Lucerne Hotel and flight out of Zurich

You should have no trouble reaching the Zürich airport for your 13:00 flight. There are frequest trains from Luzern and some do not require a change at the main station. Travel time is just over an hour. See www.rail.ch for schedules. But as you have found, price is a problem in Luzern. If your stay includes a Saturday night, you might check the Radisson Blu, a modern hotel right by the station. they offer a 15% discount on lakefront rooms for a 2-night stay, bring the cost down to 289 CHF. If the exchange weren't so bad right now that would be within your budget. As it is, it is a bit over.

Lucerne. Check out Hotel Wilden Mann. Right in the heart of town, very conveneint to the rail station. We stayed there many years ago and enjoyed it. Dont know current prices. The train from Lucerne to Zurich is enjoyable. I think it takes about an hour.

Steve, I stayed here in 2005. It's around the block from the train station and it should be in your price range. It's also a very short walk to the Reuss River and the Chapel Bridge. http://www.alpina-luzern.ch/index.php?nav=2

How about Hotel Des Alpes? It has great views of the chapel Bridge right out of your window these rooms go for 254 CH rooms without a river view are more lke 205 CH. The hotel is just across the river from the train station. Great breakfast with a river view balcony too!

Hi Steve, You will love Lucerne. We stayed there in December for the second time and it was great! As others have mentioned, trains depart regularly for Zurich and the trip to the airport only takes an hour. We stayed at the Hotel Seeburg right on the lake front. It is a decent walk to the Old Town and Chapel Bridge (30 minutes) but the public bus departs regularly from right out the front of the hotel. Hotelscombined.com has rates that fit your budget. Make sure you visit the Verkehrshaus Musuem - it's great. PM me if you'd like any more info. Kind Regards,
Carolyn

Hi Steve, We were in Lucern July of last year. We stayed at Hotel Des Alps. It is very convenient and you can just walk from the train station. It has a nice breakfast area where you can see the swan. A lot of shops just behind the hotel. I don't think there are airconditioning in the hotel but without asking, the staff supplied as with 2 fans. You should make it on time to your 13:00 flight in Zurich. If I remenber correctly our flight leaves at 9:00 am and we left at 6:00 am and we still spend a good amount of time waiting in the airport. Enjoy your trip!

Steve, It's good that you've discovered the "financial realities" of travel in Switzerland, so there will be few surprises. I stayed at This Hotel in Lucerne last year, and would certainly recommend it. It's located in a nice area, the restaurant is great, and it's within easy walking distance to the Chapel Bridge and other sites. I booked a single, but I believe a double will be in the range of SF$140-150. Happy travels!

Thanks for the replies everyone. Its good to know that leaving Lucerne in the AM for our flight to Zurich is not an issue. Great suggestions on the hotels, a few are already booked but now we have some options to go through. Maybe we'll just boost our budget a little :)

Hello, I am in similar situation. My flight leaves shortly after 10 AM from Zurich. I am considering staying the night at Luzern and taking the early AM train to the airport. Finding a good hotel (not super expensive) is proving to be a challenge, especially when you are traveling with a family. No hotel can accommodate 4 (2 adults, 1 teen, 1 kid) in one room!

Hello WriteFace, I am in Paris now, leaving for switzerland in a few days. We ended up getting a good deal at the Hotel Des Balances. I was going to wait until after our trip to write about this, to make sure it works, but check out hotelcard.com. Its a swiss organization that gives hotel deals (a few in various cities). The card is about 90 sf (you can get it for 65 through American Express if you have an Amex) and it allowed us to get 50% off the rate. The card is good for an entire year, but even though we are only using it once it saved us over 200 sf! I'll post how it goes when we get back. Good luck,
Steve

Steve, Thanks for the recommendation. Des Balances it is for us too! Hope you are having a good time in Paris. Do you recommend a particular hotel in Paris? We have reservations at Hotel La Bourdonnais in Paris.