MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Lucerne – Mt. Titlis, Mt. Pilatus and Bern
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Hi,
Family of 3 (incl 5YO) will be flying in to Zurich from Barcelona. We have searched on the weather and will be taking the train from Zurich Airport to Lucerne where we will be based. Understand Mt Titlis will be under maintanence but it will be open when we arrive. Going to purchase Winter Tell-Pass upon arriving at Zurich Airport as well.
25th Nov – Arrive from morning flight, train to Lucerne, check in hotel and probably walk around. i hope shops are open.
26th Nov – Planning on Mt Titlis. Winter Tell-Pass would help on the ticket discounts? My child will be travelling free. We just want to play snow nothing much of ski.
27th/28th Nov – Planning on going to Mt Pilatus and head to Bern (i dont mind changing town/village). One activity on each day. Since sunset is early. With 5YO, i want to take my time.
29th Nov – Heading to Zurich and see the town abit. Since 30th Nov, our flight is in the morning back to Singapore.
Is the itinerary doable? I am open to other option.
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Hi Melle, and welcome to MySwissAlps,
Yes, the itinerary is doable. With the Winter Tell-Pass your trips to Mt. Titlis and Mt. Pilatus are for free.
Hi Melle,
>> 25th Nov – i hope shops are open.
This is a Sunday, and in the low season for tourism. Not much will be open. If you need to buy foodstuffs, your best bet would be the shops in the lower level of the railway station.
>> 27th/28th Nov – Planning on going to Mt Pilatus
The cogwheel railway from Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm only operates until 18 Nov 2018 inclusive, before closing for the winter. You can still go up and back on the cableway from Kriens.
Alpenrose
Pilatus is really a summer excursion.
Huge amount depends on the weather. If there is early snowfall, some of the ‘famous’ ski resorts might be open and active, but November is not an ideal month to visit Switzerland.
On 25th November most shops in Luzern are likely to be closed.
Hi all,
Thank you for your suggestions. We have decided to push back our holiday to December. It will start from 22 December to Barcelona and we will fly into Zurich on 30 December till 4 Jan. We will take train back from 3 Jan to Zurich and spend a night there or we will go back from Lucerne to Zurich Airport direct.
I will stick to the itinerary. Apart from daytrip to Bern, any other places to suggest? Is Interlaken far from Lucerne? Feasible to go for daytrip or should we stay overnight?
Hi Melle,
Lucerne to Interlaken is just under two hours. Take the direct train (Luzern – Interlaken Express) which is part of the Golden Pass route. Use the timetable to find schedules for your travel dates. But note the schedule for beyond Dec.9 won’t be released until late October. It will be very similar to what it is now though.
From Interlaken you could look at nearby Thun.
Thanks Lucas for the suggestion. Will search more on Thun.
There is not all that much to see in Interlaken, it is more of a base to do the mountain trips from.
On a New year holiday trip, you would be best doing one ski resort excursion of you want to get up into the snow, otherwise main towns and cities would be best.
Try this web page:
http://www.myswitzerland.com/ en-gb/enchanting-old-towns.html
Hi again,
I searched more on Bern. Some places that we might visit
– GLOBUS (food hall). I saw good reviews on this. food makes people happy.
– Bear Park (not sure if we can see them during winter. most commented they will be hibernating. Is the park next to Aar River?
– BUNDESPLATZ (The Parliament Square), place where Einstein lived.
– Medeival Rathaus
Is this even possible by just walking? With my 5YO, i just need to be sure so he wont get tired.
Hi Melle,
Bern is a lovely town to visit. but yes, you won’t be able to see the bears in the winter though. You can walk around Bern quite easily, from the Rathaus to the Bundesplatz to the Bärengraben. It is a nice walk to the bears at Bärengraben (across the bridge) and a nice restaurant there as well – Altes Tramdepot.
You can take a tram if you need to. Bern trams are very smart. You could do this to get to Helvetiaplatz, where there is the History Museum which also covers Einstein
Great. Any idea on cost of tram?
Thank you for the restaurant recommendation.
Hi Melle,
That will be around CHF 4,- for a short journey ticket and can be bought at the machines.
Hi,
With just the Winter Tell-Pass, my trip to Mt Titlis and Mt Pilatus are free. How about ticket to Bern? Is it covered under the WTP or will there be any discount for it?
I was also searching on Lugano. Under SBB timetable, it shows about 2 hours train ride. Direction shows Erstfeld, Brunnen, St Gallen or Lugano. I could just pick either of direction because its more of the difference in the scenic view? Covered under WTP or i could just purchase the return ticket at Luzern Station?
No, the Tell Pass won’t cover Bern. You can find a PDF map of the area it covers on Chantal’s first reply at the top of the thread (click the link then then tab: Where it’s Valid).
You are talking about Lucerne to Lugano? Some routes are more scenic than others.
If you go via Erstfeld (3h 23m) you go on the Gotthard Panorama Express route (but not necessarily the express panoramic train).If you go the faster options (around 2 hours) you go under the mountain for about 60km…not so scenic. 🙂
1) Adding Lugano into your already short trip will be too much IMHO
If you want scenery, much better to use your tell pass to get up onto the Oberalppass. The Tell Pass, would allow you free from Luzern – Göschenen – Andermatt – Sedrun and back. Andermatt to Sedrun via the Oberalppass is one of the main scenic sections of the Glacier Express route.
2) The Tell Pass reaches as far as Langnau in Emmental – halfway to Bern. You would only need to buy a ticket for the Langnau – Bern section. Also Langnau is a good stopover being the centre of the bucolic Emmental (of cheese fame) valley.
Thank you 1960man. I will take note of adding Lugano and also Oberalppass.
Hi 1960man and melle,
>> If you want scenery, much better to use your tell pass to get up onto the Oberalppass. The Tell Pass, would allow you free from Luzern – Göschenen – Andermatt – Sedrun and back. Andermatt to Sedrun via the Oberalppass is one of the main scenic sections of the Glacier Express route.
I did this trip with my Tell-Pass in August 2016, when everything else around Luzern was in the clouds. If you are interested, you can read my trip report (with photos) on the following page:
http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/train-across-the-oberalppass-on-a-gloomy-day
If you are doing the trip in December, I expect there will be plenty of snow, and this trip is at its absolute best under a mantle of snow!
The photos attached to my post of Jan 9, 2018 – 3:27 AM on the following page were taken in November 2010, and are likely to be closer to what you will see in December:
http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/planning-3-days-in-switzerland-must-sees
Alpenrose
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