Stay in Zurich and do day trips to Swiss Alps?
A traveler is planning a trip from Frankfurt to Switzerland, arriving on a Thursday morning and leaving from Zurich on Sunday after just two full days. They want to see the Alps and are considering whether to stay in Zurich and do day trips or travel directly to a mountain town like Zermatt, Jungfrau, or Lucerne, returning to Zurich for their flight.
- Consider staying in Lucerne as a base, which is closer to many mountains and easier to reach from Zurich airport.
- If you want to see the Jungfrau region, traveling directly from Frankfurt to Interlaken or Wengen is suggested, then return to Zurich on Saturday.
- Look into the Swiss Travel Pass for discounts on transport and attractions, especially if you plan to use the trains frequently.
- Check the Swiss railway timetable to plan your trips effectively and ensure you have enough time to explore the Alps.
- Enjoy Swiss chocolate, which is available in every city and town.
AI-generated summary-
We are travelling from Frankfurt to Switzerland on a Thursday morning and leaving from Zurich to the US on Sunday, leaving only 2 full days to take in the sights. We know we must stay in Zurich Saturday night so we will be ready for our flight home on Sunday. But we MUST see the Alps! We were told to stay in Zermatt, it seems after research that Jungfrau, Murren, and Interlochen may also be beautiful options and possibly easier to get to. The main question is, does it make more sense to have Zurich as the home base during the time in Switzerland and do day trips on Friday and Saturday to the alps, or to go directly to one of the cities in the alps from Frankfurt and travel back to Zurich to stay on Saturday night? And if we only have 2 days for sightseeing, what are the recommended cities to travel to (or stay in) for the best experience? Thanks in advance for your recommendations!
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What time is your flight on Sunday? Lucerne is a much nicer base than Zurich and is only 1 hour from the airport.
Or go direct to the Jungfrau region (eg Wengen) from Frankfurt and go to Zurich on Saturday.
Thank you for your reply. Our flight is at 1 30pm on Sunday.
Hi Rgcrcl1234 and welcome to MySwissAlps!
With that short of time I wouldn’t go to Zermatt – unless you want to see the Matterhorn. Lucerne is a great option (many mountains nearby: https://www.myswissalp s.com/lucerne/activiti es) .
As is one of the towns in the Jungfrau region: https://www.myswissalp s.com/jungfrauregion. To see what you can do in the Jungfrau region look here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/jungfrauregion/a ctivities
You can use the Swiss railways timetable to plan out the trips to/from towns and mountains to see what will work for you. https://www.myswissalp s.com/timetable
Great info, will research. Thanks much!
Hi Rgcrcl234
Using the timetable noted by Lucas, you’ll see that you have options on where to stay Saturday night.
Rockoyster’s suggesttion is a good one….Zürich Flughafen is 1 hr and 3 minutes ( direct, via Zürich) or 1 hr 7 minutes ( via Zürich/change at Zürich). And if by some chance you miss the connection at Zürich, there are lots of trains every hour from Zürich main station to the airport.
Even if you stay in Wengen, you could catch the 0803 on Sunday morning and arrive at the sirport at 1116
I assume that you are not traveling in November, when I’d be a lot less likely to go to the Jungfrau region.
You could spend many days in Luzern, and both Titlis and Pilatus ( quite near to Luzern) offer high Alpine experiences.
Slowpoke
Thank you! No we are travelling in august.
Hi rg
My suggestion is you stay near interlaken.From Frankfurt to Interlaken is 5 hours drive, 6-7 hours train. Wengen or Wilderwil are neighbourhoods of interlaken and cheaper. It’s the foothold of Alps. Jungfrau, schilthorn, Brienz rothorn and many more alp mountains are easy reach. If you reach in afternoon also on Thursday you may do Harder Kulm in interlaken which is a small mountain in itself. Zurich will be 2 hours from the actual Alps and not good as baar. Try early morning train on Sunday to reach Zurich airport in just 2 hours for your flight. Or come to Zurich late Saturday itself.
if you want to do small peaks like Pilatus, Rigi or Titlis(which is high and snow) then Lucern is good base and it has many other good options for 2 full days. It’s nearer to Zurich also.
takecare
Your reply is much appreciated and very good information. I’m thinking to go straight from Frankfurt to either the lucerne area or the interlochan area and coming back to zurich Saturday evening so that we can leisurely get to the airport on Sunday and have just a short amount of time in zurich as well. My son is hankering for Swiss chocolate, lol!
You will get Swiss chocolates in every city/ town. Try Laderach, I liked them very much. 🙂
all the best.
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