Our Week in Switzerland

On #3: You can stay near the train station if you want to, but public transportation around Zurich is so good that there's no need to limit yourself unless you have a huge amount of luggage or some other limitation. When you arrive in Zurich, buy a 24-hour day pass for zones 110 (central Zurich) and 121 (which includes the airport) for CHF 13.60. The trip to the airport by itself would be CHF 6.80, so you get transportation for the rest of the day for a good price.

#1 Short train ride to Colmar, France

#2 & #3 Luzern for boat rides, Mt Pilatus & sightseeing.

Stay 4 nights-Zurich airport only an hour by train.

thanks for the Zurich train info and day trip ideas. I think we need to stay in Zurich, since our return flight is fairly early.

My favorite places so far in Switzerland are Luzern and the Jungfrau. It sounds like you have a limited number of days so I would suggest staying your 3 nights in the Jungfrau and taking a day trip to Luzern, getting there as soon as possible in the morning and staying as late as possible. Not sure how early your flight out of Zurich is, but Zurich is about a one hour train ride from Luzern, if that might be a possibility for your last night.

I agree with Jules, Jungfrau region is where you want to be. I'll send you some pics and hikes of the area, and then you'll see why we say that. Click on your name in the upper right to read your personal forum mail.

If you find the hotel prices in Zurich too high (as I did), look into staying in Winterthur. It's almost as close to the airport as Zurich is, albeit in a different direction; you'll see what I mean if you look at a map. I stayed at the Hotel Wartmann am Bahnhof, which is right behind the Winterthur train station; there's even a ramp down to the station, so you don't have to haul your luggage down stairs. It was half the price of a comparable Zurich hotel for my dates, but was very nice. https://www.wartmann.ch/en/home

For your second leg, you can stay in Luzern or the Berner Oberland (Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, or Muerren). Luzern is logistically a bit easier; the Berner Oberland is more spectacular, but takes longer to reach.

I really appreciate these helpful ideas. Thanks all!

Re #2: Went to Switzerland last fall. One of the highlights of the trip was the boat trip on Lake Lucerne to Fluellen (and train back to Lucerne, which is must faster). Spectacular constantly changing scenery of mountains, rolling electric green hills, cliffs, and cute towns with clock towers. No wonder the Rough Guide calls this lake the most dramatic and beautiful water body in Switzerland, by far. Worth considering if it would work in your itinerary.

Re #3: Bear in mind that it’s not necessary to stay in or near Zurich the night before your departure, unless your flight is very early. We stayed in Bern the night before, and hopped on an early train to the Zurich airport on our departure day. Worked beautifully.

Have a great trip!

I also second Jungfrau as your #2 slot, as it was (by far) our favorite place over Lucerne and Lausanne. But, they're different experiences, so it depends on what you're looking for. But the Berner Oberland area in the Swiss Alps is so unique and beautiful (and we were also there in September). We stayed in Murren and had a panoramic view on our hotel's deck of the sun setting every night, while drinking a glass of wine.

Just a quick follow up on my previous post. We just got back from Switzerland, and had a fabulous time. Basel, Lucerne, Berner Oberland, it was all fantastic. Great hiking, great food and amazing views. Many thanks to all who offered up suggestions for our stay!

Day trips from Basel to France and Germany (not in any order):

• Colmar (already mentioned), train or car
• Strasbourg - train
• Freiburg im Breisgau - train
• Route des vins d'Alsace - many lovely little towns. Needs car. Website: https://www.alsace-wine-route.com/en
• Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg - need car, can be combined with Route des vins. Website: http://www.haut-koenigsbourg.fr/en
• Écomusée d'Alsace. Reconstructed old buildings and live crafts. Needs car, child friendly. Website: https://www.ecomusee.alsace/en/
• Black Forest - many many lovely routes by car.
• Black Forest without a car. Buy a Baden-Würtembourg day ticket, and do the following circuit: Train Basel Badischer Bahnhof to Freiburg im Breisgau. Must be local train as your ticket not valid on IC/ICE. Vineyards on RHS of train. Train Freiburg to Titisee. Lunch stop, walk round lake. Bus to Zell (No. 7300, hourly I think) look out for cuckoo clock wooden houses. Goes over Feldberg Pass. At Zell, connectîng train back to Basel.