7 days Lucerne, Murren and Montreux in late March

Hi all,

My wife and I will be flying into Zurich on March 26 and flying home from Zurich on April 2. I've come up with a basic itinerary, and hoping I can get some feedback as to the feasibility before I start booking accommodation. It sounds like there are lots of places closed Good Friday and Easter Sunday, so I'm trying to structure our trip so that we can avoid that as much as possible. Originally we were going to go Zurich -> Lucerne -> Murren/Berner Oberland-> Montreux -> Bern -> Zurich, but that would put us in Bern on Easter Sunday and it sounds like most stuff will be closed. Instead, here's what I've come up with. The following is a very early draft and I'm very open to suggestions/changes:

Monday, March 26

• Arrive Zurich 8:50am
• We could use some feedback here. We'd like to check out Bern. Should we head straight there and stay for a night before heading to Lucerne, or head straight for Lucerne and do a day trip from there on one of the following days?
• Sleep Bern/Lucerne

Tuesday March 27

• Explore Lucerne or Bern (day trip)
• Sleep Lucerne

Wednesday, March 28

• Day trip to Pilatus or Rigi OR just explore Lucerne some more
• Train to Interlaken via Golden Pass, then on to Murren
• Sleep Murren

Thursday, March 29

• Paragliding? Jungfraujoch? Kleine Scheidegg? Staubbach Falls?
• Sleep Murren

Friday, March 30 (Good Friday)

• Paragliding? Jungfraujoch? Kleine Scheidegg? Staubbach Falls? Ski?
• Sleep Murren

Saturday, March 31

• Back to Interlaken (train change)
• Golden Pass to Montreux (3 hr)
• Hop off and on at villages along the way
• Sleep Montreux

Sunday, April 01 (Easter Sunday)

• Chateau de Chillon
• Explore Montreux
• Late train to Zurich (~1 hr)
• Sleep Zurich

Monday, April 02

• Depart Zurich 11:45am

Does the above make sense? Are we stretching too thin? We love the outdoors and that is a large reason for us going to Switzerland, but we also love history and old town areas, so a healthy mix of cities would be nice as well. Any tips/suggestions for the places above would be super appreciated as well.

Thank you so much!

Hi Ellingjt, welcome to the forum and MySwissAlps!

I'd definitely minimize the number of bases. That will help to keep you flexible. I'd not stay in Bern, but longer in Lucerne. Then head into the mountains when the weather is good, and do you day trip to Bern on any other day. If you take the regional train from Lucerne via Schüpfheim to Bern, the scenery will be better than the fast InterCity trains.

Another thought is to switch the order of your trip: Montreux - Murren - Lucerne. I am assuming your 11:45 AM departure from Zurich is a flight? There are direct trains from Lucerne to the airport that take about an hour. So you could stay an extra night in Lucerne instead of shifting base again. Easter Sunday might indeed not be ideal for a city trip, but a hike, cable car ride, boat or train trip will be perfectly fine. A bit crowded perhaps if the weather is nice.

For things to do and recommended accommodation, please see:

• Zurich
• Lucerne
• Murren
• Montreux