Lucerne itinerary – suggested additions
A traveler is planning a trip to Switzerland in early August with their 18-year-old son, starting from Frankfurt and staying in Lucerne for a few days. They are looking for suggestions for outdoor activities and a stop for Swiss chocolates while ensuring their itinerary allows time to explore Zurich before flying out on Sunday.
- Consider starting your arrival day in Lucerne with a stroll around the city to see the Chapel Bridge and Lion Monument rather than planning a packed schedule.
- For your Mount Rigi trip, using the boat to Vitznau followed by the train up and returning via cable car is a great plan.
- If you're seeking a true Alpine experience, consider exploring the Jungfrau region for hiking and stunning views.
- It's safe to leave your luggage at the hotel in Lucerne while you head to Zurich.
AI-generated summary-
Thank you for all of your previous input – I’m making my way through the planning process of my trip to Switzerland in early August with my 18 year old son (his graduation present!!). We will be coming from Frankfurt on a Thursday morning and have decided to make Lucerne home base for a few days because it is close to Zurich where we will be flying out from on Sunday afternoon, but will offer the opportunity to see the alps – my lifelong dream!!. Can you please help me fill in the gaps with some enjoyable options: I’d like to do as many outdoor sightseeing activities as possible… and need to fit in a stop for swiss chocolates for my son. 🙂
Thurs 8am – 12pm Transport from Frankfurt to Lucerne. We will have afternoon/evening time for activities after check-in and are open to suggestions.
Friday – In lieu of Interlachen ,(which I’ve read numerous times is not ideal from Lucerne because of the travel time and unpredictability of the rainy weather in summer), we plan to go to Mount Rigi via boat cruise. Does it make sense to boat to Vitznau and then via the Rigi mountain train to Rigi Kulm on the way there, and come back via cable car to Weggis, and experience both options?
Saturday – We will have day time for either another excursion from or activities around Lucerne and again open to suggestions. Then we will travel to Zurich in the afternoon or early evening so we can have a brief visit there before flying out on Sunday. Will it be safe to leave our luggage at the hotel in Lucerne if we have to check out before we head to Zurich?
Sunday – we leave Zurich at 1:30pm. I’m assuming we’ll need to be at the airport few hours early to go through customs. That leaves only an hour or 2 in the am to take a walk, have some breakfast.
Does this sound like a reasonable itinerary? I look forward to your suggestions.for activities. And do you have any favorite hotels in Lucerne to suggest?
Thanks again in advance for your assistance!
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< Will it be safe to leave our luggage at the hotel in Lucerne if we have to check out before we head to Zurich? >
Yes.
Hi Rgcrcl1234
I’d probably not plan anything in Lucerne on your day of arrival other than wandering the city. Have a look at our suggestions here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/lucerne/activiti es The town center is quite nice, with the chapel bridge, lion monument etc. Check out our Luzern hotel suggestions here as well: https://www.myswissalp s.com/lucerne/hotels
Yes, your Rigi trip makes sense – always good to try a different route on the way back when possible. https://www.myswissalp s.com/rigi/gettingther e
See Zurich activity options here. A nice town for a few hours: https://www.myswissalp s.com/zurich/activitie s
Chocolate will be easily found at either town! 🙂
Thanks Lucas for your quick reply! I actually ended up finding a cute hotel in Rigi and decided to make the trek there from Frankfurt instead of Lucerne. The scenery looks amazing and will be enjoyable for a few days. So we may or may not make it into Lucerne before heading up to Zurich Saturday afternoon…but I think Rigi will give us the alps adventure we are looking for… 🙂
It looks like it will be an undertaking to get from Zurich to Rigi and back to Zurich with a lot of different connections. Does it make sense to engage a private car service for this leg of the journey?
Zurich to Rigi is about 2 hours each way and 2 train connections which is really not bad for a mountain trip.
If your budget allows and you think you’d be happier to arrange a private transfer you could look into it – but I am not aware of where to find that.But why are you going from Rigi to Zurich and back to Rigi? Wouldn’t you just be traveling to Zurich one-way on Saturday?
Sorry, i meant To say Frankfurt to Rigi to Zurich. I’l be working on transportation next! Thx 🙂
<<“Does it make sense to engage a private car service for this leg of the journey?”>>
No cars allowed on much of the Rigi.
Slowpoke
<<“a cute hotel in Rigi “>>
The Rigi covers a large area. It is not common to say “In Rigi.”
Could you say where your hotel is?
It can affect transportation.
Slowpoke
The hotel is: Hotel Rigi Vitznau and the address is: Seestrasse 65, 6354 Vitznau
there is frequent bus or boart service to Vitznau.
Boats once per hour for much of the day from Luzern, or a bus that runs between Brunnen and Küssnacht am Rigi via Vitznau, also frequent. Train from Luzern to Küssnact or Brunnen
You can drive to Vitznau; cars are permitted.
See attached screen grab from the timetable, which you can also use to plan your trip from Frankfurt.
If you use the time table, you can expand the details of those jouirneys by clicking on the time line. The various route options can be seen then.
Slowpoke
Attachments:
Much appreciated – you are awesome!
I just reviewed the thread.
Here are a couple more thoughts.
1.- You express an interest in seeing the Swiss Alps.
The Rigi at about 1800 meters has good hiking and good scenery on a clear day. However, it does not provide a high Alpine experience. It is a kinder and gentler mountain, with the peak (Kulm) just barely above the tree line.
Altitudes on this map:
2.- Two other options near Luzern are Titlis and Pilatus.
Pilatus is quite high and rocky and accessible easily from Luzern….going up via Kriens early in the day to avoid August crowds on the cograil; returning to Alpnachstad to ride the cograil down and a lake boat before the crowds come back down.
Lake boat connectiona across the lake from Vitznau to Alpnach ( or vice versa) exist but are infrequent:
http://www.lakelucerne.ch/en/ timetable-fares/timetable/
There is not much space or hiking up top.
http://www.myswissalps.com/pi latus
Titlis provides a true Alpine experience, with some snow probable even in August.but is a bit more difficult to reach from Vitznau than from Luzern. Use the timetable.
http://www.myswissalps.com/ti tlis
http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
3.- The best Alpine experience within reach is the Jungfrau region.
If you don’t actually go up to Jungfraujoch, but confine your journey to Schilthorn or to the rail loop through Kleine Scheidegg, itis possible and not so expensive as the Jungfraujoch train.. There are lots of choices and options for trails, cableways, villages, etc. It is a tolerable but long day trip trip with return from Luzern on a scenic rail line. Going from Vitznau adds significant time to the journey.
If this is truly a once in a lifetime experience to see the Swiss Alps, I’d give it careful thought.
http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion
Slowpoke
Rooms in Luzern in August are hard to get.
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Sorry Slowpoke, replied to you in error
Hi
Just picked up this thread after being offline for the past 6 days, I am staying in Vitznau as well and have posted our itinerary/activities undertaken in the trip report section of the forum, though it appears you are heading to Zurich Saturday afternoon, you may find some of the activities we have undertaken of interest whilst you are in the area.
My Travels
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