Please take a look at my itinerary. We will be there for about 7 days before catching a Viking Cruise out of Basel, I'm flexible with my plans although I've booked rooms already but can always change them. We don't leave until Sept. 25th arriving on the 26th.
Leave home, night on the plane:
Day 1. Land in Zurich am take train directly to Luzern, spend two nights. Hotel Des Alpes
Day 2: Explore Luzern (total of 1 & 1/2 days here)
Day 3: Catch train to Interlaken, go up mountain to Murren: drop luggage off and explore area 3 nights: Hotel Bellevue (total of 1 & 1/2 days here, 3 nights) Should I skip the extra night in Luzern or perhaps skip another the night in Lausanne and go directly to either Bern or Murten to us another day in the Berner Oberland area?
Day 4: Explore area
I could especially use some advice on this section of the trip
Day 5: Check out of hotel, take Golden Pass train to Montreux, transfer to Lausanne, spend 1 night
Hotel Regina
Day 6: Train to Murten, 1 night
Hotel Murenhof & Krone
Day 7: Train to Basel, catch Viking Cruise late that afternoon
Thanks in advance for your input
Posted by
Portland, Oregon, United States
907 posts
Lucerne is a beautiful city with lots of sights to see, boat trips, mountain cable cars, and cog trains. If you like that sort of thing 1 full day in Lucerne may not be enough.
three nights in Murren is a lot unless you go hiking a lot.
I love Montreux, great city with reasonable night life. Haven't been to Lausanne but I would expect it to be as good as, or better, than Montreux. Nice castle to see in Montreux, Chillon.
Can't say about Murten but Basel is a nice city too, maybe an overnight there. If you haven't been on a river cruise you will like it. It is a great way to travel.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
I disagree. Without the benefit of a short-term weather forecast, three nights is the minimum I would budget for Mürren. You simply can't show up to the Alps on a random day and expect the weather to cooperate. Two full days is a better hedge against the whims of the weather gods.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
3 nights are definitely a minimum in Mürren. but not just because of weather. There actually is a lot to see and do in this area. Mürren is stunning and one could sit on a bench and just stare at the massive alps right in front of you. There are numerous walks and hikes ranging from strolls to very physically fit challenges. The stroll down to Gimmelwald is a favorite. Stop at the local cheese huts along the way and sample the locally produced cheese, meats, butter. The valley floor is perfect for bike riding or walking along fields of wildflowers as you go to Trummelbaches Falles. Take the short hike from the farming road to the base of Stechelberg Falls. Save an entire day for a trip to the Jungfraujoch which will take you from Mürren down to the valley floor and up the other side to Wengen and Kleine Scheddeg and on up past the tree line finally to the Sphynx Weather Station and out onto the Aletsch Glacier. On nice days you can sled, ski, trek, zip line at the highest train station in all of Europe.
The Schilthorn will be a short yet dramatic trip from Mürren as you travel to the top of the Piz Gloria to revolving James Bond 007 restaurant for stunning vistas. And don't forget to just take time to stop and stare while you listen to the 72 wispy waterfalls as they make their way down to the valley. It's just a stunning area that you won't see anywhere else...don't shortchange you experience here. It will definitely be the highlight of your trip.
Posted by
OP
Placitas, NM, USA
178 posts
Thank you all for your input everyone. I may go ahead and extend our stay for one more night in Murren since we will really only have one full day there. If I do that, I need to figure out the rest of the trip. Please give me your thoughts on the next leg of the trip.
Take the train via the Golden Pass to Montreux and transfer to Lausanne for 1 night. (not sure if we should stay in Montreux or Lausanne, thoughts? The next day take the train directly to Basel. I'd skip Murten.
Thanks!