Gimmelwald or Lucerne

Amy, As mentioned, both places are completely different experiences. It would help to have a few more details. For example, is this your first trip to Switzerland, and what types of things do you most want to see? You might want to have a look at the Switzerland Guidebook, to get some idea on the attractions in each location. Gimmelwald is basically a small farming village that also "hosts" tourists. It's a great place for hiking and just enjoying the ambience, but there's little to do there in the evenings except "enjoy the ambience" (however, the next village uphill is Murren - it's a bit larger and if easily reached either by a short hike on a paved trail or via Cable Car). You can also take the Cable Car to the Schilthorn, where the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service was filmed in the '60s (trust me, it DIDN'T explode!). While there you can enjoy a fine hot meal in one of the world's first revolving restaurants, while enjoying spectacular views of the Eiger, Monch & Jungfrau. If you're adventurous, you might try Paragliding! Lucerne is an incredibly beautiful city located on a lake, and of course there are more activities and sightseeing options. The Museum of Transport is fascinating, and I can easily spend four hours or more there. There are some beautiful Churches and of course the Chapel Bridge. Is there any way you could arrange time to see both locations for a few days each? One caveat though - Switzerland can be expensive! One of the meals I had in Lucerne this year was about SF$35 and it wasn't a gourmet meal at all! Despite the cost, it's a country that's well worth a visit. My solution is simply to budget for whatever the costs will be, and don't worry about it (that makes travel there less stressful). Happy travels!

Two entirely different experiences but I would give Gimmewald 5 stars and Lucerne 3 stars. I think it would depend on what you are doing before and after though too. If you have been immersed in lanscaping, outdoors, hiking and likewise beforehand - Lucerne might be a nice change. If you have been to cities and museums beforehand - Gimmewald is a great change.

We bought the Swiss train pass and visited both out of Zurich. You will not regret going to Switzerland. Hopefully the American buck will buy you more than it did us however.

Strange decision to make....stay in a small scenic mountain village, or a big city:) When I visit Switzerland it's mostly for the Alps, and at Gimmelwald or any of the other nearby villages you'll be right in the middle of the Berner Oberland "action". So my my choice is obviously Gimmelwald. Having said that, of all of Switzerland's cities, Luzern is my favorite. It's worthy of a day trip, what I usually do is fly into Zurich in the morning, take the train to Luzern, spend the day there exploring and adjusting to jet lag, take the scenic Golden Pass from Luzern to Interlaken which is the gateway to the BO.

Amy,
Both are fantastic. We had the same dilemma you are having. So we did both of them! Not knowing your itinerary and your preferences; but if you like the outdoors and hiking/climbing in a scenic setting; do Gimmelwald. If it is history and enjoying scenic mountain surroundings and a beautiful lake; do Lucerne. We are hoping to return to both places sometime in the future.

For an October trip, I would vote for Lucerne over Gimmelwald because of the possibility of bad weather in the Alps. Gimmelwald, although lovely, is a very small mountain village, and given the expense of being in Switzerland, spending your time there hiking muddy trails in rain, clouds and fog without mountain views may not appeal. Lucerne is a marvelous city to visit whatever the weather. If you do both, the train ride between Interlaken and Lucerne is beautiful.

I've been to the Berner Oblerand four times in October. Never has it been muddy, rainy, or foggy. It's actually one of the driest months of the year. Statistically the summer months get more rainfall.

Thanks for the input! I think this time we are going to do Lucerne. Both of us are not very avid hikers but enjoy seeing new sites. So it looks like Lucerne will be a better fit for us this trip. :)

Lucerne is a beautiful city, however there is ABSOLUTELY nothing that compares to the Berner Oberland and the tiny villages of Mürren, Gimmewald, Lauterbrunnen and Wengen. People who have not been there just cannot fully understand what it's like. If I were going to Switzerland (and I've been there several times) I might stop off in Lucerne for an afternoon stroll through the town and down by the river. Then I would hop on a train and head for the Alps. We almost always stay in Mürren because we think it's just the most beautiful and quaint of all the villages. Wengen is a bit larger, a bit more upscale with more shopping, and Gimmelwald is a nice trek down from Mürren - but I would not stay there because it's just too small.

Gimmelwald for sure.

Depends on how many days you spend in Switzerland. You might see most of things in Luzern, the city itself is lovely. Taking an hour or two you could find yourself in Bern, Zurich, Interlaken, and even Gimmelwald. If you like mountain, Titus is nearby, you could take a cable car system thru Engelberg... The Luzern Lake is also beautiful, it's free by using Swiss Pass too.
But Luzern of course is commerialized, full of tourists from all over the world. If a tour from Hong Kong visit 5 countries in 10 days, it is where they stopped... I stopped by Gimmelwald after Jungfrau Joch a few years ago. Gimmelwald is a small town in storybook, just walk around the town for 2 or 3 hours. If you want to take a rest away from busy life, it is where you should go.

If you wan trustic swiss charm do Gimmelwald. If you want swiss cultural city do Lucerne. They are so diff. but bith excellent in their own.

Gimmelwald! Agree w/ the posts above re: they are 2 VERY different experiences, but if you are short time and want to get in that quintessential Swiss/Alpine experience, Gimmelwald is the clear choice! IF you have time to see it, Lucerne IS a pretty city. I had the better part of a day there. Landed in Zurich Airport in early AM, from the States, and, as I was not seeing Zurich on that particular trip, took the train from Zurich Airport straight to Lucerne, got off and stored bag at train station,enjoyed wandering around the town, took a boat tour, had lunch, then got back on train to the Bernese Oberland. I'm very glad I've seen Lucerne, but if I was pressed for time, I would def bypass it for Gimmelwald/surrounding Bernese Oberland area; 1 of the most spectacular Alpine experiences in all of Europe. Trust me, you WON'T be dissapointed!

you can always go up Mt Pilatus! We did that on a day trip to Lucerne and then headed to BO area and stayed in murren. Went up Schilthorn and saw trummelbach falls in lauterbrunnen.