Using Luzern for 6 days as a home base. Suggestions for day trips from there by train. How easy is it to get around from there? We are in our 70's and it's getting harder to drag around luggage and bags so we'd rather lay our heads in one place.
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Seattle, WA
16273 posts
It is very easy to get around from Luzern, by either train or boat on the lake. The train station is an “end station”, meaning that trains do not pass through the station, they come in and “park” and then go out the way they came. The boat dock is just across a small plaza and one street from the train station.
There are a number of nice hotels close to the station, on the same side of the river, and more right on the river in the Old Town across the river.
As for what to see on daytrips, have a look at the Swiss rail map:
Note that Luzern is not centrally located for visiting places like the Berner Oberland villages (Wengen and Mürren) or the towns and attractions on Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) such as Montreux and Chateau de Chillon. From Luzern to Lauterbrunnen in the Berner Oberland is a journey of 2 hours 20 minutes each way; then you need to transfer to a cogwheel train or cablecar to reach the alpine villages. Montreux is 2 hours 40 minutes each way.
On the other hand, Luzern is very convenient for mountain excursions such as Rigi or Mt. Pilatus.
If the Berner Oberland and the lake Geneva area area your main interests, you might consider Bern as your base instead. That would shorten your travel time to the above-mentioned places by an hour or more in each direction—-saving 2.5 hours of train time each day. And if Neuchâtel is on your list, it is only 48 minutes away.
Bern is a lovely city with a charming OldTown area—-we actually prefer it to Luzern.
Or maybe divide your time between them? I know you do not want to change hotels so much, but the trip between Luzern and Bern is a very easy one, as it is a direct train (no changes on the way) and the Altstadt area hotels in both towns are within easy walking distance of the train station.