Worth a 1 night stay in Basel, or move on to Lucerne? Trains?

Ask your tour company what port you will arrive and how to get from there to Basel’s SBB train station. There’s a direct train from SBB to Luzern (1h 15m). Spend your remaining nights in Luzern.

In August of last year (that’s 5 months ago :-)) we stayed 3 nights in Basel. Very nice city, and the hotel or B&B you stay in will give you each a Basel Card, which gets you free rides on buses and trams, plus half-off or free admission to tons of museums, plus the Basel Theater. There is practically a tram every 10 seconds, so if you miss one, the next one will come immediately afterwards.

The fine art museum has a really impressive collection. There’s a Cartoon Museum, and many others. The parks are nice, and we enjoyed peaceful walking in the city. Dinner could range from a Swiss beer hall with enormous wiener schnitzel to a great Indian curry place.

The Basel SBB bahnhof (train station) is south of the Rhein, downtown. We arrived when we turned in our rental car at the airport, and later left by flying out, so I don’t know about river cruise logistics. Spend at least one night in Basel - it’ll be worth it!

Read Wikipedia entries on Basel and Lucerne. There is a train connection between the two which runs about an hour. Basel is the bigger city on the Rhine with more museums, historic sites and theaters and Lucerne is the smaller city with more orientation to tourism and scenic lakes. Both could be very interesting.

There are several train stations, but the one you probably want is Basel SBB, for direct trains to Luzern. There is at least 2 direct trains every hour and connections at other times. Your cruise line will probably set up transfers to the station, as there is no telling in advance exactly where in Basel your boat will dock. A taxi is always an option.

With only 2 to 3 days, I would recommend going straight to Luzern.

Luzern station is smack in the middle of Luzern with boat docks in front and the famous Chapel Bridge is right there.

Why unpack twice if you are only spending 2-3 nights? There is plenty to do and see in Lucerne. Of course there is a train station on both Basel and Lucerne. Just take a taxi from your cruise dock. It's about a 10 minute drive, if you are sailing on Viking. The Lucerne train station is right by the lake, and a 12 minute walk from the covered bridge. Again, take a taxi to the train station if you need to. You may find that Google Maps (especially satellite view and Street view) is very helpful in answering many of these types of questions.

Basel is the bigger city on the Danube

Maybe the Rhine?

Always Lucerne!

There are 2 train stations in Basel. Take a cab to the closest one. Although I think one is primarily German destinations and one is Swiss - may need to research this. (Seat61.com always helpful).

Lucerne is charming, 3 nights would be enjoyable. Enjoy!

the only station you want in Basel is Basel SBB. Going to Basel Bad Bahnhof will not simplify things, rather the reverse.

I love both Basel and Luzern, but if your cruise has not taken you near the Alps I would deffo plump for Luzern.

What time is your flight out of Zurich Airport?