7 nights in Zurich, need help with itinerary
A traveler is planning a 7-night trip to Switzerland with their husband to celebrate their 30th anniversary. They want to see places like Lucerne, Grindelwald, and Geneva, while maximizing views of the beautiful Swiss landscapes. They already have a Swiss Travel Pass and are seeking an efficient itinerary to make the most of their stay.
- Start your trip by exploring Zurich and consider a lake cruise and a visit to the Lindt Chocolate Factory.
- For scenic views, consider the GoldenPass route for a trip to Montreux or the Glacier Express, but remember it may require dropping another plan.
- Travel from Zurich to Grindelwald and enjoy the First activities combined with a boat ride on Lake Brienz for a fulfilling day.
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Hi. This is my first visit to Switzerland. My husband and I are celebrating our 30th anniversary. 🙂 Anyway, we only planned the trip a month ago and while I’ve been investigating where to go and what to do, I’m getting anxiety as we will arrive next week and my itinerary seems a mess.
I booked a 7 night stay in Zurich, before realizing last week that I probably should have broken our stay up between regions. Anyway, need to make the most of it now and with proper planning I feel we will be able to see lots of beautiful swiss treasures, albeit spending oodles of time on trains.
We will have the swiss travel pass.
We’d like to see: Lucerne, Grindelwald, Geneva, Interlaken, and Bern if time allows. We also want to do the Golden Round Trip and the Glacier Express. Would love to throw in Jungfrau if time allows. I’d really like to maximize viewing of alps, waterfalls, and lakes.
Does anyone have an available itinerary that they’d be willing to share that might work with our wish list? Thank you so very much for any assistance provided. I’ve never been on a forum before, so I hope I’ve not broken any etiquette rules. Thanks again.
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Hi rebsgetit,
Welcome to MySwissAlps.
No worries, there’s still enough time to plan your itinerary. with Zurich as your base, it’s possible to do a variation of day trips to suit your interests. My recommendations are listed below. Feel free to change and add as neede.
- Day 1 : explore Zurich city + cruise on Lake Zurich + a visit to the Lindt Chocolate Factory in Kussnacht ( 1 or 2 combinations depending on what time you arrive)
- Day 2: Day trip to Rhinefalls + Stein am Rhein
- Day 3: Excursion to Mt Rigi and Lucerne (train to Arth-Goldau, cogwheel train to Rigi Kulm, then boat from Vitznau to Lucerne)
- Day 4: Full day trip to Jungfrau region – Scenic Jungfrau region trip in just one day
- Day 5: Full day trip to Montreux + Geneva + Lake Geneva
- Day 6: Day trip to Lugano – Ticino in one day
- Day 7: Free and easy (optional: half-day trip to Bern)
- Optional: Bernina Express day trip instead of the Glacier Express
For more ideas, you can find some sample itineraries here: http://www.myswissalps.com/plantrip/doityourself/sampleitineraries
Be sure to use the SBB timetable to check train schedules and plan your journeys.
It’s good that you will be travelling with the Swiss Travel Pass. This gives you the flexibility and convenience to change your itinerary based on needs and the weather.
Hope this gets you started.
Regards,
Anna
Hi Anna! Thank you so very much for the time you spent with your reply to my request for itinerary assistance. It was very thorough and very much appreciated. I do have a couple of questions if you have the time:
1.) The number one item on my bucket list is a train ride through the swiss alps, so I really want to take the best one that will fit within my Zurich base and 7 day time frame. I’d had Glacier Express (sections 2 &3 brig to chur on my itinerary), do you think that trip is THE ONE or would the Golden Round Trip be better or do you have a different recommendation?
2.) We’d really love to visit First in Grindlewald to enjoy the First activities. How could we plan this excursion to fit with a cruise on Lake Brienz or am I trying to get too much into one day?
Again, thank you so much for your excellent assistance. 🙂
Hi Rebgetsit,
1) If you follow Anna’s advice for day 5, you can travel to Montreux via Lucerne, Interlaken and Zweisimmen. That’s the scenic GoldenPass route: https://www.myswissalps.com/goldenpass. (By the way: the Golden Round Trip isn’t really a train trip, but a round trip using several modes of transportation to and from Pilatus: https://www.myswissalps.com/pilatus.)
As for the Glacier Express: you could make a day trip from Zurich as described under “Don’t have time to do the full route?” at http://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress. If the Glacier Express is high on your list (and it’s surely a beautiful ride), you’ll have to drop one of your other plans. Rest assured that you won’t miss out on the beauty of Switzerland if you take Anna’s suggestion, as that itinerary is packed with scenic trips. But those are very personal choices. Tough to make decisions, isn’t it ;-)?
2) You can travel from Zurich to Grindelwald and replace the train leg from Brienz to Interlaken (or the other way around on your way back) by a boat ride: https://www.myswissalps.com/boatlakebrienz. Then enjoy the activities at First: https://www.myswissalps.com/grindelwaldfirst. It will be a long day, but doable if you leave early.
Hi Arno and thank you for your assistance and helpful information. Your’s and Anna’s advice are most valuable! I think I’ve narrowed the trip itinerary to the following:
Day 1: Arrive Zurich 3pm, will try for a lake cruise, Lindt tour and dinner or a whichever we can squeeze in the afternoon/evening.
Day 2: From Zurich Golden Round Trip Lucerne to Mt. Pilatus
Day 3: From Zurich day trip to Lugano
Day 4: From Zurich day trip to Jungfrau and First (unsure if we will squeeze Brienz boat trip in yet)
Day 5: From Zurich day trip aboard Glacier Express
Day 6: From Zurich day trip to Montreaux & Geneva
Day 7: From Zurich day trip to Bern and/or explore Zurich
Day 8: Depart for USA
Does this sound doable or is it to overloaded and exhausting? Any other tips or recommendations?
Thank you again for your much appreciated and valuable insights. 🙂
Hi Rebgetsit,
Your current itinerary looks great! Day 5 would be a long day but certainly doable,
Regards,
Anna
Thank you Anna! I think we’ll be doing half the glacier express tour, sections 2 and 3 I think…Brig to Chur if I’m not mistaken. Thank you again for your assistance! 🙂
Happy to help. Enjoy your trip!
Anna
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