Day Trip Suggestions

How long are you staying in each place? Both Lucerne and Lauterbrunnen have plenty to do /see for both groups
Dad and I (both seniors) took the Golden Pass train from Lauterbrunnen to Montreaux . we then took the boat to the castle , bus part way back to train station and then walked along the lakefront. Beautiful, lots of outdoor art . Saw the statue of the guitarist for Queen Freddie Mercury??
Take the hop-on, hop-off train in Lucerne- looks tacky but actually learned a lot and saw a lot.

Enjoy Lucerne first ,lots to do then ferry to Mt Rigi and Mt Pilatus mtns. U can do a wonderful spa day at Rigi as an option. ZErmatt is far from u with train transfers and iffy weather. Gruyere is also along way. LOts to see in Lauterbrunnen and surrounding valley. i would stay and enjoy Lauterbrunnen area to the max.

We are staying 5 days in each city...hopefully that will give us time to enjoy both areas. Thank you so much for the suggestions...it helps to have others give ideas instead of me guessing...thanks again!

You really do not have to go far to "daytrip" in either location. Staying in Lauterbrunnen you need simply to decide which lift or mountain train to take to fabulous vistas and walking. I would never give up a day in the Lauterbrunnen Valley to go anywhere else in SW.

Zermatt is beautiful but worth its own time as it takes awhile to get there. Enjoy the two location as you have the luxury of time in which to do so.

It rains quite often in Switzerland, so it's best to choose what you'll do each day according to the weather in that location:

Lucerne/Luzern:
You can enjoy Luzern just fine in any weather--the murals on buildings in the old town, the ramparts, the weeping lion memorial, eating or drinking at cafes along the Reuss River, getting chocolate truffles and stengli at chocolate shops everywhere, shopping for a watch or jewelry at Bucherer's.

If you have good weather in the Luzern area, with clear sunny views, my day trip recommendations are, in no particular order:
-Mt. Pilatus;
-Rigi, especially the Blumenpfad (flower trail) hiking trail from Rigi Staffel to Rigi Kaltbad;
-Ship/ferry on Lake Lucerne/Vierwaldstättersee all the way to Flüelen on the Urnersee (bright neon blue color);
-Mt. Titlus with its open chairlift over a glacier, and snow tubing in the summer.
If the weather's overcast with no views in the Luzern area, but clear in the southern part of Switzerland, head to Lugano (about 2 hours away by train) and take a ferry on Lake Lugano, and eat at an outdoor terrace cafe on a cliff over the lake.

Lauterbrunnen:
The stunning, gorgeous clear-weather views of this Jungfrau alpine mountain region is what you're there for:
Mürren, Gimmelwald, Allmendhubel, Northface trail, Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg trail, Kleine Scheidegg to Wengernalp trail, First to Bachalpsee trail with cliff walk and option of a zip line.

If Lauterbrunnen/Jungfrau is socked in with overcast clouds and no view, here are my day trip recommendations:
-Giessbach Falls on Lake Brienz/Brienzersee;
-Aareschlucht cliff walk along the Aare River gorge, near Meiringen;
-Thun and Thun castle on Lake Thun/Thunersee;
-Bern;
-Ballenberg outdoor living museum.
In overcast weather, you can also walk along the Lauterbrunnen Valley and look at the waterfalls along the cliff, and/or take a bus to Trummelbach Falls, a series of waterfalls inside a mountain.
BTW, I had the best fondue, ever, at the cafe terrace at Hotel Oberland in Lauterbrunnen--thanks to Rick Steves' helpful guidebook!

As for your question about some other destinations:
Gruyeres is charming, and I had the best cheese and quiche there, but it's about 3 hours away, as is Zermatt (Zermatt struck me as a tourist trap and not as pretty as the Jungfrau area.)
Chillon Castle (near Montreux) is spectacular, but takes about 3 1/2 hours to get there, although the Golden Pass route is beautiful.

Thank all of you so much for your excellent suggestions! Your help will make this a great trip!

I second the above suggestion to go from Lauterbrunnen to Interlochen Ost station. Take boat tour of Lake Brienz, get off at Geisbach Falls stop, take the funicular up to the top (10 Chf roundtrip), where there is a lovely hotel right in front of the falls where you can eat a hearty lunch. Then take a short hike up behind the falls. Lovely way to spend the day. Rick should add this info to his book.

we are presently in lauterbrunnen, it is a very small town so you will need activities to keep you occupied. we did the trummelbach falls today, well worth seeing. don't discount having an evening meal at the restaurant in the caravan park in lauterbrunnen, large well priced meals ( for switzerland) just walk towards the stubbach falls, towards the end of the town. you may need to book, as its popular.
be prepared for the daily activities to be 'punishingly expensive' compared to near identical activities in nearby countries, eg: austria and italy. ( where we have just been) keep a real close eye on the weather, before committing to activities up high.
hope this helps, have a great time.

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful suggestions...I have a little notebook I'm recording all of these suggestions in for our trip.