MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial 10 days in May in Interlaken, Lucerne, Lausanne
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Hello,
We, along with our daughter of 3.5 yrs are planning trip to Switzerland in May (7 – 17th ). We are interested to spend more of quality time and don’t want to rush to cover multiple places. From the earlier posts I have understood that country offers as many beautiful places to visit however we have 10 days to spend.
We will be reaching Zurich post which we’ll be taking train to Interlaken and have planned to spend 3 nights there. We wish to cover Jungfrau,Schilthorn and want to do day trip to Zermatt. Want to know if Jungfrau & Schilthorn can be done on same day and some time can be spent around Grindelwald/ Lauterbrunnen.
From Interlaken we will be visiting Lucerne, where we will be staying for 4 nights. We intend to visit Mt. Titlis, Mt. Pilatus, Mt. Rigi. We also want to do city tour, visit Bern and trip to Lugano. Here, I need to understand if all this is possible in 4 days?
Next 2 nights we will be at Lausanne, from where we wish to visit Geneva/ Montrux/ Vevey and nearby places. Out of 2 days, can we plan 1 day trip to Paris and keep other day for Geneva/ Lausanne or we should spend both days there.
Last day we will be spending at Zurich from where we will fly back to home.
Please suggest if this plan sounds good or we should make any changes. Also, it would be great if you could advise about weather conditions.
Thanks!
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Hi Shree2108, thank you for joining MySwissAlps!
Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn on the same day is possibly but quite rushed. You can spend the better part of a day visiting one of them if you’re on a leisurely pace.
If you want to do it you’d travel from Interlaken Ost to Grindelwald, then Jungfraujoch, then Lauterbrunnen – Stechelberg – Mürren – Schilthorn – Mürren – Grütschalp – Lauterbrunnen – Interlaken Ost. Detailed routes and more information can be found on the above pages.
It takes 2 to 2.5 hours to reach Zermatt from Interlaken. Please find schedules here: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable. Zermatt details are here: http://www.myswissalps.com/ze rmatt.
If you don’t want to rush, then I also recommend one activity per day in Lucerne. You can find more details here: http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne.
You’re planning too much in Lausanne I’m afraid. Please check travel times through the above timetable link. Also these pages will be useful:
For the weather, please see:
Thanks for your inputs Arno.
With your suggestion we are now planning to spend 2 nights in Lausanne and skip Paris in this visit.
Am bit confused on Lucerne – Lugano trip about which route to take. I have read that boat from lucerne to Flüelen and later train via Erstfeld to Lugano is an option. However, am not able to calculate how much time it will take to reach upto Lugano. Since we have to cover it in a day n come back to Lucerne, kindly suggest best possible route (combination of boat n train sounds well) but it should keep us some good time to explore Lugano.
On weather front, I have understood May is a low season. That being said, few sites indicate best period to visit is between April to June. So, its neither too warm nor cold. I need to understand whether we will have good views of snow covered mountains or it will be very less. Please clarify on this.
Thanks !
Hi Shree-
<<“However, am not able to calculate how much time it will take to reach
upto Lugano. Since we have to cover it in a day n come back to Lucerne, kindly suggest best possible route (combination of boat n train sounds well) but it should keep us some good time to explore Lugano.”>>
Please use the timetable linked by Arno. It will automatically give you the fastest option. The page that he linked gives useful instructions to help you use the timetable effectively.
You can used the “advanced” time table to select modes, such as boat, in addition to train and bus.
This link describes the route, which is taken by taken by the Gotthard Panorama Express (GPE):
http://www.myswissalps.com/go tthardpanoramaexpress
You do not have to take the GPE. Regular trains run through the new, fast tunnel, or, on the older route that runs much higher in the mountains. However, if you wish to take the older scenic route, which the GPE also follows, you must lthe timetable to go “via” Göschenen. If you do not, it will automatically route you through the new, faster “Gotthard Basis Tunnel.” The scenery in the tunnel is not very interesting.
You do not have to take the actual Gotthard Panorama Expres. The cars do have bigger windows, but a regular trains run the same route.
You might consider taking the old scenic train route over the Gotthard Pass one way, and the fast route through the basis tunnel in the other direction. Also, you won’t have much time in the Ticino if you use the boat in both directions. Most likely, you will want to use the train for the whole route when you return.
Finally, lake boat schedules on Lake Lucerne ( in German, der Vierwaldstättersee, which translates as the Lake of the Four Forest Cantons) are reduced in the Winter and early Spring. More trips are available in late May.
This time table will show you the details of the lake boat schedules. You will want to go from Luzern to Flüelen, which is th eentire length of the lake. Please be sure to check the proper seasonal schedule for your dates:
http://www.lakelucerne.ch/en/ timetable-fares/timetable/
Slowpoke
< Vierwaldstättersee, which translates as the Lake of the Four Forest Cantons >
And Vierwaldstätterseedampfschiffahrtsaktiengesellschaftgeneraldirektorswittwe, which translate as the widow of the general manager of the steamship corporation the the Lake of the Four Forest Cantons, is said to be the longest word in the German language!
Merci vielmal für die Deutschstunde!
Thanks for the information!
I think at some point even German stop connecting nouns like that. haha. General director’s widow seems excessive and not quite right 😉
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