We are flying into Zurich in early August to start a Tauck family tour out of Lucerne. We are arriving 4 days before the tour begins to do some traveling on our own and adjust to the time change from LA. Do you recommend spending a few days in Zurich or proceeding directly to Lucerne as our base to visit other nearby towns? If we spend time in Zurich how many days would you recommend? We are spending 2 days in Lucerne with the tour. Any recommendations of places to visit outside of Lucerne? Should we plan to do day trips by train from Lucerne or would Zurich be the better base?
Posted by
80 posts
Zurich is good for a couple hours--walk the main drag from the train station to the lake, hit the two main churches, wander the old section of town. The museums are only so-so compared to other major cities. I would head to Lucerne and use that as a base to travel around. With the great trains and ferries you can easily spend a day in Bern, hit mount Riga, go up into the mountains in areas that your tour won't hit.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Go direct to Luzern, Zürich is worth at best ½ day, your time is better spent in Luzern.
Trains run from Zürich airport to Luzern, takes only 70 minutes.
- Luzern old town is good to wander around.
- Take a boat trip on the lake.
- A very big and winding lake, Fjord-like at the far end)
- You could take a circular trip, or get a boat all the way to the far end of the lake (Flüelen), and get a train back from there.
- There are THREE local mountains you can go up from Luzern. All have railways or cable cars to the top, so you start at Luzern station.
- PIlatus. The nearest. You can do a circular route, out by boat to the far side, up one side and down the other: https://www.pilatus.ch/entdecken/goldene-rundfahrt/
- Rigi. Again out by boat, up one side, back down the other and return by train: https://www.rigi.ch/en
- Titlis. Highest, permanent (small) glacier at the top: https://www.titlis.ch/en
360° panorama of Luzern: http://tour.luzern.com/360/en/