First time to Switzerland: what to do in January
A traveler named Belinda is planning her first family trip to Switzerland with her two children, aged 16 and 14. They will spend 3-4 days traveling from either Paris or Munich and are considering staying in either Luzern or Interlaken. Belinda is seeking advice on must-do activities and suggestions for travel cards to make their short visit memorable.
- Choose Luzern for stunning scenery and easy access to day trips like Mount Pilatus or Mount Rigi.
- Consider using the Swiss Half Fare Card, Swiss Travel Pass, or Tell Pass based on your planned activities.
- Focus on one town for your entire stay to make the most of your time exploring the area.
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Hi there,
This will be our first time to Switzerland as a family 2 adults and 2 children aged 16 and 14. I have been eagerly reading your page but always finishing up feeling overwhelmed with all the information. We will be travelling from either Paris or Munich and looking at spending 3-4 days in Switzerland. The plan was to stay in either Luzern or Interlaken? As first time visitors we don’t really know where we want to go?? As it’s a short trip we would love some suggestions of a couple of must do’s. Also suggestions for the travel cards. Thank you in advance
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Hi Belinda beck and welcome to MySwissAlps!
I can’t say what it is you should do while in Switzerland without knowing your interests. What is the reason you are traveling to Switzerland? Are you looking for winter sports at all then? As that is the main attraction here in January.
Lucerne and Interlaken are both popular towns to stay in in Switzerland.
Lucerne has a lot of nearby activities you can check out here: http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne/activities
Interlaken is the largest town in the Jungfrau region (http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion) and has good rail connections to the area and beyond. However, a lot of people prefer a village in the mountains for better scenery, like Wengen or Grindelwald. http://www.myswissalps.com/we ngen // http://www.myswissalps.com/gr indelwald
I’d be tempted to stay in just one town for a 3 or 4 night stay only. Perhaps Luzern is a nice choice and make a day trip to another region if you want: http://www.myswissalps.com/re gions
As for rail passes, the one that serves you best will depend on what your daily itinerary is. Where you are staying and where you go each day. You’ll need to decide that first before choosing a rail pass. http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses
For help on trip planning and what other things you can do in Switzerland, look here: http://www.myswissalps.com/pl antrip // http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities
Hi Lucas, thank you for the reply. As we will only be there a few days we won’t be doing any winter sports. We really just wanted to take in the scenery and hopefully a day trip to one of the mountains. I too was leaning more to Luzern. What day trip would you recommend to visit and take in the scenery? Do you think the half card travel pass would be suitable?
Hi Belinda,
You can find our activity suggestions for Lucerne on my first link on my reply. There are 4 popular mountains listed there that can be easily done as a day trip from Luzern, as well as other ideas. Use the timetable here to plan the trip and see how to get to any destination: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
I would look at either a Swiss Half Fare Card, Swiss Travel Pass or a Tell Pass (If you stay in Luzern for your time in Switzerland). Read more about the passes and what they cover below:
- http://www.myswissalps.com/te llpasswinter
- http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass
- http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isshalffarecard
You’ll need to decide on the trips you make first before you can figure out which rail pass saves you the most money. Read about how to choose the best rail pass here for help on comparing: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass
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