As part of a Viking pre-cruise, we arrive in Zurich (from L.A.) and are then transported to Lucerne. Arrive in Lucerne mid-day. The package includes a two hour walking tour the next day, which ends at 11:00. Should I skip the tour as I may be able to walk myself the day of arrival and see something else our only full day?
Biting off more than I can chew? I’m 62 and not immune to jet lag.
So many options. I think I would go to Mt. Riggi, Titlis, or Pilatus on your full day. There are some good videos on You Tube that show each of the journeys.
Lucerne looks very easy to navigate on your own, so I would skip the tour. Here’s a good video from How To Switzerland on Lucerne. It will give you an idea of what you’ll see walking around on your own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_bF2HHZ51Q
I’m excited for you that you’ll be leaving soon. My trip is not until Sept.
Going up to Mt. Rigi would not be too difficult on jet lag. It involves a relaxing, beautiful 1-hour boat ride directly out of Lucerne, and then the cog wheel train awaits, for the 30 min trip to the majestic top.
What time of year? I'm asking as the daylight is short come fall and winter. On a summer day you'd have enough daylight for both a walking tour and mountain summit.
A beautiful country awaits your arrival!
We did a Rhine river cruise that started in Basel. We spent a day and a half in Basel before we met the tour. We didn't know that there would be a tour of Basel before the ship sailed. We decided to join the tour even though they were going to the same places we'd already been. I have to say I enjoyed it and it was nice to get additional information. You could tell the guide at the beginning that you may have to slip out of the tour that way if you decide you are not getting much out of the tour you could cut out for Mt. Rigi.
It would be nice to do Mt. Rigi. (I would only do it if there was visibility.) You take a boat across the lake and then a couple trains to the top of the mountain. The views are stunning. I recall when we did it, we did not leave until 11am and our day was not rushed at all. I think if you were organized you could do the tour and then go do the mountain.
EDITED TO ADD: We were in Luzern in January and we still had plenty of time for Mt. Rigi. We ended up leaving later in the morning because the day started out very overcast and forecasted to be overcast the entire day. However, midmoring the skies cleared up completely so we decided at that point to do Rigi. It was sunset and then close to dark during the boat ride back. We liked seeing the view with Luzern city lights.
Shoot. Forgot to mention we will be in Lucern in two weeks, so there should be plenty of daylight.
IMO, its all about the weather. If its a nice morning up top. (ask the hotel desk) I would go right up one of the mountains (Pilatus is easiest) and skip the tour. There's nothing to see in town better than that. The Lion Monument is easily seen on your own.
Assuming your hotel is in the main part of Lucerne, you can easily do a walk around yourself. The main city sites are close together and easy to walk to - the Lion, Glacier Garden, Jesuit church, covered bridge and just the general architecture/old buildings to see. Nice little pedestrian area.
Best thing for jet lag is to get out in the sunshine for a walk around. If you arrive mid day odds are you won't be able to check into your room and would need to have the hotel store your luggage and find some way to kill time.
Rick Steves Switzerland guide book has a suggested walking tour. His Switzerlands Great Cities video includes Lucerne. He also mentions a little tourist train www.citytrain.com that does a 40 minute circuit. It's not a real train, just one of those cute mini trains that travel on surface streets.
For inexpensive eats, the train station has several dine in and take away options. Also in town the Manor department store is supposed to have an excellent restaurant (closed on Sundays).I
Best of luck. We're hoping to be there in Sep.
If you are cruising, then take advantage of the full day to get up in the mountains. I did the very well laid out Mt Pilatus circuit. Bus to the mountain gondola that goes to the top of the mountain, cogwheel train down to the lake, and steamer (or train) back to Luzern. It makes for a great day.
If the weather does not cooperate, check out the Picassos at the Rosengart museum.
We did the Mt Rigi trip and it was very nice. It was 100% covered by the Swiss Pass so it was a no brainer for me!! Take the boat to Vitznau, cog wheel to the summit, hike down to the cable car for a ride to Weggis, then boat back to Lucerne. Very nice trip. You could probably do it after the walking tour. But Rigi is not very tall. If you want to experience the Alps in one day, you may want to do the trip to Mt Titlis. That involves taking the train to Engleberg and cable up to Mt Titlis. Alot more effort, but you would be deeper and higher into the Alps. Search YouTube and you'll find videos on that day trip. I hear Pilatus is beautiful too but we never got there. If the weather is anything but heavy overcast, you must do at least one of those mountains!!!!! I'm jealous..
THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!
Really appreciate all the good insights and tips. Y’all confirmed what I suspected; I should not waste our only full day on a two hour morning walking tour in Lucerne, but we need to get up in the mountains! I regret only booking 1 full day in Switzerland but this was a VERY last minute booking.
Don’t think I’ll book going up a mountain until we get there. The hotel said they have some ideas and I want to see what the weather will be. It’s been raining three like crazy.
