4 days in Lucerne- Fine tuning the sightseeing :-)

Team,

I will be spending 4 days in lucerne and need help for fine tuning the sightseeing during those 4 days. I have done the hotel bookings at lucerne for 4 nights and going to get 2 day tell pass and local zone 10 bus travel card for my entire stay in lucerne. My iterernary is as follows

• Wed 16th Mar- Reach Basel from Paris at around 3-15 PM -- Need suggestions whether I can/should spend some time in Basel ( couple of hours) and then proceed to lucerne or I should go directly to lucerne and spend some evening time there
• Thr- 17th Mar - Mt Titlis and Pilatus - Please confirm if it is feasible and if yes the best route to take. I gone through few online information and a bit confused about best route ( boat/bus/train or combination of these) to take to go this excursions. Also will there be any time left for evening stroll in the lucerne city after doing above? This day I will be first day of my tell pass and hope that most part of my journey will be covered.
• Fri- 18th Mar - Mt Rigi - Please suggest the best route and also suggest what else can be done in the remaining half day, local sight seeing or any nearby by scenic train journey. This will be my secong day of Tell Pass. Hope it covers most of the journey.
• Sat- 19th mar - Not sure what to do-- Local sightseeing in Lucerne or scenic train journey or rhym waterfall or ticino? Please suggest. Also please note that I will have no pass with me, so it will be paid travel today :-(. Any saving ideas?
• sun- 20th Mar- Morning checkout and 8am train to Zurich for a 11AM flight back.

Hi adben, thank you for sharing your plans with us!

• Wed: Basel is worth a stop, but whether you prefer that or more time in Lucerne is completely up to you. Basel has a historical town center along the river Rhine, and many museums. Please see myswissalps.com/ basel and use the search box for more information.
• Thu: Two mountains in one day is a bit much, but it can be done if you start early. The cogwheel train to Mount Pilatus is closed in March, so there's only the cable car. No boats involved. That leaves you with one route for the day, so the only choice is which mountain you do first. Details are in the timetable and the Pilatus and Titlis pages. It's all covered in your pass. Please see the Tell-Pass Winter page and click "Where it's valid".
• Fri: Please see myswissalps.com/ rigi.
• Do you mean the Rhine Fall? That's quite a long ride from Lucerne; nearly 2 hours one way. And March is not the best time for it. It might be worth it if you want to visit Zurich too. Personally I would rather spend some time within Lucerne. It's a wonderful town with interesting museums. Another option is the Wilhelm Tell Express route to the Ticino. Quite a long ride, but very scenic.

Please note that zone 10 is included in the Tell-Pass.

Thanks Arno for the prompt response .Some additional questions which I have are

Among 3 mt rigi pilatus titlis which 2 i should combine in a single day based on their location and travel ease

Also exploring zurich on the last day is good idea and I can stay there on the 4th night as my flight is from zurich only. Whats your say?

Regarding willtell train scenic route it shows 5 hours one way (boat +train) so 10 hours to and fro, right?Seems to be hectic?

Any leg of the golden pass I can cover? Which is 2 3 hours? idea is to leave in morning reach the destination spend 3 4 hours roaming and then back in the evening.

Also how about Zug?

Also last day is self paid travel so any tips for saving on travel cost?

Hi adben - March 20th-

0905 train Luzern to Paris Gare de'Lyon arrives at 1337.

Might be faster to downtown Paris than by air.

Slowpoke

Hi Slowpoke

My return from zurich is flight to Dublin :-)

<<"My return from zurich is flight to Dublin :-)">>

Well, I guess a train to Paris wouldn't do much good. ;-)

Slowpoke

<<"<<"My return from zurich is flight to Dublin :-)">>Well, I guess a train to Paris wouldn't do much good. ;-)">>

Second thought - haven't the French and the Irish, with EU money, constructed a tunnel from Paris to Dublin, passing under or around England and Wales, in order to by pass the English? Simply insurance, of course, in case the English leave the EU.

Might be ventilation shafts at Jersey or Guernsey, and the Isle of Man.

;-)

Slowpoke

Hi adben,

Two out of those three mountains can be combined if you start early and don't mind a long day. I'd recommend to take your time and enjoy one, but if you want to get the most out of your pass it can be done. Rigi and Titlis are totally different, so that would be a nice contrast.

The Wilhelm Tell Express route is long, but on the way back you'd take a normal fast train and skip the boat (see the timetable). You could do part of the Golden Pass line: Lucerne - Interlaken - Bern - Schüpfheim - Lucerne. But if you want to save money, both these suggestions are not the best option. In that case either enjoy the museums in Lucerne or visit a nearby town. Zug is nearby and has a small historical town center. You can see it in an hour or so.

Yes, makes sense to cover some local sightseeing in Lucerne and may be a trip to Zug..

Between just a small twist in my plan. Due to delay in getting Visas, I will not be able to get the Ireland Visa on time , so have to change my travel back plan from Zurich to Dublin on 20th. So basically looking for help/suggestion to plan my return. My return destination is Belfast UK, as the flight frequency is less from zurich to Belfast, I was initially planning from Zurich to (Dublin)Ireland, spend some time and from their back to Belfast ( 2 hr Bus ride)

But now that Dublin is out of question, need suggestion on cost effective return from Lucerne to Belfast

Is it Lucerne - Geneva - Belfast ( did not found cheap tickets :-(

Is it Lucerne - Paris - Belfast

Slowpoke-you owe me a response, your intuition seems to coming true :-)

Hi Adben -

<<"Slowpoke-you owe me a response, your intuition seems to coming true :-)">>

Sorry, not something I know anything about.......;-(

and, I already commented about something I do understand...a train journey from Luzern to Paris. ;-)

Good luck.

As long as you have not figured out that you can do things close to Luzern for a lot more than four days, I can add another suggestion.

I recall that Zug has a very nice museum about the history of the town. A bus ride from the station takes you to a funicular or c able car, can't remember which, up ontio Zugerberg, Nice views.

Schwyz, not so far away either, has quite a bit worth seeing. The country is named after this town.

There is a museum dedicated to the documents related to the founding of the Swiss Confederation in the 1200's. The "Bundesbrief Museum." Not as boring as it sounds.

The main square is really quite attractive.

The Victorinox Swiss Army Knife factory is there and they give tours.

Slowpoke

Plane tickets are not my area of expertise. I usually check www.cheapoair.com/ flights. Perhaps it helps. It listed tickets from $188 from Geneva (early flight, around $250 later in the day). And from $181 from Basel; again more expensive later in the day. I noticed they offer a $10 per person discount with promo code LC50.