Hiking in May, Bernina Express and things to do in Chur?
A traveler named Tracy is planning a trip to Zurich on May 11th and will take the Bernina Express from Chur on May 16th. She wants advice on whether to spend 4 days in Chur or go to Lucerne first, and is particularly interested in hiking options in the mountains during early May.
- Consider spending the first days in Lucerne for more activities and then travel to Chur to enjoy a scenic trip to Arosa.
- High-altitude hikes are generally inaccessible until late June, but some trails on Rigi may be open, though conditions could be muddy.
- Don't miss the scenic train ride to Arosa, it's very beautiful, but the cable car won't be operating until mid-June.
- You can also visit Davos for a day trip from Chur, which takes about 1.5 hours by train.
AI-generated summary-
Traveling to Zurich on May 11th. Taking the Bernina Express from Chur on May 16th. Is there enough to do and see in Chur for 4 days or should we go to Lucern and only arrive in Chur on the 15th. We are an active couple so want to get up into the mountains to do a hike or two. Not sure what trails will be like in early May – muddy or snow covered. Appreciate advice.
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Hello Tracy M
Welcome to MySwissAlps
Visiting Switzerland in early May inevitably means that some hiking trails are going to be still closed or difficult underfoot.
Both Lucerne and Chur are excellent centres for going out on day trips using the best public transport system in the world. Lucerne is much the larger city of the two, so there are more things to do if the weather is bad.
Best wishes
Roger
Hi Tracy, and welcome to MySwissAlps!
As I see it, the most interesting things to do from a Chur base are:
- Stroll around Chur old town (about 2 hours)
- Scenic train ride to Arosa, then cable car up to the Weisshorn. The train to Arosa will be running, but the cable car won’t be running until 14 June 2025.
- Cableway up to Brambrüesch – only runs Sundays until 8 June 2025.
The train ride to Arosa is dramatically scenic. Sit on the right. Arosa will be pretty dead in May, I would expect, as it is off-season, but it has a small lake close to the railway station and some good bakery-cafés – at least one of them should be open.
If it were me, I would spend the first days in Luzern and go to Chur early enough on 15 May to do a scenic trip to Arosa (1 hour each way) for a short walk on the lakeside, and maybe refreshments in a cafe.
Re Luzern – high-altitude hikes are not usually accessible until the second half of June, but there’s a possibility some hikes on the Rigi might be accessible in mid-May, although trail conditions might not be great (e.g. mud).
This post from some years ago might be useful:
https://www.myswissalps.com/community/thread/mt-rigi-hiking-early-may/
I hope this helps with your planning!
Alpenrose
Hi again Tracy.
Alpenrose knows a way lot more about hiking than I do. My forte is public transport timetables. Subject to one additional point, I would adopt her advice. My additional point relates to Chur. The return bus ride to Tschiertschen takes just an hour, and is extremely exciting along twisting roads.
Best wishes
Roger
Hi Tracy,
In addition to the above suggestions, you could also do a day trip to Davos from Chur. By train the journey takes roughly 1.5 hours.
You can find further information about Davos here: https://www.myswissalps.com/town/davos/
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Anna
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