Please sign in to post.

Lucerne to Lauterbrunnen

We will be staying in Lucerne in early June and have one of our 4 days planned for Lauterbrunnen. What are good options for using our time wisely? We prefer to not be on trains all day but do want to see and experience the best of the area. Thanks.

Posted by
32171 posts

perch,

The trip from Lucerne to Lauterbrunnen is 2H:19M each way, so you'll be spending at least 4.5 hours on the trains regardless. I'd suggest leaving Lucerne as early as possible and returning in the evening sometime.

"Good option" will depend on your interests and probably equally importantly, your budget. With one day there, I'd suggest focusing on just one side of the valley. For example....

  • take the BLM cable car and mountain railway to Mürren. Spend some time in Mürren as it's a very scenic town with incredible views.
  • from Mürren you could hike down to Gimmelwald (featured in many of Rick's TV shows) and then take the cable car back up. Here's a clip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ru9JguLrY .
  • you could take the Allmend-Hubel Funicular up the hill from Mürren and then hike (stroll) back down through the alpine meadows.
  • you could take the cable car from Mürren up to the famous Schilthorn, which was featured in the James Bond movie, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. There's a revolving restaurant there, with incredible views, and you can also have a look at the James Bond displays.
  • If you're adventurous, you could try Paragliding from Mürren (be sure to check the provisions of your travel insurance first or insurance with the Paragliding company).

You shouldn't have any trouble at all filling in a full day there. You might consider having a fine meal at Hotel Oberland prior to returning to Lucerne.

Posted by
7209 posts

All you have to do in Lauterbrunnen is step off the train and you’ll know you e been transported to a different world entirely. It’s breathtaking and magnificent. Then when you think it can’t get any better you’ll see that Murren is even better!

Posted by
1163 posts

We spent ONE night (2 full days) in Luzern and 4 nights (5 days) in Murren and it was the best itinerary decision we made !

The mountains around Murren are unbelievable and the region was SO MUCH better than the Luzern area. Although Luzern is delightful, it just did not compare to the Berner Oberland.

If you have 4 full days in Luzern, I would rethink your plans.....IMHO

Posted by
1163 posts

Hiking and eating and taking photos of cows and and cowbells and waterfalls !

We received fabulous information on this forum. And we hiked as many trails as we could. And many of these trails are NOT steep.
They are on flat trails looking over the most glorious mountains I have ever seen. And I'm from Boulder !
Take a look at this site from one of the great forum contributors. I will look up my list of trails.
https://lauterbrunnenhiking.wordpress.com/

Posted by
7209 posts

Carla is totally right. Lucerne is beautiful , but Murren (Berner Oberland) is stunning.

Posted by
7 posts

Those photos are incredible. I could rework my Lucerne time but am probably late on getting accommodations for the first week of June in Murren. Suggestions?

Posted by
1163 posts

We stayed in Hotel Bellevue and it was fabulous. Others like Hotel Alpina or the Eiger Guesthouse. Any hotel would be lovely.

Alternately, consider Wengen. It is on the opposite side of the mountain and has fabulous hikes and scenery as well.

No matter what mountain top village you stay in, you can travel to the other side to hike very easily. And most people enjoy both sides during a visit.

I would go to booking.com for a quick look at what is available and what hotels/b&b's are in the villages. Then email each hotel/B&B directly to ask about lodging.