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How is this 7 day itinerary for a variety of sightseeing? September.

We will have a 2 week Europe anniversary trip this September and will have 7 days in Switzerland. Hoping for a semi-relaxed, romantic trip with some great scenery, light to moderate hiking. I love the idea of panoramic ridge hikes being above everything. We've also never been to Switzerland.

Planning on 5 nights in Wengen and 2 in Lucerne and then heading to lake Como.

  1. Day 1, arrive in Zurich airport around 8am, train into Wengen, have a half day to explore, maybe a light hike somewhere in the area.
  2. Day 2, Manlichen panoramic hike and/or bachalpsee or hike near murren (north face trail etc)
  3. Day 3, day trip to Kandersteg, Lake Oeschinensee, Blausee lake, maybe Spiez between trains
  4. Day 4, trip to view Jungfraujoch vs Schilthorn (piz gloria etc)
  5. Day 5, flex day, Schynige Platte Panorama Trail
  6. Day 6, AM train to Lucerne (or maybe train in the evening before?) - half day maybe Rigi hike or hang around lake
  7. Day 7, Stoos ridge hike vs Rigi if not already done. Explore town.
  8. Train out to Italy

Any thoughts? Should we try to train into lucerne the evening of day 5 since we probably won't be doing much that time anyway? Should we consider staying in Murren? We love the idea of good balcony views from our hotel. We slightly prefer the updated hotels we can currently see in Wengen and the variety of restaurants there and being close to the train station but are open to that. Worth including breakfast for about $30 per person at hotels? or going out somewhere?

Thank you!

Posted by
2586 posts

We stayed 5 nights in Wengen in late June 2023. I would not plan any specific thing on a certain day. Stay flexible due to weather. We had some rain 5 days of 6, and this is more likely in September. Prioritize what you want to do. Watch the weather and webcams closely. If Jungfraujoch is priority 1, go the very first clear day and go EARLY.

All the other hikes you can just see what the weather is like every morning and go where the weather is best. But be prepared for very sudden weather changes.

We loved the views of both the valley and mountains from Wengen. We were in an apartment, so we didn’t eat breakfast at a hotel. I rarely find it of value in Europe, especially at that price and when there are great bakeries & cafes around. Even the grocery store in Wengen has great breakfast options. I would not prepay for breakfast. Maybe try it one day and decide if it’s worth it.

Posted by
5 posts

Good point about the weather. Will try and pick biggest priorities for good weather days. Partly why I’m not planning Zermatt since I don’t wanna head all the way out there and have bad weather show up.

Posted by
701 posts

I think it's okay to skip Rigi since you have lots of alpine activities already. Do Schilthorn instead and give yourself that full buffer day on Day 5 without leaving. You'll need it for weather. Alternatively, you could skip Luzern and just do Wengen the full time, as there are plenty of lake activities to do around Lake Thun & Lake Brienz and the Schynige Platte/Oberberghorn/Daube trail is just as good as the Stoos but less crowded. This would gain you back a day and honestly I think it's a better option.

If you want to keep Luzern -
Day 1 - arrive in Zurich airport around 8am, train into Wengen, store luggage and do Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg in the afternoon
Day 2 - Wengen > Lauterbrunnen > Grutschalp > Murren > Schilthorn > optional Birg > Murren > Allmendhubel > Northface hike counterclockwise > Murren > Gimmelwald > Stechelberg > Lauterbrunnen > Wengen
Day 3 - Day trip to Oeschinensee (this is a long day trip and I would not plan to combine Blausee, Kandersteg & Spiez into it. If you really want to do Oeschinensee, commit the whole day to it. And if it's not sunny, don't waste your time going all the way there, as it won't look like the photos you've seen)
Day 4 - Schynige Platte
Day 5 - Buffer day for all the activities above
Day 6, AM train to Luzern, hang around lake, explore old town
Day 7, Stoos ridge hike

If you want to just do Wengen -
Day 1 - arrive in Zurich airport around 8am, train into Wengen, store luggage and explore Wengen
Day 2 - Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg hike + optional Jungfraujoch
Day 2 - Wengen > Lauterbrunnen > Grutschalp > Murren > Schilthorn > optional Birg > Murren > Allmendhubel > Northface hike counterclockwise > Murren > Gimmelwald > Stechelberg > Lauterbrunnen > Wengen
Day 3 - Lake day (Lake Thun with castle stops at Spiez, Oberhofen + Thun OR Lake Brienz with beach stop at Iseltwald, Giessbach Falls, Brienz, etc.)
Day 4 - Schynige Platte Oberberghorn/Daube ridge trail
Day 5 - Day 3 - Day trip to Oeschinensee (this is a long day trip and I would not plan to combine Blausee, Kandersteg & Spiez into it. If you really want to do Oeschinensee, commit the whole day to it. And if it's not sunny, don't waste your time going all the way there, as it won't look like the photos you've seen)
Day 6 - Ebike the Lauterbrunnen Valley or Grindelwald First or another lake day. Plenty of options.
Day 7 - Buffer day for everything above, as you very likely won't have 7 straight days of perfect weather

Posted by
5 posts

Super helpful thank you, is Lake Oeschinensee something where the hike is crucial to do? It looked a little strenuous and we thought we would save a little time and cable car up to have more time that day for other stuff, but if it makes more sense could also do the actual hike and spend more time there