
Posted by
Chicago
3576 posts
If there is any availability in Murren, Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, or Grindelwald, that’s where I would stay.
Luzern would be my next choice. I just am not a fan of Bern.
Good luck!!
Posted by
Moncton NB
1239 posts
Bern is the best. Luzern is pretty. I love the old wooden bridge, Kappelbrucke. But Bern has a lot more to interest me. The whole old town is 100% authentic, never having a war or fire; that is very rare. The Zytglogge is a giant Swiss cuckoo clock that goes off like crazy every 15 minutes or so. The Barengraben is a modern take on an old bear pit (it is now properly designed and approved mini-zoo). The Einstein museum is very interesting. Much more convenient to the Berner Oberland, if you're going there, than Luzern is. I've stayed there twice and just love it.
Posted by
Fort Myers, FL
2048 posts
Congrats on 25!
In my opinion, Bern is a much better city to stay in if you want to take day trips. It has easy and short train trips to the Berner Oberland (Alps area, Murren, Wengen and Lauterbrunnen), Lausanne, Montreux, Gruyeres and even to Luzern. Also, if the weather is predicted to be clear, you can do a day trip to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn.
Luzern is not a bad choice either because the lake is stunning and has access to many mountain areas, Rigi, Titlis and of course there is the lake itself to take a boat ride. However, I found Bern to be extremely simpler to day trip from and the city has great architecture and restaurants. It is also a very walkable city. Enjoy either choice.
Posted by
Nashville, TN
943 posts
Stay in Bern, take a day trip to Luzern to experience it. But your assumptions are correct - it will be packed.
If you want to go to a less crowded mountain area with lovely nature, hiking, cable cars, etc. look into Saas Fee or Bettmeralp. They are beautiful areas with way less crowds.
Posted by
OP
San Francisco
9 posts
Thank you everybody for the helpful advice! I will likely book in Bern and plan for day trips as many have suggested.
Posted by
201 posts
I LOVE Bern, especially wandering its windy old alleyways in the evenings, after all the daytrippers have left. Eminently walkable.
More authentic then tourist-filled Luzern (which is swell for a day or so).