8d Zurich-Lucerne-Interlaken-Jungfraujoch-Zermatt

Hi

We are planning a trip to Switzerland-Paris-London in November (2 weeks) and intend to purchase a 8-Day Swiss Travel Pass. We will arrive in Zurich and after the 8th day, we need to get to Paris. We are not sure how to go about planning our route. We intend to visit the following:

• Zurich
• Lucerne
• Interlaken
• Jungfraujoch
• Zermatt

How should we plan the route so that it is more convenient and will not waste too much time on travelling from point to point?

After the 8th day, we need to travel from Switzerland (depending on which is the last city) to Paris.Is there any route that requires less connections?

For the Glacier Express from Zermatt to St Moritz, does it operate in November?

Hello Emalyn,

Welcome to MySwissAlps! If you base yourself in both Lucerne and Interlaken for a couple of days, you'll manage to cover most of your interests. Starting and/or ending your journey in Zurich allows you to explore the city. Even half a day is sufficient for some local sightseeing there, but of course you can choose to spend one or two nights in the city if you wish explore it more thoroughly.

Lucerne is a great town, with lots of day trip options. Do mind that November is low season and that availability of mountain trips should be carefully checked. The same goes for the Interlaken area. Tips for day trips can be found here. The Jungfraujoch is accessible all year round. From Interlaken, a day trip to Zermattis perfectly possible. But again, you could spend one or two nights there if that's what you prefer. Unfortunately the Glacier Express has an autumn break in November. If you're very curious about the route you could ride (part of) it in regular trains. It will require a couple of changes along the way though.

Trains to Paris leave from Zurich, Geneva and Basel. For your plans, Zurich or Basel will probably work best.

Purchase options for the Swiss Travel Pass are listed here.

Hi Annika

Thank you very much for your advice.

You mentioned that a day trip to Zermatt is possible from Interlaken. From the map, Zermatt seems quite a distance from Interlaken. Would there be sufficient time to do Zermatt as a day trip? Or it's advisable to stay one night in Zermatt? I checked the train routes, it seems like for train from Zermatt to Interlaken/Lucerne, it takes two connections (i.e. take three trains)

For Jungfraujoch, is it ok to do it as a day trip from Interlaken/Lucerne? We are also looking at the Golden Pass. For Golden Pass, can we do it in parts? Because it runs through Interlaken and Lucerne.

Hi Emalyn,

A single trip Interlaken-Zermatt using the quickest connection takes about 2 hours with changes in Spiez and Visp. So yes, that's quite a distance, but doable if you just want to get a feel of the village and visit one mountain top. If you're interested in more than that or if you prefer to avoid long day trips, you're probably better off spending a couple of nights in Zermatt. It all depends on your personal priorities.

The Jungfraujoch can best be reached from Interlaken. The journey is described here.

Sure, you can do any part of the Golden Pass route you like. You'll experience at least one leg when traveling from Lucerne to Interlaken. Additional legs, e.g. to Zweisimmen or all the way south to Montreux, can be done from Interlaken. Details on the journey can be found here.